If youâve ever smoked pot in your life, you may want to think twice about answering certain questions at the U.S. border on your next trip south.
Even though recreational marijuana is legal in several U.S. states and will be legal across Canada on Oct. 17, possession of marijuana is still a criminal offence under U.S. federal law.
That means that answering a U.S. border officerâs questions about your marijuana use could have serious consequences.
âItâs basically black and white â if you admit to a U.S. border officer at a U.S. port of entry that youâve smoked marijuana in the past, whether itâs in Canada or the U.S., you will be barred entry for life to the United States,â immigration lawyer Len Saunders told CTVâs Your Morning on Tuesday.
Saunders, who is based in Washington state, said that Canadians who get the lifetime ban can still apply for temporary waivers, which can allow them to cross the border for up to five years.
But they will have to keep re-applying to get those waivers for life and the process can be lengthy and costly.
According to the , an application for a waiver of inadmissibility costs US$585 and can take up to a year to process. The application requires a lot of paperwork, which may include fingerprinting and a verification of your criminal record.
Saunders said he expects U.S. border officers will be asking Canadians more frequently about cannabis use once pot is legal here.
Heâs not advising Canadians to lie to U.S. border officials, but said they simply donât have to answer when asked if theyâve ever smoked pot.
âAs a Canadian citizen at a U.S. point of entry, you have the right not to answer that question,â he said.
Those who refuse to answer the question may be denied entry to the U.S. that day, but itâs better than being slapped with a lifetime ban, Saunders said.
He said heâs had clients whoâve told him they were threatened with lie detector and drug tests, but those are not allowed at the border.
According to Statistics Canada, 49.4 per cent of men and 35.8 per cent of women admit to using marijuana at some point in their lives.
the Canadian government warns travellers that âprevious use of cannabis, or any other substance prohibited by local law, could result in a traveller being denied entry to their destination country.â
âEach country or territory decides who can enter or exit through its borders. The Government of Canada cannot intervene on your behalf if you do not meet your destinationâs entry or exit requirements,â the warning says.