poor guy...

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2013/02/03/bc-superbowl-fan-denied-us-entry.html

was this CANhawk?

Clearly the guy is still "using"

He knew he was not allowed here for the last 32 years however he still tried. WOW. WHY? And then to whine about it is pure comedy!

Absolutely ridiculous! 2 grams of weed when he was 19? And 32 years later he's still denied entry?!

Talk about "Reefer Madness!" Not only is the pot paranoia madness, it's complete lunacy!

Add to that the hypocrisy because of all the players that have smoked weed. Absofrickingalutely amazing.

I'm still pissed they wouldn't let me go...

Spokane wrote:Clearly the guy is still "using"

He knew he was not allowed here for the last 32 years however he still tried. WOW. WHY? And then to whine about it is pure comedy!

One mistake (if you can call having a couple grams of weed a mistake) 32 years ago kept the guy from a once in a lifetime opportunity. You'd bet your ass I'd whine about it.

I'm crossing the border through the woods and having a buddy pick me up a little bit down the road.

Trrrroy wrote:One mistake (if you can call having a couple grams of weed a mistake) 32 years ago kept the guy from a once in a lifetime opportunity. You'd bet your ass I'd whine about it.

I think anyone can understand a guy being upset about winning a contest but not receiving the prize. The proper way for him to react would have been to notice that he won the contest, grab the nearest object and throw it against the wall (my guess is it would have been his pipe)

But lets check the steps this genius made AFTER he knew he would never touch U.S. soil.

1) Entered and won a contest that would take him to a place he can't go
2) Packed his bags for a trip he can't take
3) He drove to the airport for a flight that he knew would never take off

That is the definition of full on stupid.

No one can a blame a policy that says "If you are a law breaker in your country, you may break the law here and we would rather not have you"

This is pathetic. Here we are, working on legalizing tens of millions of illegal immigrants just because, and a dude that has a free trip to the Super Bowl gets denied because he was caught with a couple grams of weed 3 decades ago.

Anybody that doesn't see this as blatant hypocrisy on the part of our beloved United States is just a mindless drone...

"Pure comedy"? Seems like a weird thing to find funny.

Weed isn't a drug and the government is a joke. That "crime" should have been given a pardon and the man should have been allowed to go to the game. LOL, even if he was selling the whole 2 grams of pot, it's still not even enough to go to jail in a lot of states. Keep the real druggies out of the country not the people who enjoy to smoke a little weed. God, the world is so hypocritical.

OH NO - not weed!!!! I'm sure this guy is a menace to society and should never touch our virgin US soil with his tainted feet again. He probably would have brought his demon weed to New Orleans and ruined that beautiful, pristine swamp of a sh!thole.

I could understand the reasons behind it if this was still 1975 but I think it time to take a look at asinine rules and laws like this. Poor guy, there's people out there that commit far worse crimes repeatedly and get treated better.

Spokane wrote:

Trrrroy wrote:One mistake (if you can call having a couple grams of weed a mistake) 32 years ago kept the guy from a once in a lifetime opportunity. You'd bet your ass I'd whine about it.

I think anyone can understand a guy being upset about winning a contest but not receiving the prize. The proper way for him to react would have been to notice that he won the contest, grab the nearest object and throw it against the wall (my guess is it would have been his pipe)

But lets check the steps this genius made AFTER he knew he would never touch U.S. soil.

1) Entered and won a contest that would take him to a place he can't go
2) Packed his bags for a trip he can't take
3) He drove to the airport for a flight that he knew would never take off

That is the definition of full on stupid.

No one can a blame a policy that says "If you are a law breaker in your country, you may break the law here and we would rather not have you"

After thinking about this I actually do think it's a genius move.

Think about it. For 32 years he's been suffering from a horse sh*t law. He's probably tried to get this changed legally to no avail. So what do you do? You drum up publicity and try to get public support behind you, and this is the perfect way. I think his ban might just get overturned now that the media is behind him.

I symphatize with the guy but what is funny with all the comments by the Canadians on the site blasting the US is they should see what their own country does.

I know people with traffic infractions that didn't make it to Canada for a WORK trip........

