Washington State Legalizes Marijuana; Immigration Authorities Have Not

The Seattle Times is reporting that Washington State’s first licensed marijuana dealer will open its doors on Tuesday. From an immigration standpoint, though, nothing has really changed in regards to marijuana.

The possession and use of marijuana violates the Controlled Substances Act, and can create a basis for inadmissibility. If the government has reason to believe someone traffics in marijuana, they can deny admission to that person, and possibly even their family members. Persons can also be denied admission for being a drug abuser.

Various immigration applications ask questions that can create issues in regards to marijuana use. For instance, the naturalization application asks whether you have ever committed a crime or offense for which you were not arrested–a difficult question for any applicant, really. Border officers have a great deal of discretion in assessing the legitimacy of a person’s visit to the United States. It will likely not be deemed an acceptable to seek entry to smoke some of Washington’s legalized weed.

Time will tell how this all plays out. The U.S. Attorney General’s Office has issued some general advisories to agency which suggest a bit of a hands-off, wait and see approach. However, the immigration process is different than most if not all other Government-person interactions, as the Government has a great deal of latitude in what they ask and what they decide. I expect that we will start hearing stories over the next few months of non-citizens who encounter issues with their applications or entry in relation to Washington’s new law and their use or intentions.