Since breaking free of his duties to the royal family, Prince Harry, 38, has opened up about his vulnerabilities and struggles being in the royal family, including his past drug use to cope with mental health problems. In his memoir, Spare, the prince revealed that he used recreational drugs, including marijuana, magic mushrooms, and cocaine, to calm himself down and contend with his very public life. Now, legal experts debate whether the royal could face issues with his US visa application and risk deportation since admitting to using drugs.
Prince Harry Admits To Using Recreational Drugs To Get By In Memoir 'Spare'
In a public conversation with Dr. Gabor Maté, an addiction and trauma expert, to promote his new memoir Spare (which was released earlier this year), the duke admitted to using cocaine, marijuana, and alcohol in his past to deal with pain, and that using psychedelics was a "fundamental" instrument to help him heal from trauma.
Regarding his use of psychedelics, Harry told Maté, "It was the cleaning of the windscreen, the cleaning of the windshield, the removal of life's filters." He continued, "It removed it all for me and brought me a sense of relaxation, release, comfort, a lightness that I managed to hold on to for a period of time. I started doing it recreationally and then started to realize how good it was for me."
Earlier in the interview, he admitted that his cocaine use was more just a "social thing" to feel a "sense of belonging" and didn't do much for him. He admitted that marijuana helped him, but alcohol was also more of a social thing that involved a lot of "peer pressure" to participate.
Still, Harry noted that there is "always a purpose" behind substance use, which often eases some pain or "creates a different feeling" when what you are currently feeling is not acceptable. The duke admitted that using magic mushrooms or psychedelics should be done with a "professional because you don't actually don't know what's going to come up."
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Since Prince Harry's admission, US conservative think tank, The Heritage Foundation, questioned if Prince Harry also admitted his drug use on his US visa application. They demanded that his visa application be released out of "public interest" and freedom of information laws.
As reported by TalkTV News, a source close to the former royal told The Telegraph that he was truthful about his drug use on his application, and has even admitted continued since moving to America in 2020.
A US State Department spokesman told the Daily Mail, "Visa records are confidential under Section 222(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA); therefore, we cannot discuss the details of individual visa cases."
Legal Experts Debate Whether Prince Harry Could Run Into Issues With US Visa Application Since Admitting Drug Use
Since admitting publicly to his frequent use of drugs in the past, legal experts have come forward to debate whether or not it could become an issue for him as a US visa holder. Some say it definitely could become an issue for the British royal, and others say as long as he faces no criminal charges, he should be fine.
Page Six spoke to several lawyers to garner an understanding. Neama Rahmani, a former federal prosecutor said, "An admission of drug use is usually grounds for inadmissibility." He said that "Prince Harry's visa should have been denied or revoked because he admitted to using cocaine, mushrooms, and other drugs." The lawyer added that there is “no exception for royalty or recreational use.”
That doesn't sound too good for the British ex-pat, who is likely on a spousal visa through his American wife Meghan Markle or received an O-1 visa, which is given to those with "extraordinary ability," as reported by the Daily Mail. It's still unclear what type of visa he holds, but his visa may be up this year since he moved to the States in 2020, which may mean he will need to be interviewed this year, potentially facing questions about his drug use.
< People who emigrate to the US are typically given a three-year visa, meaning Prince Harry will need to apply for a new visa, or a Green Card, or citizenship, this year, which could be a problem in light of his recent admissions. > https://t.co/97Erjame1I
— Baroness Bruck (@BaronessBruck) April 4, 2023
Despite Rahmani's belief that Prince Harry could face some legal troubles with his US visa, others are less certain.
Attorney James Leonard, a lawyer to “The Real Housewives of New Jersey” alum Joe Giudice in his immigration case, said to Page Six, "Absent any criminal charge related to drugs or alcohol or any finding by a judicial authority that Prince Harry is a habitual drug user, which he clearly is not, I don’t see any issue with the disclosures in his memoir regarding recreational experimentation with drugs." Leonard noted that Harry's honesty in his book is not likely to trigger a criminal investigation.
Immigration lawyer Sam Adair agreed with former housewife-lawyer Leonard, who wrote that recreational drug use is “not something that is likely to have been raised in a visa interview. The drug use could be an issue if there had ever been an arrest, charge, or conviction, but recreational use would not likely come up in the visa interview."
We'll have to keep an eye on out this one but given Prince Harry's position of power and that there are no criminal charges against him, it's possible he'll the royal treatment and avoid legal missteps.
