Courts Deny Naturalization Petitions Due to Marijuana

We often write of the pernicious effects of the War on Drugs in the criminal law context as well as its harmful impacts on the hemp and (state) legal marijuana industries. This post turns to another issue resulting from federal illegality – the inability of a lawful permanent resident to petition for naturalization and and become a U.S. citizen. Courts deny naturalization petitions due to marijuana activities all the time. As we’ll discuss today, a federal court in the Eastern District of Washington recently did just that. This isn’t a tale of smuggling, or an illegal grow, or the distribution of marijuana across state lines. There’s none of that here.

What naturalization petitions are for, and who the plaintiff in this case is

In certain circumstances, a person with lawful permanent resident (“LPR”) status may “naturalize,” i.e., apply to become a citizen of this country upon completion of an interview, an oath of allegiance, and passing a test that perhaps 2 out of 3 persons born in the U.S. would fail. The plaintiff in this case is from El Salvador and moved to the United States in 2004, when she married her husband, a U.S. citizen. In 2007, she become a LPR, more commonly known as a green card holder. This authorized her to live in the United States, work without restriction, attend school, and join the armed forces.

In 2014, the petitioner and her husband opened a licensed marijuana dispensary

The State of Washington began its path to marijuana legalization in 2012. In 2014, the plaintiff and her husband opened a licensed marijuana dispensary.  Plaintiff worked at the store in several capacities including as a budtender and managing inventory and other employees. Assuming the plaintiff and her husband have kids, this is the proverbial “mom and pop shop” type of dispensary. After living and working in the U.S. for ten years, the plaintiff filed an application for naturalization in May 2017.

Court denies petition for naturalization because of  plaintiff’s involvement in a marijuana dispensary

One of the questions asked whether she had ever “sold or smuggled controlled substances, illegal drugs, or narcotics.” The plaintiff checked “no.” In another section of the form she explained that she and her husband were legally licensed by the State of Washington to sell marijuana.

In August 2017, an immigration officer interviewed the plaintiff and began reading the portion of the federal Controlled Substances Act (“CSA”) that makes the cultivation, distribution, or possession of “any amount” of marijuana a criminal offense. The plaintiff was honest and forthright about her and her husband’s marijuana business and her role in it and her occasional use of edibles to help her sleep.

In July 2018, the USCIS denied her application for naturalization finding that her role as a co-owner of a marijuana dispensary made her an “illicit trafficker of a controlled substance.” This meant, per the USCIS, that plaintiff lacked the required “good moral character” needed to be qualified for U.S. citizenship. The plaintiff appealed within the immigration system and then filed an appeal with the federal district court.

In early February 2022, the district court agreed with USCIS and held that the USCIS properly denied plaintiff’s application for naturalization because of her involvement in a marijuana dispensary. The court’s ruling reads as reasonable given how the law and administrative guidance play out in these kinds situations. That a decision may be reasonable and justified under the law, however, does not mean it is a good decision.

What a waste of time and money

Frankly, what a waste of time and taxpayer money. For what? Nothing of value that I can see. The USCIS and the Court spent thousands of dollars to prevent a person whose sole “crime” was participating in her husband’s state-legal and licensed marijuana dispensary. She had no criminal history, no history of violence, nothing in the parade of horribles that might mean a lack of good character. Here is a person who petitioned to be a naturalized citizen, not someone USCIS and the courts ought to mechanically deny citizenship to. What a shame. I hope she appeals to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and I hope she wins.

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For more on the intersection of immigration, naturalization petitions, and marijuana policy, see:

• Cannabis and Immigration: Marijuana Activity a Conditional Bar to Obtaining U.S. Citizenship
• The California Bureau of Cannabis Control’s Final Regulations Immigration Impact on Foreign “Owners
• Bumps Ahead: The U.S. Border After Canada Cannabis Legalization

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r/leaves: Why would someone want to quit cannabis?

Cannabis isn't right for everyone. This Reddit forum helps people quitting pot find a new kind of community.

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The US cannabis industry now supports 321,000 full-time jobs

The cannabis industry added 77,300 jobs last year, a 32% gain over 2019—despite a pandemic and economic recession.

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South African State of Gauteng to Build Country’s First Cannabis Hub

For all the delay and excuses to be heard on the cannabis reform front just about everywhere else right now, one region of the world has the issue on a fast track. South Africa’s president, Cyril Ramaphosa just declared in his recent state of the union address that the country was moving forward, finally, to regulate the industry, create jobs, and create much needed income for the country.

Now comes the news that this country is moving to create a multibillion dollar cannabis “hub” in Gauteng. David Makhura announced that the project, located at the Vaal River, would include a green hydrogen innovation centre, an aerotropolis, an aerodrome, and a steel manufacturing sector. The four municipalities in the district have collectively made land available to create a Special Economic Zone.

Even more intriguingly, there have been other hints that this area of the country, also known for its gold mines, has been looking to cannabis, including for environmental remediation.

