States that legalize marijuana see a \u201cmoderate relative decrease\u201d in immigrant deportation rates compared to states where the drug remains illegal, according to a new study, as well as a slight decrease in overall cannabis-related arrests.<\/p>\n
The Columbia University researchers behind the study, published in the journal BMC Public Health, said the findings show recreational cannabis laws (RCLs) could \u201chelp to mitigate some of the unintended immigration-related consequences of cannabis prohibition.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cArrest trends in both legalization and non-legalization states were relatively similar, and generally stable over the period,\u201d authors said. \u201cFor the deportation outcome, trends suggested that the overall prevalence of deportations decreased between 2009 and 2020.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOur results suggest that the RCLs were associated with a moderate relative decrease in deportation levels, that was observed relatively consistently across multiple model specifications. Findings also suggested potential relative decreases in immigration arrest levels; however for almost all specifications, associated confidence intervals were wide and included the null. Together these finding support the overall possibility that RCLs may help to mitigate some of the unintended immigration-related consequences of cannabis prohibition.\u201d<\/p>\n
Researchers didn\u2019t reach any specific conclusion about the seeming connection between state-level legalization and decreased deportations. But it is the case that all 11 sanctuary states for immigrants, where it is generally the policy to discourage reporting immigrants to federal authorities, are also states that have legalized cannabis for adult use.<\/p>\n
Further, legalization broadly leads to decreased arrests for cannabis-related offenses, so it\u2019s likely fewer immigrants would be caught up in marijuana criminalization in the first place, regardless of the potential referral to federal agencies.<\/p>\n
The researchers did point to two \u201ccountervailing pathways\u201d that they said are \u201crelevant to anticipating the potential immigration implications of RCL adoption\u201d:<\/p>\n
\u201cFirst, RCLs could lead to potential decreases in the overall number of cannabis-related arrests or convictions, and therefore cannabis-related immigration enforcement. A second possibility, however, is that state adoption of RCLs might lead more people who are non-citizens to reasonably but falsely assume that federal immigration status is unaffected by cannabis use permissible under state law\u2014potentially leading to increases in immigration enforcement.\u201d<\/p>\n
In other words, state legalization could risk giving immigrants a false sense of security.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause cannabis remains illegal at the federal level,\u201d the study says, \u201ccannabis infractions, even for minor or civil offenses, and otherwise \u2018legal\u2019 cannabis-related conduct, can have severe repercussions for people who are not US citizens, including temporary or permanent residents, dreamers and those granted asylum.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cUnder federal policy, a conviction, charge, or admission of simple cannabis possession is considered by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as sufficient grounds for status ineligibility, arrest, detention, or deportation, as is employment in the cannabis industry,\u201d it says<\/a>.<\/p>\n There have been efforts by members of Congress to address that issue. For example, in 2022, a House spending bill for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) included a section that would have prevented the agency from using any federal funding to deny admission to, or deport, immigrants who\u2019ve used or possessed marijuana<\/a>.<\/p>\n Similar language also\u00a0advanced through the appropriations process<\/a> in 2021, but it was not included in the final package following bicameral negotiations. Nor was the 2022 version.<\/p>\n Advocates have also pressured the Biden administration to extend presidential cannabis possession pardons to the immigrant community<\/a>. But immigrants have not been included in either of the last two clemency rounds.<\/p>\n The new study says more research is needed to understand the interactions between cannabis and immigration policy.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile our results are specific to immigration arrests and deportations, these findings add to a growing body of literature evaluating the social justice and health equity implications of cannabis law reforms including RCLs,\u201d the study says. \u201cGiven significant overlap between drug and immigration enforcement, but relatively few studies on this topic, additional research is needed to examine other important dimensions of these intersecting issues.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFuture research employing exposures more proximate to immigration enforcement, such as examination of cannabis arrest or conviction rates directly\u2014and related mediation analyses\u2014would also strengthen the evidence for a causal relationship between cannabis policies and immigration enforcement activities,\u201d authors wrote. \u201cTrends in immigration enforcement should also continue to be monitored as more states adopt RCLs and as additional follow-up time post-legalization is accumulated.\u201d<\/p>\n Under legislation introduced in 2021, an immigrant\u2019s admission to prior marijuana use could no longer be used to deny them<\/a> U.S. citizenship.<\/p>\n According to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), a person who currently admits to using cannabis\u2014even in compliance with state law\u2014is morally unfit for citizenship. The agency clarified that position in a 2019 memo<\/a>, adding that employment in a state-legal marijuana market is another factor that could impact a person\u2019s immigration status.<\/p>\n In June 2019, a coalition of 10 senators sent a letter to the head of the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security calling for a rule change to\u00a0permit people working in state-legal markets to gain citizenship<\/a>.<\/p>\n The letter echoes points made in a\u00a0separate message sent by a bipartisan group of 43 House members<\/a>\u00a0earlier that year. In that letter, the group called the USCIS guidance \u201cfatally flawed, as it provides no cogent basis for the agency\u2019s apparent conclusion that lawful employment in a state-licensed industry could be treated as a negative factor in establishing good moral character and places a negative burden upon the individuals against a non-existent discretionary element.\u201d<\/p>\n Congressional Progressive Caucus Says Democrats Can Legalize Marijuana If They Win House And Senate Majorities In November Election<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Photo courtesy of Mike Latimer.<\/em><\/p>\n The post State Marijuana Legalization Linked To Fewer Immigrant Deportations, Study Finds<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
States that legalize marijuana see a \u201cmoderate relative decrease\u201d in immigrant deportation rates compared to states where the drug remains illegal, according to a new study, as well as a slight decrease in overall cannabis-related arrests. The Columbia University researchers behind the study, published in the journal BMC Public Health,Continue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,15462],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74533"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/458"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=74533"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74533\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":74534,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74533\/revisions\/74534"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=74533"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=74533"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=74533"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
\n
\nRead More: State Marijuana Legalization Linked To Fewer Immigrant Deportations, Study Finds<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"