Cannabis impaired driving charges can prevent you from travelling to the USA for life.

US Customs often deny entry and ban those who have a Canadian criminal record for driving while impaired by cannabis.

If you get charged with a cannabis related DUI/DWI in Canada all of the biometric and charge information taken by the police is uploaded to the RCMP CPIC database which is fully accessible by US Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Since driving prohibitions are often imposed this information is also attached to your license plate and driver’s license. US CBP also has access to the Ontario MOT database. This means that US Customs will always have the ability to see any cannabis DUI related charges and may be alerted to it upfront upon scanning your license plate, NEXUS card or passport.

While any criminal charge can cause problems for those wanting to travel to the US, cannabis related impaired driving charges are classified as drug offences and often lead to an automatic ban on travel. The US has long denied entry to and banned travel for non-US citizens with convictions for drug related crimes. For this reason it is much worse to have a cannabis impaired DUI than an alcohol related one.

US CBP is a federal law enforcement agency and cannabis is still illegal under US federal law.

It does not matter that cannabis may be legal in the particular state you may be travelling to. If US customs becomes aware that you are a cannabis user they may deny you entry and ban you from future travel for that reason alone. If the traveler has a history of using cannabis and breaking the law by driving while impaired this makes the chances of them being denied much higher.

This means that if you are charged with cannabis impaired driving it may result in you being banned from entering the US for life. The good news is being charged by the police does not make you guilty or mean that you will ultimately be convicted. Many cases are based solely on an officer’s subjective “opinion” evidence and a urine sample that does not prove impairment. Even if the police took blood samples which were above the 2 ng/ml legal limit there are still ways to beat these charges in court.

Countries other than the USA may also deny entry to Canadian travellers with cannabis related impaired driving records.

It is not just the USA that denies Canadian tourists for prior cannabis related impaired driving convictions. Cannabis remains illegal in other popular tourist destinations that Canada shares police database information with such as the United Kingdom and Australia. Many countries in Europe such as France also have very strict prohibitions against cannabis. When you get charged with any drug related offence the penalties can impact you far beyond Canada’s borders if you are found guilty.

Most countries including the USA view any admission of or finding of guilt as enough grounds to deny entry particularly for drug related crimes.


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Are you a lawyer? If you are defending an impaired driving related case and are looking for expert advice regarding possible defences, case strategies, and information release management call us at: 647-228-5969.

Please note: We do not accept legal aid certificate cases. All clients are handled on a private retainer only.

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