It certainly does not sound like the powers that be are going to wait around much longer to get things going. It is clear that the South African government has identified cannabis as a key economic differentiator for the country in the coming years.

Moving The Pending Legislation Forward

The Cannabis For Private Purposes Bill is currently moving forward in Parliament, this time with a little more speed. It was introduced in September 2020 and has been delayed both by COVID and bickering about the particulars. However, in its present form, the draft bill says that an adult may possess cannabis for personal use. Such individuals may also possess a limited number of plants, cultivate those plants in a private place and if found in possession in a public place, not be charged if this amount is within the law.

While the bill has been criticized, including for putting more burden on the poor who do not have access to such privacy, it is likely to move forward, at this point, given the political heavy-hitters now coming to the plate to support it.

Where this leaves cannabis clubs is still another question. However, what the passage of the bill will mean is that South Africa appears to be on track to both pass legislation and have projects in the hopper as early as 2023.

Implications and Impact

The South African cannabis discussion is an interesting one for several reasons, if not continents.

The first reason is that this exported crop means money for a country and continent now looking to reinvent itself in the 21st century. 

Beyond this, geopolitically however, there is also this intriguing twist. Chinese investments, which are happening all over Africa, have focused so far on building roads and other infrastructure. Given the current climate in China proper on the cannabis conversation, this pretty much leaves such investment in Africa out (for now). That also means that by focusing on cannabis as an economic builder and infrastructure focus, Africa may well be the first place that Chinese, American, and Canadian money come together and build sustainable, if not green, infrastructure with a cannabis theme.

But the significance of all of this will be felt far down the line. The impact outside of Africa is also going to be significant, and indeed it already has. Israel, Germany, and Macedonia, for starters, are lining up to purchase African-grown, medically-certified weed, simply because it is cheaper than growing it domestically. To put all of this in perspective, one can find African cannabis producers who are willing to meet the price set by the German bid for cannabis cultivated in Germany. This means that German producers will not maintain a price advantage, and further, everyone else (including producers from Portugal, Greece, and Columbia) will have to lower prices to meet the challenge. It also means that for the first time, there will be price pressure on not only the German/Canadian companies who won the first German cultivation bid, but also Dutch Bedrocan, right across the border.

This is good for the medical reform question in Europe right now because it also creates impetus on the industry to lower prices, and thereby help insurers see the light when it comes to approvals. There is a fierce battle currently underway at the moment of insurers now fighting back, even when a doctor prescribes cannabis, simply because of the cost. What it means for the recreational discussion is also an intriguing twist that will no doubt play out in the next several years, particularly in Europe.

African cannabis is certainly a game-changer for all of that — in addition to the significant impact it will also have locally.

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The US cannabis industry now supports 428,059 jobs

America's fastest-growing industry created more than 100,000 new jobs last year.

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New Zealand Police Reboot Illegal Cannabis Operation Search After Year of Inactivity

New Zealand Police National Headquarters recently brought back its cannabis eradication program, which was cancelled in January 2021. According to Stuff.co.nz, the program was costing the department more than $700,000 annually to send out helicopters and airplanes, and the program has been running for approximately 20 years. However, the department recently set aside $635,000 to fund this effort once again, which began in January 2022 and will be conducted through March. The cannabis eradication program utilizes flight vehicles to scan for large-scale illegal grow operations.

A briefing was originally published by the police department in December 2021 detailing this decision, but was only recently released to Stuff.co.nz through the Official Information Act of New Zealand. Until now, all information was withheld until the police minister had approved it. In the briefing, it states that although the program had been stopped in all 12 districts last year, the funding was still available.

With the revival of the program, now called Operation Emerald, six out of the 12 districts have opted in. “Running a nationally coordinated operation provides efficiencies in terms of negotiating a fixed-wing plane and helicopter contracts, deploying staff, provision of training for staff, and administration of the budget,” the briefing states.

However, there has been one report of an incident that involved three cannabis plants, rather than a large cultivation operation. In early February, a police helicopter flew over one couple’s property to remove three cannabis plants. “It got closer and closer and then just zoomed in on this little hill about 80 metres from our house and sprayed three small cannabis plants that were in pots up on the hills,” the individual said. “We could see the pilot, he could see us, we waved to them, and he was just sitting there above the hills spraying the plants and then just buggered off.” The individual noted that he had recently received an operation to remove cancer, and invested in a $150 cannabis oil bottle to treat the pain, instead of the tramadol and codeine he was prescribed. (His wife also suffers from an autoimmune disease, and medical cannabis helps her sleep.) As a result, he and his partner believed it would be easier and more cost effective to grow their own cannabis plants for medical use.

“The spraying of our plants seems like overkill, we would’ve been happy if someone had knocked on our door and said ‘hey we’ve had a complaint’ or something … we would’ve destroyed them if they asked us to,” he continued. “We’re just a mother and father … good community jobs, we work in the community, we help the community with sports, we’re both in community groups and are working for non-profit organizations. We don’t understand why we got targeted in a distressing manner.”

