Rock legend Neil Young was looking forward to voting against President Donald Trump in 2020, but marijuana is holding up his American citizenship, he revealed in a blog post.
The Canadian-born musician, who has lived in California for some two-thirds of his life, noted on Friday that he applied for dual citizenship so he could vote in the U.S. Young said he “passed the test,” in which he was “asked questions” that he “answered truthfully.”
Now “I have been told that I must do another test, due to my use of marijuana, and how some people who smoke it have exhibited a problem,” he wrote.
Pot use may indicate poor “moral character,” according to a “policy alert” by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
The change in the “moral character” standards was issued in April, when Jeff Sessions was attorney general. “An applicant who is involved in certain marijuana-related activities may lack GMC [Good Moral Character] if found to have violated federal law, even if such activity is not unlawful under applicable state or foreign laws,” the policy now states.
“I sincerely hope I have exhibited good moral character and will be able to vote my conscience Donald Trump and his fellow American candidates,” Young deadpanned on his website. He promised to keep fans “posted.”
Young told the Los Angeles Times last month that he then planned to take the oath of citizenship on Nov. 12, the day he turns 74. The key point, he noted: “I’ll be able to vote.”
Young said: “I pay taxes down here; my beautiful family is all down here — they’re all Americans, so I want to register my opinion. We’ve got a climate emergency, and governments are not acting.”
The Rock and Roll Hall-of-Famer has frequently criticized Trump. Last year, he called the president a “mess” who “doesn’t have the balls to look anybody in the face and tell them anything.” After Young lost his second California home to a wildfire a year ago, he called the “so-called president” a climate change “denier” and an “unfit leader.”
After Young complained about Trump using his music for a campaign event in 2015, Trump said: “The guy’s calling me all the time. He loves me.”