Coming back through customs - the SDShadow nitemare

[sdshadow]

The United States is a police state. What a load of crap it is to be hassled by customs.

I arrived in Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky airport yesterday afternoon. As I was getting off the plane, a black DEA dog was there to meet us. I would never be so stupid as to bring anything home with me but the dog hit on my anyway. They took me. Mrs. SDShadow and me bruv away from the rest of the people for interrogation. I was cooperative because I understand that most of the men that work for US Customs have a 4 inch penis and make it their sole mission in life to punish everyone else for their short comings. I was not looking to make trouble, just to get it over with.

They of course asked me if I visited any coffeeshops in Amsterdam, to which I readily admitted. They asked if I brought anything home with me and I answered absolutely not. They proceeded to dump everything we had out of our suitcases searching for God knows what. When nothing was found, they started grilling my wife hell about her prescription medicine. She had valid prescriptions for everything but had taken more than a 10-day supply with her and consequently had a lot left over.

The Jackass customs agent named Nicholson, a bald smelly asshole of a man, told my wife that she took her bottles to Amsterdam empty and had them filled there in the "Coffeeshops and Cafes". I told him you could not buy prescription medicine in The Netherlands in Coffeeshops, the genius proceeded to tell me that most shops have 2 menus, one for tourists and one for regulars. And they are just fronts for hard drugs. I started to argue with him and tell him that it was not true and he started yelling and accusing me of being an addict. He then asked if I took my wife's medication for recreational purposes. Again, what a jackass. I asked him if he had ever been to Amsterdam and got some speech about how he has worked for customs for 18 years, blah blah blah, he knows the story.

In the end, after 2 + hours, the DEA confiscated some of my wife's medicine and an unused grinder I brought back. The grinder was labeled a "Hash Grinder", I could not even begin to explain to these morons the whole problem with grinding hash in a small plastic grinder, but it was taken none-the-less. The medicine was confiscated even though they verified with my wife's doctor what she was allowed to have, but it was illegal because she had put some pills in with others in kind of a consolidated bottle.

I have been to Amsterdam 5 times and to 13 countries in Europe total. Every time I come home I leave a piece of me there and become a little less American and a little more European. All those rights and freedoms we fought for 225 years ago, was a joke. We live in a police state where people can be systemically singled out for no reason and be labeled a criminal by the government. It doesn't matter what you do or how you look. I do not fit the profile, I am in my 30's with graying hair, look very conservative, have an education and a job with a very large company, yet I, along with everyone else, am not above suspicion. What a joke.

[Bohannon]

Although I have never had any problems with US customs (SFO,PHL an SEA are the only ports of entry I have ever used), I totally agree with you about becoming less american. If it were not for the raising of my kids that I have yet to do I would surely try to move to the Netherlands. The whole war thing and the latest scandal coupled with the "aw c'mon please give up yoour rights (Patriot Act)" law just make me sick. I live in CA which alhough rife with problems, is one of the more liberal states.
Well enough politics, sorry for your return troubles. Situations like that can make you want to leave more frequently and return less often.
Pax

[BlueBerry]

I really hate to hear you had such a terrible time coming through customs,,, Yeah it sux here bigtime...

Guess I have just been lucky!

BlueBerry

[Otis]

Sounds like typical American law enforcement and doesn't surprise me at all. In some of my work as a Military Policeman, long ago, and dealing with the local Tennessee cops as I worked as an EMT, nothing surprises me any longer. Avoid contact with them at all costs.

Sorry you had such a hassle. They can really be jerks and I've seen a lot of abuse locally.

Otis

[Redhohoho]

Shadow - sorry to hear of your troubles.. we too got hit one year. But luckily for us the guy was super nice and actually "one of us".. he had been to A'dam 6 times:)

They did, unfortunately, go thru everything .. and i mean everything... dirty undies and all..ewwwwww.

Hopefully next time you will have better luck. But try to think for every 1 as*hole there are 10 nice people out there.. I really believe that!

[DrTak]

My wife and I discussed this very issue after our last trip. While neither of us got hassled, the dog smelling us as we waited single file in the jetway sure is a helluva way to be welcomed back to the land of the brave and the home of the free.

The U.S. has the great heritage of ideas about natural law being put to practice. We pride ourselves over the lack of nobility, etc.