Chlöe Swarbrick, a Green Party MP and previous advocate of cannabis legalization, criticized how the plant eradication was handled. “This situation underlines yet again how these police chopper operations are not only a waste of time and money but literally cutting off some people’s medicinal cannabis supplies,” she said. “New Zealanders going about their business harming nobody have had a police chopper drop into their family dinner simply because parliament continues to prefer and enable people to get legally fully blackout drunk with all the social harms that come with that instead of moderately using an evidentially less-harmful substance that 80 percent of us will already have used by the time that we’re out of our teens.”

The focus of Operation Emerald is to target large-scale grow operations in New Zealand, but a spokesperson confirmed that it is common for smaller plants and grows to be targeted in this manner. “However, as this work is often conducted in remote or rural areas, and from the air, smaller cannabis plots can naturally be sprayed during the discovery phase of flying operations,” the spokesperson said.

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Private Companies Taking Over Alberta Online Cannabis Sales

Privately owned cannabis dispensaries in Alberta, Canada will be able to accept online orders for cannabis products for home delivery to customers under new provincial regulations that go into effect next month. 

Under new regulations passed by the legislature last year, the Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis (AGLC) will stop accepting online orders for cannabis products on March 8. At the same time, privately owned licensed dispensaries will take over online cannabis sales throughout the province. But before online sales can begin, dispensaries must first upgrade their license for online sales and the AGLC must approve e-commerce websites before they go live.

AGLC spokesperson Karin Campbell said that cannabis ordering websites must have a “robust” system for verifying the age of customers placing orders. Additionally, purchasers who appear to be less than 25 years old at the time of delivery will be required to show identification to the driver. So far, no retailer has received an endorsement from the AGLC for its website, Campbell noted, although she said that several companies have indicated that they will be prepared to begin taking online orders on March 8.

Dispensaries Preparing for Launch

To prepare for the change, brick-and-mortar dispensaries are busy preparing their websites and developing their infrastructure to make home deliveries. High Tide, a company that operates 58 Canna Cabana stores in Alberta and already sells cannabis online in the provinces of Ontario, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan, is working with the AGLC to put the finishing touches on its plan for online cannabis sales and home deliveries to begin on the March 8 launch date.

“We’ve done a pretty good job that we can operate online sales and home delivery in a safe, secure manner,” chief revenue officer Andy Palalas told the CBC. “It’s a big part of our strategy for addressing the illicit market.”

On Tuesday, High Tide announced that it was rolling out its new cannabis delivery on demand program at select Canna Cabana stores in Ontario, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan, with plans to expand the service to Alberta when regulators allow. Under the new program, customers will be guaranteed delivery of all online orders from participating stores within two hours of their order being placed, or at an hourly time slot chosen by the customer outside of the two-hour window.

“In addition to creating a fantastic delivery experience for our customers, this initiative also represents a proactive and thoughtful approach to competing with and drawing consumers away from the illicit cannabis market, which we know remains resilient in part due to their offering of unregulated delivery services,” High Tide CEO Raj Grover said in a statement from the company. “We plan on introducing this program in all provinces where we operate as soon as possible, and I look forward to seeing the growth and success of this program as we roll it out across Canada.”

Dank Cannabis in Alberta is also preparing to take online orders for home delivery of cannabis products beginning on next month’s launch date. Currently, customers can place orders on the dispensary’s website for pickup within a few hours. A Dank Cannabis spokesperson said that the beginning of online ordering for delivery will streamline cannabis purchases for its customers.

“Now with the landmark ruling in Alberta, cannabis connoisseurs will be able to enjoy their marijuana from the comfort of their homes,” the spokesperson told Digital Journal. “You can pick and choose to your heart’s delight on our carefully designed, feature-rich website and watch your favorite products arrive at your doorstep with no extra effort.”

Not all Dispensaries will be Ready

Some cannabis retailers, however, are not sure if they will be ready to begin taking online orders for home delivery on March 8. Matthew Anderson, vice-president of legal, business affairs, and compliance with cannabis retailer Fire & Flower told reporters he does not believe the retailer’s 42 dispensaries in Alberta will begin accepting online orders for home delivery on launch day.

“We’re down to the wire in terms of timing, and based on the responses I’ve received so far, I’m not optimistic that March 8 will be the day that we first deliver in Alberta,” said Anderson.

Not all of Alberta’s licensed dispensaries are keen to begin taking online orders for home delivery, however. Catherine Hill, the owner of the It’s 420 Somewhere dispensaries in High Level, Alberta, and Hay River, Northwest Territories said that she expects Alberta’s cannabis delivery market to be saturated with competition.

“Everybody’s going to be doing it,” she said.

Instead, It’s 420 Somewhere will focus on providing an engaging store experience for its clientele. 

“A lot of people also just love going in and speaking to their local budtender,” Hill explained.

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