Canadian Cannabis Seizures at US Border Increased 900 Percent Since Legalization: Federal Report

Canadian and American flags fly near the Ambassador Bridge at the Canada-U.S. border crossing in Windsor, Ont., on March 21, 2020. The Canadian Press/Rob Gurdebeke

U.S. seizures of illegal marijuana from Canada have grown over 900 percent since the Liberal government legalized cannabis in 2018, a federal report says.

“[T]he quantity of cannabis seized on import at US ports of entry that share a border with Canada has increased by at least 929 percent since domestic legalization,” said the report, prepared by the Office of Audit and Evaluation at Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC).

The “significant increase” in the quantity being seized was during the period between October 2018 and September 2021, said the study, titled “Horizontal Evaluation of the Legalization and Strict Regulation of Cannabis,” as first reported by Blacklock’s Reporter.

“This increase was recorded despite the Canada/US border being closed for a portion of this time, and a significant reduction in the number of travellers crossing the border due to COVID-19,” the auditors wrote.

Published last December, the report cited data from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection that its agents seized 70,823 pounds of Canadian cannabis at the border from October 2020 to September 2021. Seizures had grown tenfold from the 6,446 pounds confiscated in 2018–19 when Bill C-45, An Act Respecting Cannabis, came into force.

As part of the audit, the Office of Audit and Evaluation interviewed 124 representatives from several federal departments and agencies including Health Canada, PHAC, RCMP, Public Safety Canada, and the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), as well as external partners from the academics, health care, and cannabis sectors.

The report said a considerable number of the interviewees do not like the idea of Canadian cannabis being illegally exported.

“This illegal cannabis exportation was a serious concern for multiple interviewees, both internally and externally, as Canada does not want to be known as a ‘source’ country for cannabis, and there is potential harm to Canada’s international reputation if this is not addressed,” it said.

“Experts who participated in the evaluation estimate the overall increase of illegal cannabis exportation from Canada worldwide since domestic legalization could be as high as 2,000 percent.”

The report said despite preparedness and public education by the CBSA, the unauthorized imports and exports of cannabis products across the border surged, particularly through e-commerce during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Since legalization, the reach and prevalence of online illicit cannabis sales has been a major challenge for both criminal intelligence and enforcement efforts,” the auditors noted.

“Online sales may also have been exacerbated by COVID-19, as increased levels of e-commerce have been noted since 2020.”

The report said the repeal of a 95-year criminal ban on marijuana had cost taxpayers $546.8 million to date.