The laws had the effect of automatically erasing certain low-level convictions related to the drug. Yet, for many immigrants who received deportation orders because of their marijuana convictions, the benefits of these new laws have yet to materialize. Mr. Siriboe was ordered to be deported in 2013 because of three convictions for low-level marijuana sales from 1999 to 2001. For nearly a decade, Mr. Siriboe was forced to check in with Immigration and Customs Enforcement at least twice a year while he waited for the government to deport him. He also watched with hope as the New York Legislature debated, and then passed, its 2019 law decriminalizing marijuana.

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Persons: Kwame Siriboe, Siriboe Organizations: Customs, New, Legislature Locations: New York, Ghanaian, Immigration