U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) recently released a statement on Canada’s legalization of marijuana warning that “working in or facilitating the proliferation of the legal marijuana industry in the U.S. states where it is deemed legal or Canada may affect admissibility to the U.S.”  Although medical and recreational marijuana may be legal in some states and Canada, the sale, possession, production and distribution of marijuana (or activities the facilitate the same) remain illegal under U.S. federal law. CBP unequivocally states that Canada’s legalization of marijuana will not change their enforcement of U.S. federal laws regarding controlled substances. CBP advises that crossing the border or arriving at a U.S. port of entry in violation of this U.S. federal controlled substance law may result in seizure, fines, and/or arrest and impact inadmissibility.  

CBP Officers will be responsible for making determinations on admissibility and whether any regulatory or criminal enforcement is appropriate based on the known facts and circumstances. Generally, any arriving alien who is determined to be a drug abuser or addict, or who is convicted of, admits having committed, or admits committing, acts which constitute the essential elements of a violation of (or an attempt or conspiracy to violate) any law or regulation of a state, the U.S., or a foreign country relating to a controlled substance, is admissible to the U.S.

SRW Border Lawyers will be closely monitoring the impact of the legalization of marijuana in Canada and crossing the U.S. border. We will also be providing supplemental blogs on this hot topic.