But we have become far less practical as a society about preserving our rights from unwanted government intrusions. Notice my choice of words: far less practical. The Dutch government is intrusive, no doubt, and poised to become more so, in some folks' opinions. But it seems more practical about intruding to tax and regulate, rather than to outright criminalize. The ripple effect of the US approach in the war on drugs is to create a "Bill of Rights"- free zone where the DEA et. al. seem to operate these days.

Somehow, we must take our country back.

[Progress]

Very sorry to hear that...however, you are not in jail right now, and that much should provide relief. This is exactly why you don't bring anything back with you. I've never been tagged on the way back on two different trips, but I will be returning in the future and I basically have to expect that it's a possibility. Those dogs have powerful noses, which is unfortunate if you don't even have anything on you. I disagree with the hassle they gave you over the prescription medicine and the misconceptions about the "tourist menu." These people are more likely to believe rumors and lies about Amsterdam. I'm sure their supervisors have pumped this misinformation into their heads so that they're not soft as customs agents. If they knew the total truth about the coffeeshop culture, they wouldn't be giving you as much of a hassle.

My feelings are that if they didn't find anything in your luggage or on your person, you should be free to go. I mean, you can only search so much before you realize that there is nothing to find. Two hours, good god man...that's just ridiculous, in that two hours how many people slipped through the border with ecstacy or some other drug....

It just goes to show, no matter how many times you've gone through customs and not been hassled, it still doesn't constitute bringing anything back with you.

[Boner]

This kind of thing makes me happy to be British considering the USA is supposed to be the land of opportunity and the land of the free whats that mean? Opportunity to be arrested and slammed in Jail for smoking a weed!!!! or Free to get arrested and slammed in Jail for smoking a weed!!!!

...Boner...

[jerkypete49]

Hey sd. How are you doing? Sorry to hear you had such a crummy time back at home. That really must have sucked. And yes, you do NOT fit the profile at all.

BTW, Thanks again for showing me how to use the rolling machine. :D
I bought one home along with a grinder. I also inadvertantly left a bag of weed in my pants pocket in the laundry bag in my luggage and I just breezed through Customs. I found it when I was unpacking. Go figure.

[TTBoy]

SD, sorry about the crappy experience. When I came back from my first trip to Adam in March, me and my friend were searched in Philly. We're 22, and everyone else our age was getting searched as well. The customs guy was nice, even though I had a few weed crumbs in my bag. I understand they have a job to do, but when you go through a long process at customs you think to yourself "couldn't our security have anything better to do than go through the luggage of American citizens returning home." The officer shitting himself about your wife's prescriptions is just plain rediculous. I love America but our country seriously needs to re-evaluate its priorities.

[softluck]

SD, sorry to hear about your bad experience with the customs people. It could have been worse, trust me. I was stopped once when a friend and I were on our way to visit people in Washington State. We we told to park our vehicle and wait in the office. After 3/4 of an hour several agents came up to up, drew their guns and escorted us into another room. They informed up that they thought we were in possession of firearms (a madeup excuse to hassle and abuse us). We were searched, split up and locked in separate cells. After that they never even spoke to me but I could hear them grilling my friend. My guess is that we were there for an hour and a half before they let us go. Why did they bother with us?? I suppose because they could and I wouldn't be the least surprised if customs agents sat around the coffee rooms swapping tales of antagonizing people and then laughing about it.

As for Redhohoho's assessment that for every asshole there's 10 great people - I believe that's true. It's just that for every great person, there's 10 assholes drawing paycheques as customs agents.

[dapoopa]

I have flown from Amsterdam back to Moscow (where I live) on three occasions and have *never* experienced anything near what you describe in your post from Russian customs. Come to think of it, I have never even seen a dog in the Moscow airport, drug sniffer or otherwise. Not that I have ever tried to bring anything back, but still.

Now I *have* merely tried to fly into JFK and gotten some manipulative questioning from the passport control, especially on recent trips. Like I'm some kind of suspect! And have gotten the shoe treatment in Newark airport, and have had my nose hair scissors confiscated with a warning in the Orlando airport.

Unsurprisingly, I am glad at this point to be living overseas and just a couple of hours away from Amsterdam. Which is where I will be visiting in July, INSTEAD OF THE USA! Meanwhile, Russia may be on the verge of decriminalizing a range of drugs for personal use, and you can walk around here with an open container NO PROBLEM WHATSOEVER.

