Pubdate: Wed, 22 Jan 2014
Source: Simcoe Reformer, The (CN ON)
Copyright: 2014 Sun Media
Contact: http://www.simcoereformer.ca/letters
Website: http://simcoereformer.ca/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2386
Author: Shawn Swarts
Note: Shawn Swarts is a lawyer at the law firm of Cobb & Jones LLP. 
For more articles, visit the library page at www.cobbjones.ca)

BE AWARE OF NEW AMERICAN POT LAWS

Another interesting legal issue that has now arisen is what to say at 
the border if you intend to travel to Washington or Colorado to 
sample their now legal products.

In 2012 the citizens of Washington and Colorado voted to legalize 
marijuana in their respective states.

Effective January 1, 2014 in both of these states it is now legal to 
possess up to 1 ounce of marijuana for personal consumption for 
anyone 21 years old or older. This has led to speculation that both 
of these states may well have a boom in drug tourism similar to 
Amsterdam in Europe.

It does raise an interesting legal question in that the United States 
jurisdiction has criminal laws both federally and on the state level.

In these two states although it is legal from the state's perspective 
to now possess marijuana it is still illegal under the federal laws. 
The Obama administration, however, has indicated that they will look 
the other way and not prosecute possession of marijuana in these 
states under the federal regime.

Another interesting legal issue that has now arisen is what to say at 
the border if you intend to travel to Washington or Colorado to 
sample their now legal products. The border is controlled by the 
federal authorities, who still consider marijuana illegal in the 
United States. If you admit to traveling to the United States for the 
purpose of consuming marijuana in a state where it's legal, the 
border authorities can then bar you indefinitely from attending the U. S.

Currently any non-citizen attempting to enter the USA who admits to 
consuming illicit drugs in the past or planning to consume them in 
the future can be deemed inadmissible to the United States. At this 
time it is unclear what will occur at the border as there are not 
presently any policies directing the border guards on this issue; it 
is totally up to the discretion of the individual border guard.

Ironically a Canadian citizen can be banned for admitting that he 
intends to travel to the United States to do something completely 
legal in the state he will be visiting. It should be noted that if a 
border guard deems you inadmissible to the United States you can only 
enter that country in the future after you have obtained a waiver, 
which can cost thousands of dollars.

Similar legalization schemes are being considered in a number of 
other states including Maine and Michigan, who are watching closely 
to see how these new regimes in Colorado and Washington work out and 
most importantly how much new tax revenue legal pot will generate.

Until the smoke clears on the multiple issues this has created, be 
very careful what you say at the border if you intend to head south 
for a "potcation".
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom