With many new and exciting changes sweeping across North America in regards to medicinal marijuana and recreational cannabis, it’s easy to forget that marijuana is still illegal at a federal level and classed as a narcotic. Medical marijuana company HWC LLC has some important advice regarding traveling with your marijuana this summer. The last thing that you want to do is find yourself in big trouble as you cross the border!
Traveling between states and countries in North America has just gotten a lot more difficult with Canada’s decision to completely legalize marijuana in July. While many states in America have already decided to push ahead with adult-use laws of both recreational and medicinal marijuana, it hasn’t made taking cannabis or cannabis products across the border legally. There are already reports of Canadians having been stopped at the border and receiving a lifetime travel ban because of links to legalized cannabis.
There hasn’t been a massive panic about cannabis and traveling in the marijuana industry yet, but it pays to take a few extra precautions if you use either medicinal cannabis or recreational cannabis. Currently, adult-use cannabis is completely legal in nine states in America, and medicinal marijuana is legal in some form in a further thirty states. Federally, marijuana is still classified as a Schedule 1 narcotic. Unfortunately for cannabis users, the federal government still considers marijuana the same way as it does cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamines.
Many cannabis industry officials still believe it’s a bit early to start sounding panic alarms yet. If you use medical marijuana or recreational marijuana in your state and it’s legal, it doesn’t mean you can transport it across a border into Canada despite the fact it’s legal there.
Here are some tips to help you with your next border crossing:
Don’t lie to the border officials about marijuana use or your ties to the marijuana industry as lying to an official is itself a crime.
Leave any marijuana-related literature and marijuana-related paraphernalia at home before you attempt to cross the border.
Thoroughly clean your car before you attempt to cross the border and ensure that any marijuana-related products, paraphernalia, or marijuana have been removed from your vehicle.
Don’t smoke marijuana in your vehicle at all, and especially not before you attempt to cross the border. A car that stinks like cannabis is going to raise a lot of eyebrows and attract some very unwanted attention.
Crossing the border at any time can often be a daunting and nerve-wracking experience for many travelers, especially tourists traveling between Canada and the United States. Taking some time before you leave to make sure that you haven’t accidentally packed any marijuana or marijuana smoking implements may only take a few minutes, but it could save you a lifetime of traveling hassles.