US Customs enforcement raises the ante anti-Pot

genec

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Dec 30, 2010
188
Pacific Seacraft Orion27 HP: San Diego, M: Anacortes
If all they have is an answer to a boarder guard's question, it would be very difficult to prosecute on that admission alone. No evidence, no caught in the act, just a, "yeah dude, I smoked a little weed once."
In court it would be, "It was six years ago, dude. I thought he was asking if I EVER smoked weed. Besides dude, I didn't inhale."

-Will (Dragonfly)
And of course the real irony is that at least two of our Presidents have admitted smoking it...
 
Apr 7, 2016
184
Beneteau First 305 Seward, Alaska
People who are us citizens don’t share the same fate. I know of a few people who have partnerships in the marijuana industry. They are freely allowed to travel and have no problems using their passport for travel.
 
Oct 19, 2017
7,733
O'Day 19 Littleton, NH
People who are us citizens don’t share the same fate.
How could they. The US can't deny entrance by a US citizen. They might arrest him, but they have to let the legal citizen in.
Unless you mean other countries denying entrance to US alternative agriculture workers. I'd be surprised if there wasn't another country that does something like that.

-Will (Dragonfly)
 
Jun 14, 2010
2,081
Robertson & Caine 2017 Leopard 40 CT
How could they. The US can't deny entrance by a US citizen. They might arrest him, but they have to let the legal citizen in.
Unless you mean other countries denying entrance to US alternative agriculture workers. I'd be surprised if there wasn't another country that does something like that.

-Will (Dragonfly)
I have heard that Canada would deny entry of a US citizen to Canada if that person has a DWI conviction.
 
Apr 7, 2016
184
Beneteau First 305 Seward, Alaska
Objection. Hearsay.
Well not quite hearsay but my brother can’t enter Canada without filling out paperwork prior to the attempt. Then he can only cross during normal work hours so they can check his authorization. He has a dwi.

Besides, we are getting off topic. Having a DWI isn’t the same as drinking at home. Or getting high over the weekend in your own house. They aren’t anywhere near the same thing. I respect people’s choices in their own home. Driving drunk is dangerous.
 
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Oct 19, 2017
7,733
O'Day 19 Littleton, NH
I have heard that Canada would deny entry of a US citizen to Canada if that person has a DWI conviction.
How would they know? It's never been a question I was asked going into Canada and I can't see one country sharing DWI conviction information with another. That's, I believe, a state level crime, not a federal crime.

-Will (Dragonfly)
 
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Apr 7, 2016
184
Beneteau First 305 Seward, Alaska
How would they know? It's never been a question I was asked going into Canada and I can't see one country sharing DWI conviction information. That's, I believe, a state level crime, not a federal crime.

-Will (Dragonfly)
I’m not a customs official but I think the driving check they do is much the same one you pay $5 for at the dmv. It just for scans major offenses.
 

Rick D

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Jun 14, 2008
7,132
Hunter Legend 40.5 Shoreline Marina Long Beach CA
The smarter states have done just that... but the federal government (that controls the border) still has it as a class A drug (I believe...)

What I have often wondered is what if they find it on your boat, but you are within "coastal waters" of a legal state? Does the CG then "blow up" trying to resolve this or what? The entire west coast from Washington to California now has cannabis as legal for recreation use. Sets up a real dilemma regarding enforcement.

Essentially cannabis is only "illegal" right at the thin line that defines the country and the state borders... go figure.

"One Toke over the line... " GRIN
Interesting jurisdictional question. I have seen an analysis holding Homeland Security has that jurisdiction in coastal areas regardless. It offered a side comment that too many boaters were risking enforcement action by assuming to the contrary. I would exercise caution until that is fully resolved.
 
Aug 22, 2017
1,609
Hunter 26.5 West Palm Beach
Back in the mid 1980's I got picked up on suspicion of drunk driving. I was never convicted. Around 1988, I started going to Canada on business. I got a lot of flack from Canadian officials at the border. Several times, I was told that if I wanted to come into Canada, I would need to bring a court certificate stating that I had been found not guilty. They were real certain to emphasize what a serious crime that was. This went on for many years. The last time that I got any grief about it was probably around 10 years ago. Apparently, either they have lightened up a little, or something that happened more than 25-30 years ago has now fallen off the radar. I don't know which it is. I do know that the Canadian border guards told me many times that a DWI was enough to keep an American out of Canada.
 
Oct 19, 2017
7,733
O'Day 19 Littleton, NH
Apparently, countries routinely share criminal information with other countries. Countries, apparently, also seem to actively collect and store various pieces of information outside of criminal records.
https://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/08/business/your-digital-trail-follows-you-to-the-border.html
Another article makes it sound less likely, but still possible https://people.howstuffworks.com/criminal-record5.htm
I'm surprised there aren't civil liberties groups making a lot of noise about this.

-Will (Dragonfly)
 

Tedd

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Jul 25, 2013
745
TES 246 Versus near Vancouver, BC
...the government still considers it a schedule I drug...
Bit of trivia: Marijuana is still a Schedule I listed drug in the Canadian criminal code, too. All they've done is place some restrictions on when you can be prosecuted for it.
 
Oct 22, 2014
20,995
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
place some restrictions on when you can be prosecuted for it.
SO would this be Prosecutorial discretion of the Queen?
Criminal prosecutions are brought in the name of the "Queen in Right of Canada".
A person may be prosecuted criminally for any offences found in the Criminal Code or any other federal statute containing criminal offences.[1]
 

Tedd

.
Jul 25, 2013
745
TES 246 Versus near Vancouver, BC
SO would this be Prosecutorial discretion of the Queen?
Not exactly. As I understand it, "the Queen in Right of Canada" means "by the mechanisms defined as Canada," which is Parliament and the Constitution. All legislation in Canada is traceable back to the Crown in the way that all legislation in the U.S. is traceable back to the phrase "We the people." But the Crown long since ceded any authority (on most matters) to the legislative bodies so, in practice, it's essentially the same thing.

Addedum: (And a caveat: I'm not a lawyer, so this is very much a layman's understanding.) More trivia: When you're charged with something like treason or sedition in Canada you are said to be held in custody "at the Queen's pleasure." That wording goes back centuries, to the Tower of London days, if not earlier. Not surprisingly, in contemporary times that wording is sometimes the subject of amusement! But it's just tradition--standardized wording that has come to have a specific legal meaning.