Pvoyageuse

They do it at the French/Spanish border and in many European airports, notably in Sardinia.

Palenque

And they do it inside France as well - i stay in Orleans often and the paper there carried an article about the local Dounaires (sp?) or Customs agency that were stopping a Dutch van on a highway there and having dogs go at it.

Saw an interview with an Italian border police guy and he said if the person had pot and it appeared only for personal use he would be let go - they are i think more interested in smack or coke than pot and guns and weapons too.

suze

<but I think you should be aiming this at the college student forums, not us old people>

Actually, the US aging 'baby boomer' generation of tourists is more likely to need this information than college students these days imho.

I'm no expert but in any drug search or crack down authorities want to find dealers, the big guys, hard drugs, cash, guns, a cartel or organization. They don't care about some old geezer or young person with a joint in their backpack. Could you accidentally find yourself in a situation better avoided? Possibly.

Keenan

Well, I think that the temptation is always there for me, especially when one doesn't encounter any threat of inspection on the return trip, just to perpetuate the trip with some of A'dam's finest. I haven't been searched during my two trips. I think that one should enjoy the culture where they immerse themselves but no need to bring this souvenier home with you.

Surfergirl

Palenque, your comments/story had me laughing. Yes, Suze, I totally agree with you.

It's interesting to note that same dog has been around sniffing luggage on trains since the early '70's. Last trip from Amsterdam to Paris by train a few years ago, they came by and didn't even look at us.

On the other hand, on our trip with our then 13 month son through Switzerland, not only did the men in uniform and dogs stop in our compartment, but they throughly checked out my diaper bag, scrutinizing the talcum powder! They should have given us money to buy a new talcum powder -- you don't know where those guards hands have been!

Seamus

Geez, I though this might be a recommendation on how to cope with long bus rides and was going to suggest it be moved to the Travel Tips forum.

Palenque

surfergirl - i can muse about it now but i was really really ticket off by being woken up in mid-night and then left with all my belonging in a chaotic pile in the baggage car.

crckwc1

I have been singled out for search -- both luggage and body -- so many times I can't count, for more than 30 years now. That gives you some idea of how old I am. It has become a family joke that I must look like Mata Hara or a drug runner. The most they've ever confiscated from me are a couple cans of Spanish olives (unopened), a tablespoon of Nutella in a jar, and a forgotten box of juice. Most recently, my electric hot pot got a thorough going-over but ultimately was okayed. The searches and patdowns continue even though I, too, am an old fart.

kerouac

I was scrolling the various posts, and my bleary eyes read the title as "Bus trip and cannibals" this time -- sounds a lot more exciting!

artstuff

I'm glad this post came up. I'll be travelling through Amsterdam, Belgium and France this October, and I keep telling my travelling companions that we absolutely can't take any "coffeeshop leftovers" out of the Netherlands. This post will help me stress my point.

PeaceOut - Same thing happened to my husband and I a few years ago. We (ages 48/54 at the time) were travelling back from Amsterdam with our two male friends who had just graduated college. