In less than a month, Canada’s 10 provinces and 3 areas will join 9 American states and Washington D.C. that have completely legislated the recreational intake of cannabis.
But even after October 17th, a Canadian who drives from Vancouver to Seattle may be asked by a border agent if they have actually smoked pot in the past, and if they say yes, they might get prohibited from entry to the U.S. for life, despite the fact that pot is legal in Washington state.
Marijuana stays illegal under U.S. federal law, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has actually long sought to keep those who consume the substance out of the nation.
The assumption by the Canadian legal neighborhood had been that this border policy would pertain to an end following legalization. Nevertheless, the United States federal government validated previously this month that the policy will continue to use the rule that Canadians crossing into the U.S. after October 17th, and CBP has actually stated that changes in a foreign country’s laws will not impact their practices in the house.
” This is U.S. law, and under U.S. federal law, cannabis remains prohibited”, a representative from CBP informed the media
Canada’s ministries of Justice and Public Safety, which are collectively overseeing the procedure of cannabis legalization, have said they are continuing to work carefully with the United States government to make sure that there is a little interruption for Canadians taking a trip to the United States as possible once cannabis is legalized next month.
Nevertheless, they stressed that “despite one-in-eight Canadians utilizing cannabis today, 400,000 people move between our two countries every day nearly completely without incident.”
The Canadian federal government has long advised its citizens not to lie if a U.S. border representative asks about their pot use.
If a representative is able to discover evidence from someone who declares they have actually not smoked pot before that indicates otherwise, they can still be banned from entry to the U.S. anyhow– in this case, for lying to a customs officer.
At least one American legal representative has actually argued that this could even apply to the premier – the Canadian equivalent of a guv – of a province, since of government-owned dispensaries in locations consisting of British Columbia and Québec.
CBP verified that anyone who works in the cannabis industry could be subject to a restriction from entry to the U.S., whether they work for a government-run pot dispensary or one in the economic sector. “Operating in or helping with the proliferation of the cannabis market in Canada, or U.S. states where it is deemed legal, might affect a foreign national’s admissibility to the United States”, a spokesperson said.
In spite of the ban on pot smokers and pot sellers, the United States federal government seems to have less of a problem with actual pot entering the U.S. from Canada.
Canadians who end up getting hit with a lifetime restriction at the border can request a waiver from CBP that will permit them to come to America. Once they request it– at an expense of over $500, there’s no assurance that waiver will be approved.
Meanwhile, American migrants residing in Canada, along with American tourists returning house from a journey to Canada, will not have to worry about being locked out of their house country if they smoked legal pot north of the border: CBP’s policy just applies to foreign nationals.
By: McKenzie Santa Maria
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