How ironic that personal freedoms in Russia, the birthplace of communism, would be significantly greater in practice at this point in time than in the USA, the so-called "Land of the Free". What a friggin' joke that has become. And what a bummer.

Ex-pat dapoopa

[Otis]

How ironic that personal freedoms in Russia, the birthplace of communism, would be significantly greater in practice at this point in time than in the USA, the so-called "Land of the Free". What a friggin' joke that has become. And what a bummer.
Ex-pat dapoopa

Hi Dapoopa, and I hope you're considering a late November trip.

Freedom to smoke a little weed, and the penalty that goes with it, seems to vary widely depending on which state you are in and how aggressive the enforcement is. In rural Tennessee, as I've mentioned before, you'll go to jail, lose you car, potentially lose your home, be roughed up by rogue redneck lowly-educated violent cops, and be harassed to no end because you're a "drug user". The penalty doesn't fit the crime here, no way, no how.

But in 8 other states and in some other places, from what I hear and not from personal experience, enforcement isn't quite so harsh.

Still, I'd rather be in Moscow I guess because it seems more free. I don't feel freedom here, instead, I feel cops are out to bust druggies to the best of their ability, even forgetting about burglars or other offenders. More fun to crash in someones front door while they are sleeping and ramble thru their house and confiscate their belongings anyhow, rather then confront a criminal.

Smoke one for us soon.

Otis

[BlueBerry]

How ironic that personal freedoms in Russia, the birthplace of communism, would be significantly greater in practice at this point in time than in the USA, the so-called "Land of the Free". What a friggin' joke that has become. And what a bummer.
Ex-pat dapoopa

Yeah, I agree,,, 'land of the free'....... What a load of Shit...

[Freedom to smoke a little weed, and the penalty that goes with it, seems to vary widely depending on which state you are in and how aggressive the enforcement is. In rural Tennessee, as I've mentioned before, you'll go to jail, lose you car, potentially lose your home, be roughed up by rogue redneck lowly-educated violent cops, and be harassed to no end because you're a "drug user". The penalty doesn't fit the crime here, no way, no how.
I don't feel freedom here, instead, I feel cops are out to bust druggies to the best of their ability, even forgetting about burglars or other offenders.
Otis

My state is the same way here is SC,,, So I know exactly how you feel. They will take everything you own just over a little bit of weed >>> Damn Otis,,, I still can't believe you came back from the land of True Freedom.

BlueBerry
soon to be an ex-pat,,,,, without a Doubt!

[theguest]

Otis, you used to be a military policeman!??! It seems I am always surprised these days!

[Otis]

Otis, you used to be a military policeman!??! It seems I am always surprised these days!

Long long ago, in another life. I was hardcore at first, a stern MP, and turned into the most helpful MP you ever met by the time my duty was over. Learned I could not force people into being good, so tried as much as I could to help them and gave the drunks rides home. Made friends, not enemies. I was taught this way by a more senior MP.

Otis

[DrTak]

Even in "progressive" California, people live in fear of Big Brother.

I include Corporate America with its intrusions as well -- such as suing people beacuse their kid ran KAzaa on their computer.

So sad to be see our freedoms eroded.

But as a lover of freedom, I am happy for Da' and all his Russian friends.

[sdshadow]

Even in "progressive" California, people live in fear of Big Brother.

I include Corporate America with its intrusions as well -- such as suing people beacuse their kid ran KAzaa on their computer.

So sad to be see our freedoms eroded.

But as a lover of freedom, I am happy for Da' and all his Russian friends.

Freedom is an illusion in America. Sure you are free to vote, as long as you are voting for a rich white guy, your candidate will win.

You are free to pursue happiness, as long as your pursuit does not involve smoking a plant or drinking a beer in public.

You are free to talk, as long as you are not being interrigated by a customs officer.

I can honestly say, with a very sad heart, I no longer love America. I love the idea of America and the promises of freedom, but the reality is we have allowed the government to oppress us. I am as much at fault as anyone.

My problem is, I just no longer care and will leave the day I can convince my wife we should not live here any longer. That should take about 2 more trips through customs.

