Drugs, alcohol and travel outside Canada
When you are outside Canada, you are fully subject to the laws of the country you are visiting or transiting through. Being Canadian does not grant you immunity or preferential treatment. If you run into legal trouble, violate local alcohol laws or are caught with illegal drugs, you will face local penalties and the local justice system, not Canadian ones.
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Cannabis and international borders
Unless authorized by Health Canada and the relevant authorities of every country you are visiting or transiting through, it is illegal to take cannabis, including products containing cannabis, across the Canadian border, whether you are entering or leaving the country.
Rules for entering or leaving Canada
You may not enter or leave Canada with cannabis:
- This includes all forms of cannabis, such as edible cannabis, cannabis extracts, cannabis topicals and all products containing cannabidiol (CBD)
- This applies even if you are travelling to or from a place where cannabis is legal or decriminalized
- This applies no matter how much cannabis you have with you
Medical cannabis exemptions
If you use cannabis for medical purposes in any form, including CBD, you cannot cross a border with it unless authorized by Health Canada and the relevant authorities of every country you are visiting or transiting through. This authorization is not the same as a medical prescription. A Canadian authorization also does not guarantee that your destination allows it.
Always check your destination’s rules before you travel, as well as the rules of any stopover countries you may pass through on your way to your final destination.
Prescription drugs
Travelling with market-approved prescription drugs containing cannabis, such as Epidiolex or Sativex, is permitted under the Cannabis Regulations subject to certain requirements. Check your destination’s rules before you travel, to ensure that your prescription drug is accepted.
Other medical cannabis
Travelling with any other cannabis for medical purposes (for example, cannabis authorized under a medical document) requires an individual exemption issued by Health Canada. These exemptions are issued only in rare and exceptional circumstances, such as for palliative care cases.
Send an email to cannabis-exemption@hc-sc.gc.ca for more information.
At your destination
If you travel to other countries, including the United States, with any amount of cannabis in your possession, you could be charged with a criminal offence and be denied entry into other countries in the future. This applies to all countries, whether cannabis is legal there or not.
For more information, consult the laws and culture section of your destination in our Travel Advice and Advisories.
Returning to Canada
It is illegal to enter Canada with cannabis, including cannabis for medical purposes, unless specifically authorized by Health Canada.
Declaration requirement
If you’re entering Canada and have cannabis with you in any form, you must declare it to the Canada Border Services Agency.
Serious criminal offence
Even if Health Canada authorizes you to travel with cannabis for medical purposes, not declaring cannabis in your possession at the Canadian border is a serious criminal offence. You could be arrested, charged and prosecuted.
Learn more about the Canada Border Services Agency rules on cannabis.
Illegal drugs
Do not agree to transport, hold, buy or use illegal drugs or controlled substances under any circumstances. When you’re outside Canada, even if you’re only transiting through another country, you’re fully subject to that country’s laws, which may be very different from Canada’s. Before you buy or use controlled substances outside Canada, make sure you fully understand the local laws and the consequences for breaking them.
Severe penalties
Most countries, including the United States, have a zero-tolerance policy for illegal drugs, including their transportation, possession and use. You could face severe penalties for possessing even a small quantity. These can include years or decades in a foreign prison, extremely high fines, corporal punishment (such as caning), or even the death penalty. In some countries, if you’re unable to pay these fines, you may have to serve a longer prison sentence.
Random testing and screening
Some countries conduct random drug tests and can prosecute you if drugs are detected in your system or on your clothing and belongings, even if the drugs were consumed legally in Canada before you left. This screening can happen when entering or leaving the country.
No rescue from the Canadian government
If you run into legal trouble outside Canada, Canadian officials cannot get you out of prison, interfere in an investigation or legal matter, ask for special treatment or provide funding for your legal fees. You will have to go through the local justice system.
No immunity
Being a foreigner or not knowing the local laws is no excuse. Your Canadian citizenship does not grant you immunity or preferential treatment in other countries.
