Legal weed in Canada: What it means for New York and the border

Jon Campbell and April McCullum and Elizabeth Murray and Dan D'Ambrosio

Canada launched its legal marijuana market in October, becoming the second nation in the world to allow adult-use cannabis.

Four border states — Washington, Vermont, Michigan and Maine — have already legalized marijuana. What separates these states from the new cannabis market to the north is an international divide that marijuana cannot legally cross.

In New York, medical marijuana is legal, and Gov. Andrew Cuomo is in favor or legalizing and regulating the drug. Besides Vermont, Massachusetts also legalized the use of recreational pot.

Here's what you need to know about traveling between United States and Canada in the age of legal cannabis.

Can you buy weed in Canada and take it across the New York border? 

No.

"Marijuana is a controlled substance under U.S. federal law and remains illegal," said Stephanie Malin, spokeswoman for Customs and Border Protection Northern and Coastal Branch. "Crossing the border or arriving at a U.S. port of entry in violation of this law may result in denied admission, seizure, fines, and arrest."

In this April 20, 2015 file photo, a Canadian flag with a cannabis leaf flies on Parliament Hill during a 4/20 protest in Ottawa, Ontario. Canada is following the lead of Uruguay in allowing a nationwide, legal marijuana market, although each Canadian province is working up its own rules for pot sales.

Adrian Wyld, AP file

How does legalization in Canada compare to New York's proposed law?

Canada allowed retail sales of cannabis on Oct. 17, including storefront and online sales.

Canada set up a national framework of cannabis regulation, then left the details to each province and territory. Provincial and territorial governments regulate how and where cannabis can be sold, and they can also add their own restrictions on minimum age, possession amounts, public consumption and home cultivation, according to the Department of Justice Canada. For this reason, it's important for travelers to check the laws in the province they plan to visit.

This Aug. 2, 2017 photo shows the U.S. border crossing post at the Canadian border between Vermont and Quebec, Canada, at Beecher Falls, Vt.

WILSON RING/ASSOCIATED PRESS

In New York, under pending legislation marijuana wouldn't be permitted overnight: Legal sales wouldn't begin until April 1, 2020, at the earliest, according to Cuomo's proposal.

A long-awaited marijuana proposal calls for three separate taxes on the drug, all of which would be imposed at the cultivation or wholesale stage, not at retail.

The Democratic governor also proposed creating a new state office — the Office of Cannabis Management — to regulate the drug and create a program to review and seal past marijuana convictions, which have disproportionately affected communities of color.

In this April 20, 2018 file photo, people reach for joints being thrown into the crowd during the 4-20 annual marijuana celebration, in Vancouver, British Columbia. Canada is following the lead of Uruguay in allowing a nationwide, legal marijuana market, although each Canadian province is working up its own rules for pot sales. The federal government and the provinces also still need to publish regulations that will govern the cannabis trade.

DARRYL DYCK/THE CANADIAN PRESS via AP

Among the things Cuomo's plan would do:

• Establish separate licensing programs for marijuana growers, distributors and retailers, with a ban on growers also opening retail shops.
• Impose a 20 percent state tax and 2 percent local tax on the sale of the drug from wholesalers to retailers, plus a per-gram tax on growers.
• Allow counties and large cities to ban marijuana sales within their boundaries.
• Ban marijuana sales to anyone under the age of 21.

Expected pot windfall

Cuomo said he anticipates legal marijuana to generate about $300 million in annual revenue once the program is fully phased in.

The state anticipates receiving its first legal marijuana revenue — about $83 million — in the 2020-21 fiscal year, should Cuomo's plan be approved.

His budget proposal flags that money for a variety of programs, including regulation costs, data gathering, boosting traffic-safety measures, substance-abuse programs and a small-business development fund.

Any marijuana plan would need to be approved by the state Legislature, which is controlled by Democrats who have signaled support for legalization.

Cuomo's plan is included in his state budget proposal. A final budget is due to be approved before April 1, when the state's new fiscal year begins.

Nationally, Canada allows people to possess up to 30 grams of dried cannabis in a public place.