Seeking Comfort: Immigrants Forced to Choose Between the Medicinal Benefits of Marijuana and the Legal Security of Citizenship
By: Ari Jones, Residency & Naturalization Programs Director
About four months into my first job as an immigration attorney, I was confronted with a Catch-22. Or rather, my client was. I had just presented a “milestone meeting,” during which we provide recently-granted asylum clients with detailed information about their new rights and responsibilities.
After my presentation, a client approached me for a one-on-one discussion. He explained to me that, due to his medical conditions, he experienced intense chronic pain, and his doctor had encouraged him to access marijuana as a treatment for this pain. In California, this was legal under state law. My client wanted to know whether doing so would be permitted, or whether he would be prevented from ever getting permanent residency (aka his green card).
I was struck with profound helplessness in the face of this completely reasonable question and the irrationality of our federal drug laws. I had to explain that possessing marijuana, even for medicinal purposes, was a violation of federal controlled substances law, and that doing so would likely make him ineligible for a green card and citizenship in the future, provided the laws were not changed. Without citizenship, he would forever be at risk of deportation. I also explained that it was his choice: I could not advise him to break the law, but he got to decide whether to prioritize the security of his future immigration status or relieve the immediate pain in his body. This is a personal choice with no right answer.
All of our milestone meetings include an in-depth warning about the immigration risks of marijuana. When covering this material, I often feel like a 1930s caricature of the concerned parent in Reefer Madness. Unfortunately, given the U.S. government’s continued classification of marijuana as a Schedule I substance under the Controlled Substances Act, there are “no currently accepted medical use[s] in treatment in the United States.” This federal stance is rapidly being undermined by state policy. As of April 2023, 38 states, three territories, and the District of Columbia permit the medical use of cannabis. A further 23 states, the District of Columbia, and Guam have legalized recreational use as well.
As you might imagine, this mismatch in legality between federal and state law causes immense confusion and frustration for many residents of the United States. But for immigrants the consequences of the war on drugs are especially dire. Every year, I am approached by clients asking about whether they can purchase marijuana from a dispensary (typically retail spaces that look as legitimate as any Apple store), whether they can work as a driver for a marijuana delivery service, or whether they can work in some other capacity in the back of house. For each of these scenarios, unless the client has received citizenship, my answer is absolutely no.
Possession, sale, transportation, or even providing administrative support for the marijuana industry is all illegal under federal law. In one situation, a former client asked me if she could work as an accountant for a dispensary. She assured me that she would never come into direct contact with the product. Nevertheless, I had to advise her against this because it could be construed as aiding drug trafficking – an offense which could bar her from getting her green card and citizenship.
I think it’s easy for some to dismiss these scenarios involving business opportunities and recreational use. This discrepancy is no more unfair for immigrants than many activities with risk and reward in the U.S. But when I was confronted by the question of medical marijuana use, I could not stop thinking about the terrible choice our clients have to make between medical relief and immigration security.
Another client of mine who has narcolepsy told me that, prior to getting asylum, marijuana was the only thing that helped them properly sleep at night and maintain a regular schedule, which allowed them to keep a job outside their home. Marijuana was the only thing that worked, but they made the difficult choice to abandon marijuana use in order to not risk their chances of obtaining their green card and citizenship in the future. They wanted to make sure that they could continue to qualify for greater protection against deportation and continue to stay in the U.S., where they had found refuge as an asylee.
If you’re a U.S. citizen like me, you’ll never be confronted with that choice.
In December 2023, Biden issued a proclamation to pardon thousands of people convicted of the use and simple possession of marijuana on federal land and in Washington D.C. He also granted clemency to a select few people serving “disproportionately long” sentences for nonviolent charges. Biden has granted clemency to those in similar situations in the past, and officials within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) have recommended that the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) recategorize marijuana as a Schedule III drug, instead of Schedule I. This recategorization would allow for some medical uses to be legalized, but would keep recreational use illegal.
While states continue to legalize cannabis, and the Biden administration tries to push incremental change, immigrants in the U.S. disproportionately suffer from the outdated criminalization of a drug that people have used for thousands of years as a therapeutic remedy. Over 35 countries worldwide allow for some form of medical marijuana use. Despite illegality in the U.S., 50% of Americans said they had tried marijuana, in a 2023 Gallup poll. It is time for the federal government to stop pretending that marijuana is as dangerous as heroin. We must stop forcing immigrants to choose between the very real medical benefits of marijuana and protection from deportation.
Published January 22, 2024