The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) hasn’t yet decided how the 2018 Farm Bill will be applied to travelers who are found with CBD oil on them or in their luggage. Before those updated guidelines are adopted, foreign nationals seeking entry into the U.S. still face fines, arrest and lifetime entry bans for being found in possession of “an illegal substance.”
This position was brought to light when a young Canadian lady was stopped at a border crossing, fined $500 for having a bottle of CBD oil and then given a bunch of papers indicating that she had been banned for life from ever entering the U.S.
Immigration experts say that she isn’t alone in that situation as thousands of Canadians have been caught up in the U.S. federal government’s insistence that all cannabis products are controlled substances that cannot be allowed through the country’s entry points.
The woman referred to earlier was stopped for a secondary inspection and the immigration officer asked her if she had any “leafy greens” on her. Thinking that the officer meant marijuana flower or a rolled joint of weed, the woman said she didn’t, but the officer proceeded to search her.
The discovery of CBD oil in her possessions resulted in an immediate $500 fine for her failure to declare the substance. She told an immigration lawyer that she was shocked by the fine and denial of entry since she uses CBD for medicinal purposes and it is non-intoxicating.
Immigration lawyers say that people who have had a lifetime entry ban slapped on them after they are denied entry can only apply for reentry and hope that they are granted a waiver from their lifetime ban.
That application process is a lengthy and costly one since the applicant has to pay an application fee of $600 and submit a bunch of paperwork, such as their employment history and drug test results to confirm that they are no longer using a controlled substance.
A person who has received a waiver from a lifetime entry ban has to renew the waiver annually or every two years. It is something that affects them for the rest of their lives.
Many people who get the lifetime bans opt not to apply for the waiver since the process involves giving the U.S. federal government a lot of personal information which will stay on file “forever.”
When asked whether the Farm Bill didn’t require a change in the position of CBP regarding CBD oil, border protection agents said that officials are free to use their discretion to determine matters of admissibility into the U.S. and since the CBP hasn’t released guidelines advising its agents not to flag CBD oil, then chances are those found with it will be denied entry or worse.
It is inconsistencies like these that cause CBD experts to imagine that industry participants like Green Growth Brands Inc. (CSE: GGB) (OTCQB: GGBXF) and Hemptown USA feel extremely frustrated that someone can be banned for being found with CBD oil at a border crossing and yet the same product is legal and can bought anywhere within the country.
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