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CSA TRAVEL INFORMATION GUIDE
Ensure your vehicle is properly registered as “exported”with Canadian customs prior to leaving
Canada. Further information can be obtained from:
Registrar of Imported Vehicles (Canada)
Telephone 1-888-848-8240
www.riv.ca
Canada Border Services Agency
Email: contact@cbsa.gc.ca
In Canada
1-800-461-9999 (English)
1-800-959-2036 (French)
Outside Canada (506) 636-5064 or (204) 983-3500 (English)
(506) 636-5067 or (204) 983-3700 (French)
Taking Medication to the United States
The following general information is provided to assist members travelling to the United States who
take, or have shipped to them, prescription and/or over-the-counter (OTC) non-prescription medica-
tion that was legally purchased in Canada.
The U.S. Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (the ACT), which is administered by the U.S. Food & Drug
Administration (FDA), prohibits the interstate shipment (including imports from outside the United
States) of any “unapproved” drugs. An unapproved drug is any drug, including a foreign-made version
of a U.S. approved drug, that have not received FDA approval to demonstrate that it meets the federal
requirements for safety and effectiveness. Further, even when a manufactured drug is FDA-approved
and sent abroad by the U.S. manufacturer, the Act also prohibits any person other than the original
manufacturer from importing the drug back into the U.S. Thus, in virtually all instances, individuals
are prohibited from importing prescription drugs into the U.S.
Accordingly, whether crossing the border with your medication or having a top-up supply shipped
to you from your Canadian pharmacy, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), who enforces the
act on behalf of the FDA, has absolute discretion to allow – or not allow – your Canadian-purchased
medication into the United States.
In general, when taking any prescription medication outside of Canada, it is important to take only
the quantity that you would normally take for the number of days you will be in the United States
(e.g. a three-month supply if you will be in the U.S. for three months). An extra one week’s sup-
ply – in the event that you are unavoidably delayed in returning to Canada on your original planned
travel-home date – would also generally be allowed. If you received excess medication – for what is
needed for your trip – from your pharmacist, leave the excess back home in Canada.
While Canadian citizens, unlike the citizens of other countries, can be admitted to the United States
for up to six (6) months, CBP may impose a three-month maximum on the amount of medication
that you can bring with you into the United States. The purpose for this U.S. provision is to ensure
that travelers only take the quantity that is necessary for personal use and are not passing along
surplus medication to other people or for commercial distribution. Accordingly, travelers are
cautioned that CBP officers may seize any “vacation supply” of medication in excess of a three-month
supply from Canadian snowbird travellers. That being said, if you calmly and reasonably present
evidence to the CBP officer that you require more than a three-month supply of medication for the
full treatment of your illness, and that reordering a one or two month additional amount may be
inappropriate, the FDA may consider the release of the full amount.