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FourScore

(9,704 posts)
Mon Feb 4, 2013, 02:12 AM Feb 2013

Canadian man misses Super Bowl trip after 1981 pot bust denies him entry to U.S.

Canadian man misses Super Bowl trip after 1981 pot bust denies him entry to U.S.
By Frank Schwab | Shutdown Corner – 8 hours ago

Myles Wilkinson won a fantasy football contest to attend Super Bowl XLVII, but his dreams of going to the big game went up in smoke because of a 1981 pot bust.

According to a story by the CBC, the 50-year Canadian man was denied entry to the United States this week because of a conviction for possession of two grams of marijuana over 30 years ago.

Wilkinson, a Seattle Seahawks fan from Vancouver Island, beat out almost four million other players to win the trip to see the San Francisco 49ers play the Baltimore Ravens. But when he got to the airport on Thursday, U.S. customs agents brought up an arrest the man had when he was 19. They denied him entry to the country and ended any chance of making it down to New Orleans for a memorable weekend.

"I had two grams of cannabis. I paid a $50 fine," Wilkinson told CBC. "I can't believe that this is happening, for something that happened 32 years ago."


http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/canadian-man-wins-contest-attend-super-bowl-not-210921980--nfl.html

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Canadian man misses Super Bowl trip after 1981 pot bust denies him entry to U.S. (Original Post) FourScore Feb 2013 OP
Unfortunately, this happens all the time, and in both directions. Comrade Grumpy Feb 2013 #1
Try the French...They're really something. FourScore Feb 2013 #2
Yep, and in Canada laundry_queen Feb 2013 #3
Thank you for making the very point I was going to. Lone_Star_Dem Feb 2013 #4
A friend of my father was denied entry into Canada for a fishing trip Jenoch Feb 2013 #5
That's really stupid. Especially because, potheads make GREAT tourists. Warren DeMontague Feb 2013 #6
Americans lose employment prospects over these "pot" records Kolesar Feb 2013 #7
Happens every day bilaterally ProgressiveProfessor Feb 2013 #8
 

Comrade Grumpy

(13,184 posts)
1. Unfortunately, this happens all the time, and in both directions.
Mon Feb 4, 2013, 02:23 AM
Feb 2013

Customs in both countries will bar your entry for ancient minor marijuana offenses. I used to think US Customs were the worst dicks in the world, until I had a few run-ins with their Canadian brethren.

laundry_queen

(8,646 posts)
3. Yep, and in Canada
Mon Feb 4, 2013, 02:38 AM
Feb 2013

you used to be able to apply for a pardon (the vast majority were granted) and then all was a-ok to travel to the US. Those stopped not too long ago...but I find it hard to believe this guy didn't apply for a pardon before now. Strange. But no matter...it's still a dumbass rule for both countries (as you said, it's one of those laws that works both ways...)

Lone_Star_Dem

(28,158 posts)
4. Thank you for making the very point I was going to.
Mon Feb 4, 2013, 02:47 AM
Feb 2013

Never forget when I was crossing the border into Canada with a friend and her mother. That's how we found out her mom had been a bit less rigid in her youth than she always professed to have been. As her arrest for pot when she was 20 was a testament to.

Warren DeMontague

(80,708 posts)
6. That's really stupid. Especially because, potheads make GREAT tourists.
Mon Feb 4, 2013, 03:27 AM
Feb 2013

They'll eat a lot, buy souveniers, take in lots of entertainment, local shows, etc.

Stupid.

Kolesar

(31,182 posts)
7. Americans lose employment prospects over these "pot" records
Mon Feb 4, 2013, 07:10 AM
Feb 2013

Clever people who could have contributed a lot to society are doomed to trivial jobs with low pay and little responsibility. I hope they start clearing records in Washington and Colorado.

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