Hi I am in desperate need of some help. I am a UK citizen travelling in North America since November 2016.

When I landed in Boston I entered on a 90 days esta visa. I bought myself a car so that I could travel around easier, in December I was in Colorado, my friend there took me to a dispensary and bought me a joint. We smoked half of it in my car and left the rest in the centre console. My intention was to dispose of it but alas I forgot about it. In the middle of January I came up to Canada to visit my Godparents.

Fast forward to this previous weekend, I was coming from Vancouver intending to go down to San Francisco to visit friends for Easter. I was pulled in for a secondary inspection and after answering their questions they asked for my car keys. They asked if had anything to declare and said I yes I had some fruit, he then asked if I had any Marijuana... That was when I remembered the half a joint that I had stupidly never remembered to throw away. I confessed to the officer and told him where it was. After that I was held for about 3 hours while he went thought the law on controlled substances etc. I was then denied and told to go to the US embassy in Vancouver to apply for a visa. He gave me a checklist for a I-192, said I would need a criminal history check from the RCMP, when I asked him for more details he said that the embassy would tell me what I needed. He also gave me a transcript of our interview to show to the embassy.

I went to the embassy the next morning, I showed the lady the transcript of what happened. She gave me a piece of paper with instructions on how to apply for a tourist visa online. I asked about the waiver and she said to follow what was said on the website but if the officer at the border had told me to go to the RCMP then I should.

So I found an RCMP and went in to talk to someone. The officer I spoke to was very sympathetic and sat with me while we went through the transcript and I talked her through what had happened. She told me since I wasn't a Canadian citizen she couldn't do a criminal history check for me. She also said that if the lady at the embassy hadn't mentioned the Waiver then I should just continue with the visa application and not worry about.

Does anyone have any advice on what I should do? I am honestly so confused about what I should or shouldn't do or where I stand regarding the incident.