Alt text: a marijuana joint on a rosemary branch. Photographed by Aldo Emanuel, May 2025.
Fear and Cost Turn Non-Citizens Toward Risky Cannabis Solutions
Reported by Lina Jeong and Aldo Emanuel
Illustrated by Kari Trail
California State University, Northridge
May 2025
Raina faced an agonizing choice. She suffered from excruciating lower abdominal and pelvic pain, yet she feared going to the hospital. An undocumented immigrant from Honduras, she avoided places where personal information is collected, like medical facilities. But once over-the-counter painkillers stopped working, she asked her daughter, Alondra, to buy her disposable cannabis vapes.
Raina and Alondra, who asked to be identified by their middle names to protect their privacy, said cannabis became their only option when formal healthcare felt too risky or unaffordable.
As cannabis legalization sweeps across the United States, a quiet collision is unfolding. Portable modern marijuana products are easier than ever to buy, yet they still exist in a regulatory gray zone, with loose oversight, unpredictable health risks and lingering federal penalties. At the same time, many noncitizens are turning to cannabis as a workaround for a medical system they can’t trust or afford. But this alternative wellness market is built on shaky ground and vulnerable immigrant users face health and legal implications.
After immigrating, Raina began experiencing symptoms that were eventually diagnosed as endometriosis. But for a long time, fear kept her from seeking medical care.
“She was too scared to get medical help because she thought going to a hospital would lead to her being found out and deported,” Alondra recalled.
The diagnosis came only after a neighbor’s son, a doctor, visited their home and examined Raina free of charge. With no resources and limited options, the family turned to alternative methods.
“He mentioned a weed store nearby and said some people used marijuana to help with pain,” Alondra said. “My mom was really desperate at that point, so she decided to try it. It helped with the pain, at least in the short term, but it wasn’t a permanent fix. It’s now a Band-Aid-over-a-bullet-hole situation.”
"It’s now a Band-Aid-over-bullet-hole situation.”
Alondra, age 28
Alt text: a woman with wavy hair, glasses, and a necklace.
Illustrated by Kari Trail, 2025.
For immigrants who fear traditional healthcare settings, dispensaries represent an accessible alternative. They are also often more affordable. Nearly 45% of undocumented immigrants are uninsured, compared to just 8% of U.S. citizens, largely because they're ineligible for federal programs like Medicare, Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act marketplaces.
Uninsured individuals face significant barriers: Half have no usual source of care, 24% postpone seeking care due to cost and 20% go without needed care altogether.
While a routine doctor's visit may be out of reach, walking into a marijuana dispensary often isn't. With a quick flash of identification and some cash, access to pain relief is often easier through a storefront than a hospital door.
"We don't really have the ability to check citizenship or anything like that. And to be honest, we wouldn't, it wouldn't matter to us," said Chad Britton, manager at Strain Caregivers in Chatsworth, California. Customer data is minimally collected and tightly protected. Even when IDs are scanned, it's solely to track purchasing patterns rather than customer identities.
"A lot of people come in here and they're scared to give us their IDs or information because they think we're gonna go back and check," said Jay Santos from Xzibit's West Coast Cannabis in Chatsworth, California. "That's not the case at all."
"You could use ID, you could use a passport and you could use IDs from different states or countries," Britton said. Both dispensaries accept wide ranges of identification documents, creating low barriers to entry.
"We've noticed a lot of regulars who are not coming in like they used to, who have passports. A lot of people are very afraid of being deported," Santos said, noting the federal illegality of marijuana has instilled paranoia about buying and using the drug.
"We’ve noticed a lot of regulars who are not
coming in like they used to, that have passports.
A lot of people are very afraid of being deported."
Jay Santos, XZIBIT’s West Coast Cannabis, Chatsworth
Alt text: a man with dark, curly hair and light eyes.
Illustrated by Kari Trail, 2025.
This ease of access comes with serious consequences for immigrants. Rachel Ray, Managing Attorney at the UC Davis School of Law Immigration Law Clinic, emphasized that despite state-level legalization, marijuana remains illegal under federal law.
"A drug-related arrest or conviction can have serious consequences, including deportation, for non-citizens living in the U.S.," she said.
Even lawful purchases from licensed dispensaries can become grounds for immigration trouble. Non-citizens applying for green cards, asylum, DACA or citizenship may be asked if they've ever used marijuana.
"Some immigration officers ask non-citizens if they have ever used marijuana – especially in states that have legalized marijuana," Ray noted. These questions can come up during naturalization interviews, visa applications, medical exams or routine encounters with immigration officials.
"There is no way we can be sure if or to what extent dispensaries keep records or share information," Ray said. "Many people today who use marijuana recreationally, medicinally or may work in the industry still don't know that marijuana use can affect immigration status and only learn about the consequences when they meet with an immigration attorney."
In a system where legality varies by jurisdiction but immigration consequences are federally enforced, one uninformed decision can quietly sabotage years of progress toward legal residency, protection or citizenship.
Dispensaries in Los Angeles
Green dots represent concentration of dispensaries in the city of Los Angeles.
Source: Census Reporter
Created with DataWrapper
Median Household Income
by Zip Code
Source: Census Reporter
Map data: © Esri, TomTom North America, Inc., United States Postal Service
Created with Datawrapper
Dispensaries are abundant in Los Angeles, with just over 1,400 active licenses for cannabis sales and nearly 300 retail stores. These maps show the areas and concentration of retail dispensaries throughout Los Angeles alongside a breakdown of median household income by zip code. Dispensaries are citywide but heavily concentrated in East L.A., North Hollywood, Chatsworth and Downtown.
A collision unfolds between cannabis legalization and healthcare inequality as non-citizens, desperate for relief, turn to marijuana as they remain excluded from the healthcare system. Like Raina, what began as a last resort now reflects a broader shift in how underserved Americans access relief. Dispensary workers describe a growing number of fearful yet regular customers.
Despite its growing role as a substitute for formal care, marijuana remains under-researched, with limited studies on its long-term health effects. As legalization spreads and cannabis becomes more embedded, the U.S. faces a pressing need for both more FDA regulations and renewed investment in a healthcare system that too many people have been forced to abandon.
During President Donald Trump’s previous term, the administration rescinded policies that had curbed federal prosecution of marijuana cases in states where it was legal and introduced budget proposals that removed protections for state medical marijuana programs.
However, a 2025 Pew Research poll reflected that a majority of Republicans under 50 support the legalization of medical and recreational marijuana. This points to a generational shift that may pressure the administration to reconsider its unclear stance and explore what cannabis reform could look like under Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.