Readings on marijuana laws’ impact on immigration and extradition issues

Especially because I tend to be under-informed about immigration laws and policies, I am very excited that the student-selected topic for discussion this week in my Marijuana Law, Policy and Reform seminar is the impact of marijuana laws on immigration and extradition issues. Here are the readings assembled by the students as background:

• Congress House Resolution 499 Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act of 2013 (Introduced 02/05/2013)

• Moncrieffe SCOTUS ruling summary from NY Times

• Nancy Morawetz, Rethinking Drug Inadmissibility, 50 Wm. & Mary L. Rev. 163 (2008) (accessed through Hein Online)

• US DOJ EOIR Fact Sheet, Forms of Relief From Removal

• Discussion of other alternatives as opposed to deporting aliens for possessing small amounts of marijuana

• Moncrieffe v. Holder – recent SCOTUS decision holding small amounts of marijuana is not an aggravated felony under the INA

• DOJ resource in immigration law fundamentals (focus on only page 25 and top of page 26 discussing controlled substances within the INA)

• Article “Reefer Madness” by Eric Schlosser from The Atlantic discussing the history of marijuana and marijuana prohibition in the U.S.

• A timeline of marijuana prohibition in the U.S. via PBS

UPDATE: My students also have suggested that these issues merit consideration of “whether or not legalizing marijuana in the United States will thwart the drug cartels in Mexico [and how this impacts] the massive amount of Mexican asylum cases the US is currently receiving (and denying).”

Here are additional readings on this topic:

• The reality for those seeking asylum from Mexico

And some conflicting views on whether or not marijuana legalization would stop Mexican cartels:

• From CBS News
• From The Atlantic
• From the New York Times