With all that said I don't care if it was a more serious crime - it was 32 years ago and should not be held against him

The US has a path for requesting entry despite his conviction and the guy simply didn't follow through on that. Maybe there wasn't enough time depending on when he won

That is some B.S. I think; basically the equivalent of not paying a parking ticket 30 years ago denied this guy border entry.

The guy who stopped him must have been a Packers fan

I saw this story on the local news the other day. NFL Canada and the Seahawks actually stepped up and hooked this guy up with a consolation prize. They sent Shaun Alexander up with a trunk full of NFL/Seahawks swag to give this guy and sent him to some big VIP Super Bowl party with cheerleaders etc. in Downtown Vancouver. He did okay all things considered.

Local TV news was stupid though. They didn't even recognize it was the great Shaun Alexander giving him all the free swag. They might as well have said "random black guy visits local pot head, gives him football" in their story. SMH

As for the border debate and the Canadian persepctive... I'm not going to comment other than saying that it's your country and your border. You guys need to do whatever you think you have to do to protect your house. I'm just happy I kept my nose clean enough in my misspent youth that you let me come down and visit every now and then.

FWIW though, I'm pretty sure this dude could have gotten a Queen's Pardon for a charge that petty and that old at pretty much any time and the US would let him enter. He might have had to go through an extra hoop with the US border service folks too, but I don't think it would have been too difficult. He was just stupid.

CANhawk -- I think despite a pardon it stays on your record and the US doesn't acknowledge it. There is a waiver process that he would have to do (I think each time for entry but could be wrong) and am sure it would get cleared. Probably not enough time in there for that

mikeak wrote:CANhawk -- I think despite a pardon it stays on your record and the US doesn't acknowledge it. There is a waiver process that he would have to do (I think each time for entry but could be wrong) and am sure it would get cleared. Probably not enough time in there for that

You are correct sir!

If the individual in question had got a US Immigration Dept. entry waiver (of his record) prior to showing up at the border he likely would have been allowed entry to the US. I know of individuals who have Nexus passes allowing speedy passage through the border who have had a drug conviction, the conviction is in fact described on the Nexus pass for the border agent. To me it seems to be heavy handed to refuse entry in a circumstance such as this but it has long been clear that Immigration does not allow individuals with criminal records especially those involving what are described as offences of moral turpitude, i.e.: drugs, theft & related, sexual offences, entry into the USA.

At some point greater clarity on the subject would allow individuals such as the man above a better understanding of what hoops they would have to clear to be allowed entry into the USA. Mikeak is totally right the conviction remains on your record for Immigration purposes for life regardless of any pardon.

Spokane wrote:Clearly the guy is still "using"

He knew he was not allowed here for the last 32 years however he still tried. WOW. WHY? And then to whine about it is pure comedy!

Seriously dude? bit harsh don't cha think.. i think this story is complete and utter BS... Yet another fine example of your crack government at work.... nerve of that guy smoking some pot in his teens..

SouthSoundHawk wrote:I'm crossing the border through the woods and having a buddy pick me up a little bit down the road.

That's why God invented Sumas.

BillA

hawker84 wrote:

Spokane wrote:Clearly the guy is still "using"

He knew he was not allowed here for the last 32 years however he still tried. WOW. WHY? And then to whine about it is pure comedy!

Seriously dude? bit harsh don't cha think.. i think this story is complete and utter BS... Yet another fine example of your crack government at work.... nerve of that guy smoking some pot in his teens..

Really? You are really going to point the finger at the US? Canada is no better. My brother's father in law got a dui in the 60s and has to go through some kind of Queen's Pardon or something to be allowed into Canada.

Look, laws are laws. We like to think we can pick and choose what laws are worth obeying and everything will be ok. Don't like a law? Just ignore it. Hakuna matata, right? And it seems logical that law enforcement can and should do the same. Sometimes they do, but in doing so they are taking a risk that could mean their career. We may think we are more important than that career, but to expect that officer to think so also is really absurd.

Bottom line: If you don't like a law, don't ignore it and cry about it when it finally bites you in the ass. Become an activist and change the law. If that is too much work for you, please don't point fingers at the "stupidity of the government." Remember Lincoln's words, "and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."