Canadian Super Bowl Contest Winner Refused Entry to US
About Michael John ScottMr. Scott is the owner and publisher of Mad Mike's America. He is a U.S. Army veteran, career law enforcement executive, and dog trainer. He is a university professor, and criminal justice consultant, holding several degrees, including a master's in criminal justice and human services. He has completed the requisite coursework toward his doctorate, and is still working on his dissertation.
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Only in America can a misdemeanor marijuana infraction, committed over 30 years ago, still be held against you. The ridiculous war on drugs claims yet another victim in the person of Canadian Myles Wilkinson.
Hundreds of thousands of Canadians are barred from the US because of minor marijuana busts.
(AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Ryan Remiorz)
Myles Wilkinson is one unlucky contest winner. The British Columbia man beat nearly 4 million other fantasy football players to win an all-expenses trip to the Super Bowl, only to be turned back because of a decades-old pot conviction, the CBC reports. American customs agents told Wilkinson he was barred from the US because of his 1981 marijuana possession, when he was busted with two grams and paid a $50 fine.
“I can’t believe that this is happening, for something that happened 32 years ago,” says Wilkinson, who was 19 when he was arrested. Pro-legalization campaigners in Canada say this is a common story, as hundreds of thousands of Canadians are banned for life from entering the US because of criminal records for possessing small amounts of cannabis. Small consolation: Contest sponsor Bud Light invited Wilkinson to attend its Super Bowl party in Vancouver.
James Smith
February 4, 2013 at 8:10 am
It’s no different going into Canada. You can and will be refused entry for the same type of infraction. I have friends in Quebec whose son i s a member of the Provincial police. He says it didn’t used to be this way, but since 9/11, they have put everything upon computers and are using any excuse to turn people away.
Perhaps it isn’t only the USA that is no longer a free country.
Michael John Scott
February 4, 2013 at 8:30 am
Interesting. I wasn’t aware of that James. Thanks.