Experts are continuing to warn Canadians to use extreme caution when talking cannabis at the United States border.
Immigration lawyers say they’re preparing for a spike in outright bans for Canadians to openly admit to marijuana use.
American Customs and Border Protection officials continue to warn that anyone who admits to using marijuana prior to Oct. 17, the day it became legal in Canada, could be banned from entering the country.
“I think we’re going to start seeing more people getting banned, not because of them smoking marijuana after Oct. 17, but just because they think they have nothing to hide and they blurt out that they smoked marijuana when they were 18,” said Toronto-based immigration lawyer Henry Chang.
“That’s going to happen, because people just don’t understand that it’s still barred.”
A recent report of Canadians traveling to a major cannabis conference in Las Vegas was investors and industry workers on edge.
U.S. border staff at the airport in Toronto steered several attendees through a secondary screening process, said Global Public Affairs’ senior vice president Rod Elliot, who advises various clients in the cannabis industry.
Elliot said he was one of roughly 25 people who were selected for additional screening — several of whom missed their flights, including him. He travelled to Las Vegas the next morning without incident.
“Don’t dress like a hippie, don’t smell like marijuana, because then the questions get asked,” explained Chang.
“If you are asked the question, your only option is to refuse to answer, say it’s irrelevant, you refuse to answer — you’ll get into trouble, they’ll detain you, you’ll get sent back to Canada, but at least you don’t have anything on the record saying you engaged in controlled-substance use.”
With files from the Canadian Press.