[LastHamlet]

It is a sad time going through customs. I can say from a personal event that it is a good thing that you had nothing on you. I have been on the side of the coin of the small grammage in the tighty-whities, and believe me, that was a nightmare. I was horrified to learn it could have been a 1000 dollar per gram fine.... I was in the grace of God that day, and with a small miracle of other events going on in Atlanta that day, my fine was cut by 90%,,,, talking about a stroke of luck... It was a wake-up call to my most arrogant self, to never pull such a silly thing again.
I consider myself fortunate and will never attempt such again.
I feel your grief SDShadow, and am only glad you didn't go through what I did.. Fortunantly I didn't get the body cavity search,, that would have been quite awful indeed.
Sorry to hear about that, it does seem to leave a rather fowl taste in your mouth, seeing how you had nothing on you.

[regguy9876]

Other then having a bag of tulips with the wrong certificate confiscated I was never hassled by US Customs/Immigration on any of my return trips. I was saddened to read the poster's experience. This is just another example of the bull*hit double-standards practiced by the US in the so-called "War on Drugs"! I recall a small group of NYC police I met in A'dam when I lived there who'd come over on a "drug holiday" (and readily admitted it). I thought the "4 inch dick" comment was a hoot!
It urks me to no end that most police and politicians in the US will admit the marijuana laws need to be reformed, but only state that after they retire!! Most of them don't have the balls to commit political suicide by coming out in favor of reform while in office or employed in law enforcement.

[regguy9876]

I meant "irks", not urks.

[Ziggystarr]

Deleted by Zig

[DutchBarbie2000]

Sorry you had such a bad time. I always take twice as much medication as I need (cuz I have some I absolutely must take each day) and I put half in my purse and half in a carry on incase something gets lost or possibly stolen. I think thats a must. The folks in customs can be real jerks though. I have never experienced it but then I lie. LOLOL. My first trip to Adam I told them I had sausuges and cheese and the took them. BOO HOO> Learned my lesson. They cant get you for a grinder. Nor for admitting to going to a shop. ZZZZOOOO... dont admit to little things ... I always say I have 30 bucks worth of t shirt and thats it... usually got a full suitcase of foodstuffs. All the Indo things and all.

[moe.]

Just catching up here after being down ill for the past 3 weeks. I was thoroughly disgusted with what I read and what you had to go through. There is no arguing with ignorance, it just can't be done when they can't even begin to comprehend what you are saying. Like another poster said, at least you aren't in jail. God forbid I ever have to go through something like that because my anger would most likely take over and I'd get myself in more trouble by unleashing a torrent of curse words in the morons direction figuring that it is all he can understand which would probably net me a cavity search for my efforts. As much as I don't look forward to one, I've been poked there by doctors so much recently that I'd probably just spread my cheeks and say "Go for it sweetheart"!

moe.

[algebraic expressions]

wow, the regime in America seems pretty opressive, even though cannabis is still illegal in Ireland, the cops don't really bother with small amounts any more, they just take it off you and thats it, this has happened only in the last 7/8 years, before that it was like as some of you have described, the stimgma of being caught alone would have been a great source of embarresment.

[Chooby]

mixing medications is unwise.

they can react to each other, contaminate and spoil much faster.

It also would pose a question as to what are the pills in the container?

[DutchBarbie2000]

Thanks Chooby, I didnt know you couldnt mix meds in bottles... glad to know it cuz I tell everyone to do it and now I wont anymore. :))

[cm1955]

Otis, you used to be a military policeman!??! It seems I am always surprised these days!

Long long ago, in another life. I was hardcore at first, a stern MP, and turned into the most helpful MP you ever met by the time my duty was over. Learned I could not force people into being good, so tried as much as I could to help them and gave the drunks rides home. Made friends, not enemies. I was taught this way by a more senior MP.

Otis

Otis perhaps you can answer a question i put on another thread-the manager of an underground club here in Hawaii said a friend who,s in the navy told him his club was on the blacklist meaning military cant go in. Also a few of the ladies i see here in Waikiki show a dislike in seeing servicemen-could that be for the same reason? What about in the A,dam RLD. I talked to a cop i know here and he said the most fun he had with ladies was when he was a sailer in Europe in A,dam.Can those guys see the ladies on their own time like we do? I can understand the drus to an extent but nothing wrong with a little R&R.