Feds: still illegal to bring marijuana into US from Canada
(Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
DETROIT - U.S. officials are reminding travelers that it remains illegal to bring marijuana into the United States at border crossings despite the legalization of the drug in Canada.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection representative Christopher Perry says the implementation of the new Canadian law on Wednesday thus far has had little effect on the flow of traffic along the border.
Perry, CBP's director of field operations in Michigan, talked to reporters at the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel, which connects Detroit with Windsor, Ontario.
According to Perry, U.S. border agents are asking the same kinds of questions of travelers that they did prior to the change in Canadian law, adding that agents generally will not ask routine questions about marijuana use.
On Wednesday, Canada became the largest country with a legal national marijuana marketplace. Additionally, the country announced it would pardon those with convictions of possession up to 30 grams of pot, which is now the legal threshold.
Canada has had legal medical marijuana since 2001 and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government has spent two years working toward expanding that to include recreational marijuana. The goal is to better reflect society's changing opinion about marijuana and bring black market operators into a regulated system.
At least 111 legal pot shops are planning to open across the nation of 37 million people on the first day. Canadians also can order marijuana products through websites run by provinces or private retailers and have it delivered to their homes by mail.
Alberta and Quebec have set the minimum age for purchase at 18, while others have made it 19.
No stores will open in Ontario, which includes Toronto. The most populous province is working on its regulations and doesn't expect stores until next spring.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.