On Wednesday morning at 10 a.m., a dozen shops will open their doors around Quebec and begin selling marijuana.
The opening of Quebec’s retail pot system begins the same day that regulated sales become legal across Canada, making it the second country in the world to legalize marijuana.
The newly legalized industry could have implications at the United States border for those who work in it, patronize it, and invest in it. And authorities are watching to see whether legalization impacts cross-border criminal activity.
Despite marijuana being legal in 10 jurisdictions south of the border, including Vermont and two other states directly adjacent to Canada, the substance remains illegal to produce, possess or distribute under American federal law.
Investors and employees of marijuana companies, and users of their products, trying to travel into the United States could be turned away or barred for life from entering the country because of how the federal government views the substance and those involved in distributing it.
However, Customs and Border Protection spokesperson Stephanie Malin does not expect that travelers from Canada to the U.S. will see a major change in their experience after the legalized market opens. Malin said that marijuana is not going to become a routine screening question for everyone crossing the border.
“While CBP officers will not ask every individual about their use of marijuana or affiliation with the industry, every CBP inspection is different and questions may arise during the course of an interview at any time,” she said.
Carrying any marijuana across the border is illegal, and those found to be transporting it face potential criminal prosecution and fines of up to $5,000.
There may be an increase in searches related to marijuana, she said. Dogs trained to smell drugs can alert to residue, which would lead to secondary searches. Because ports of entry aren’t going to get increased staff, there could be delays, she said.
According to Malin, Canadian citizens who work in the legal marijuana industry generally will be able to cross the border so long as the reason they’re entering the country isn’t related to the industry. Someone traveling to the U.S. for a purpose related to the weed business could be deemed “inadmissible,” and barred from entering.
Using marijuana counts as a violation of controlled substance law, and, Malin acknowledged, admitting to having used pot in the past could result in a non-U.S. citizen being found “inadmissible.”
When officers bar someone from entering the U.S., individuals do not have a right to appeal the decision. However, they do have the opportunity to seek a waiver that would allow them to travel across the border in the future.
Attorneys who specialize in immigration and cross-border business say the guidance from CBP leaves considerable ambiguity, and approaches to enforcement are likely to be inconsistent.
“I’m sure some people will be admitted in certain ports of entry, while in others they might be denied,” said Adeline Simenon, an attorney who specializes in business immigration at the Burlington-based law firm Paul Frank and Collins.
She said there are potential problems for Canadian companies tangentially related to the marijuana industry. A business that manufactured equipment that happens to be used in marijuana production, for instance, could be interpreted by U.S. authorities as being involved in the distribution of the substance. She has cautioned companies in that situation that they could face repercussions when trying to enter the country.
Simenon noted that U.S. law has not changed, but said the interpretation of it is somewhat discretionary. “It has to do with the current administration and the fact that our attorney general (Jeff Sessions) is very much at war with the marijuana industry,” she said.
Immigration attorney Leslie Holman said that U.S. officials have been clear that telling border agents about a career in the pot industry should not bar Canadians from entering the country for something not related to the industry. However, she said, follow-up questioning related to marijuana could be problematic.
CBP noted in its advisory that under U.S. law, border officers can bar someone from entering the country if they are “a drug addict or abuser.” Officers have broad discretion to interpret that language, according to Holman.
“Like anything, people make different interpretations,” she said.
The roughly 300 employees of the Société Québécoise du Cannabis — the state-run monopoly responsible for regulated marijuana sales in Quebec — have been made aware that they might run into trouble at the border, according to spokesperson Mathieu Gaudreault.
“It’s something we monitor pretty closely, but not something SQDC has power over,” Gaudreault said.
In July, an investor in marijuana companies in British Columbia was banned for life from the U.S. But Gaudreault is not aware of any similar instances in Quebec so far. Gaudreault said he understands Canadian federal officials are in conversation with Washington, D.C., about the issue.
The legislation Canadian lawmakers passed that legalized marijuana federally left it up to individual provinces to decide how to handle distribution. Quebec opted for a government-run system that parallels the alcohol industry. Other provinces have different approaches, including being more open to private enterprise.
SQDC runs the dozen government-run shops that open around Quebec this week. It also is responsible for online sales, which begin Wednesday too.
Vermont Secretary of Commerce Michael Schirling said in an email Tuesday that he was not aware of the potential for Canadians to be barred from entering the country based on the marijuana industry. Schirling said in general, he believes it’s important to reduce economic barriers between Vermont and Quebec.
Eli Harrington, of the marijuana news and advocacy organization Heady Vermont, said he was aware that questions about pot at the border were a concern for some Canadians. It could deter people who use the substance legally in Canada from vacationing across the border, he said.
This summer, he said, Heady Vermont heard from a Canadian woman who was interested in attending an event in Vermont about hemp, but did not want to travel across the border in case she was asked about past cannabis use.
Increased traffic
As to whether the opening of Canada’s legal marijuana system is likely to impact illegal activity along the international boundary, Christina Nolan, U.S. attorney for the District of Vermont, thinks it’s too early to know.
“What’s going to happen vis a vis Canada, I think it’s just too soon to say,” she said in an interview last week.
Illicit marijuana cross-border trafficking has been on the rise, according to statistics Nolan provided. Border Patrol seized 967 pounds of marijuana in the Swanton Sector, which encompasses Vermont, in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30. That’s was nearly twice the total 527 pounds seized the previous year.
Nolan said there is no clear link between Canadian legalization and the increase in intercepted marijuana.
When it comes to marijuana, there are a number of factors that play into whether the case is a priority, she said — including how much was seized, if it is connected with a larger criminal organization, if firearms are involved, and if there’s an intention to distribute to children.
“Possession, manufacture, distribution, conspiracy to distribute is illegal under federal law, no matter the quantity, and we will continue to enforce the federal law in a way that makes sense given our resources,” Nolan said.
Swanton Border Patrol Sector Special Operations Supervisor Brad Brant said the sector, which stretches from the eastern end of Lake Ontario to the New Hampshire-Maine border, regularly has the highest rate of marijuana seizures along the country’s northern border.
He also said he would not speculate if increased traffic was related to pending legalization in Canada. Brant added Border Patrol agents would continue to enforce U.S. federal law regardless of Canada’s policy change.
“People that cross the border between the ports of entry are subject to arrest, fines and the seizure of any contraband, to include marijuana, found in their possession,” Brant said. “If the person is an alien, the person is also subject to removal from the United States.”