No exceptions for youths
Courts in some countries may treat juvenile drug offenders the same as adults.
Contaminated drugs
In Canada and abroad, be aware that illegal drugs may be mixed with other more potent substances that can lead to health harms, including overdose and death. You may not be buying what you expected.
Travelling with medication that contains a controlled substance
If you are travelling to or from Canada with medication that contains a controlled substance, the medication must be prescribed and dispensed by health care professionals for personal medical use, and the total quantity of the medication cannot exceed a 90-day supply.
Check destination laws
When travelling outside Canada, your prescription medication must not violate the laws and regulations of your destination country. Check local laws before you travel.
Declare all medications
You must always declare your prescription medication containing a controlled substance to a Canada Border Services Agency border services officer when entering Canada.
Know your limits
There are strict limits on the amount of prescription drugs you can carry when you travel, especially if they contain controlled substances or cannabis.
The consequences of unauthorized entry
If you attempt to cross a border with a controlled substance not prescribed to you by a health care professional, you could be charged with a serious criminal offence, denied entry at your destination or banned from entering other countries in the future.
Learn more about travelling with medication.
Drug smuggling
Canadians travelling outside the country can find themselves, knowingly or unknowingly, caught up in drug smuggling. Criminal networks frequently target youths, young adults and travellers to help them carry out illegal activities. Targets may have no criminal history and may not be familiar with international drug laws.
Whether you are tricked, coerced or tempted by quick money, the consequences of being caught smuggling illegal drugs are serious and can include arrest, prosecution, fines, severe jail time in a foreign prison, corporal punishment or even the death penalty.
To protect yourself, you need to know how criminals operate and take steps to keep your bags safe.
Alcohol
The import, possession and use of alcohol are strictly prohibited or heavily restricted in some countries.
Local restrictions and declarations
Check local laws
Before travelling outside Canada, contact the foreign government office in Canada of the country you plan to visit to find out whether alcohol is permitted.
See the list of foreign representatives in Canada.
Bringing alcohol home
If you plan on bringing alcohol back to Canada, remember that you’ll need to declare it at the border and that there are strict limits on the quantities you can bring in.
Learn more about what you can bring home to Canada.
Safety tips for drinking alcohol outside Canada
You should follow the same safety rules for drinking outside Canada that you would at home.
Follow these tips to help you stay safe.
Know the source
Be aware of the source of your drink. If obtained from an unregulated or home-brewed source, it could be mixed with unknown, toxic substances that lead to health harms. Do not drink home-brewed alcohol.
Watch your drink
Watch your drinks as they are being prepared and served, and never leave your drink unattended. They may be laced with hypnotic or sedative type drugs that could put you at risk of robbery or sexual assault.
Never accept drinks from strangers
Do not accept unsealed beverages from people you do not know.
Understand local tolerance
The alcohol available at your destination may be much stronger than you’re used to. Keep in mind that some places may not tolerate excessive drinking or any drinking at all, and you must never drink in countries where it is prohibited.
Do not drink and drive
Do not drink or use drugs and drive a motor vehicle, and do not get into a vehicle with someone who has. You could cause serious harm to yourself or others and face severe penalties.
If you need help
Emergency consular assistance while outside Canada:
If you’re arrested
If you are arrested outside Canada, you must specifically ask the local authorities to notify Canadian consular officials. Local authorities do not have to notify the Canadian consular or diplomatic office of your arrest unless you specifically ask them to do so.
Learn more about arrest and detention outside Canada.
The Government of Canada is limited in the help it can provide to you when you’re outside Canada.
If you are arrested abroad, Government of Canada consular officials can help you communicate with family and friends, provide an up-to-date list of local lawyers and advocate for your fair treatment under local laws, among other services. However, they can’t get you out of prison, interfere in an investigation or legal matter, ask for special treatment or provide funding for legal fees.
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