Criminal Defense of Immigrants

(A)  Included Forms of Marijuana.  The INS General Counsel has ruled that conviction of simple possession of 30 grams or less (or its equivalent) of hashish, THC or other cannabis products comes within the marijuana exception to the deportation ground.  In the context of the INA § 212(h), 8 U.S.C. § 1182(h) waiver, however, the General Counsel recommended that the INS deny a waiver to someone who possessed an amount of hashish equivalent to more than 30 grams of marijuana leaves.[328]

For equivalency determinations, the General Counsel Opinion referred to 18 U.S.C. App. 4 § 2D1.1 (Drug Equivalency Table, Schedule I, Marijuana) used for sentencing.  This table states, for example, that 30 grams of cannabis resin is equivalent to 150 grams of marijuana, thirty grams of hashish oil is equivalent to 1500 grams of marijuana, thirty grams of Tetrahydocannabinol (THC) is equivalent to 5,010 grams of marijuana.  The Genco opinion noted that 6 grams of cannabis resin is the equivalent of 30 grams of marijuana leaves. 

[328] See INS General Counsel Legal Opinion 96-3 (Apr. 23, 1996), withdrawing previous INS General Counsel Legal Opinion 92-47 (Aug. 9, 1992).  See also 21 U.S.C. § 802(16), defining marijuana to include all parts of the Cannabis plant, including hashish.