A Canadian psychotherapist denied US entry because of past LSD use
Andrew Feldmar, A Canadian psychotherapist was denied entry into the United States after he admitted past use of LSD in a statement to the border officials. The full article can be found here:
LSD as Therapy? Write about It, Get Barred from US
” The Blaine border guard explained that Feldmar had been pulled out of the line as part of a random search. [...]
When Feldmar said he was psychologist, the official typed his name into his Internet search engine. Before long the customs guard was engrossed in an article Feldmar had published in the spring 2001 issue of the journal Janus Head. The article concerned an acid trip Feldmar had taken in London, Ontario, and another in London, England, almost forty years ago. It also alluded to the fact that he had used hallucinogenics as a “path” to understanding self and that in certain cases, he reflected, it could “be preferable to psychiatry.”
The official said that under the Homeland Security Act, Feldmar was being denied entry due to “narcotics” use. [...] He asked for a statement from Feldmar admitting to having used LSD and he fingerprinted Feldmar for an FBI file.” [...]
“Admitted drug use is admitted drug use,” says Mike Milne, spokesman for U.S. border and protection, based in Seattle. [...] If there’s no criminal record, as in Feldmar’s case? Not necessarily the criterion, Milne said. You can still be considered dangerous.
Admittedly, the federal government has plenty of leeway when deciding whom it admits into this country. However, as this incident demonstrates, a researcher who ventures into the areas that are pretty much designated as taboo here (and who publishes its findings) can easily become a persona non grata.
I wonder if the outcome would have been different had Feldmar not admitted his LSD use to the border authorities? Would the US still be able to exclude Feldmar just on the basis of his article? Would such a decision to exclude Feldmar be more legally suspect than the one based on his statement admitting drug use? Considering that it happened to a non-US national in an immigration situation, not too many venues for challenging the denial of entry are open to him. However, just considering the situation on its merits raises all sorts of interesting Constitutional issues.