Blair’s advice to tell the truth about pot at the border is ‘dangerous,’ U.S. lawyer warns

Liberal MP Bill Blair‘s advice to be open with U.S. border officials if asked about past marijuana use after legalization is “dangerous,” a U.S. immigration lawyer says.

“People should always tell the truth when they are questioned by U.S. border security officers. They should tell them the truth,” Blair said in an interview published Saturday.

But doing that in the real world “is going to create many, many, many border crossing issues for many, many, many people,” warns Scott Railton, an immigration lawyer in Bellingham, Wash.

WATCH: An immigration lawyer is casting serious doubt on some federal government advice to be honest and admit to smoking marijuana if asked at the U.S. border.

Canadians can be barred for life from entering the United States if they admit to ever having consumed marijuana — even in the U.S., in states where it’s legal.

Canadians banned from the U.S. can apply for a waiver allowing them to cross the border, but the process is cumbersome and expensive, and the application has to be restarted from scratch every few years for the rest of the person’s life.

Even after recreational marijuana becomes legal in Canada this summer, U.S. law will allow border officers to ban Canadians for life for legally using it in Canada.

READ MORE: Pot use after it’s legalized in Canada could still get you barred from U.S., lawyer warns

Instead, Canadians can refuse to answer questions about past marijuana use. That will probably lead to them being turned back on that one occasion, but won’t lead to more serious consequences, Railton says.

“Chances are (on a different day) you’ll get a different officer who doesn’t care,” he says.

“Not all the officers care, but the ones who do can sure make life miserable for you forever.”

“I have never seen a case where someone has refused to answer a question regarding past marijuana use and they’ve been barred for life. I have never seen that happen.”

WATCH: Many British Columbians who travel south of the border may find themselves in legal limbo when Canada legalizes marijuana. 

Lying at the border is a bad idea which can also lead to a lifetime ban, but Railton takes issue with a statement later in the interview in which Blair says that “lying to the border agent is a far more significant offence than having previously used this drug.”

READ MORE: Your legal pot buying data could get you banned from the U.S., lawyers warn

“When he says that lying is far worse than admitting to smoking marijuana, that’s absolutely incorrect. They both have the same consequences,” Railton says. “They’re equally bad — lifetime bars. He doesn’t understand that.”

Last fall, similar comments by Liberal MP Mark Holland attracted criticism.

“Ultimately the decision that they make is their decision as a foreign jurisdiction … you always have to be honest and tell the truth at the border,” Holland said in an interview with Global News. 

“That is bad advice by Canadian government officials, and they should know better,” Railton says. “If they don’t know better, then they should educate themselves before making comments to the Canadian public.”

“Honestly, I don’t think that to this day the Canadian government fully understands the ramifications. I really, really don’t think they understand it.”

There is no basis to believe that attitudes toward pot at the border will relax in any way after legalization here, Railton says.

“I see no change, and I’ve been living at ground zero at the U.S. border watching Canadians, one after the other, being picked off and denied entry for admitting smoking marijuana.”

A federal justice department spokesperson referred questions to Global Affairs, which did not respond.

READ MORE: Canada looking to change policy that bans marijuana users from the U.S.

WATCH: Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale told the CBC that he believes banning Canadians from entering the U.S. for admitting to using marijuana is “ludicrous.”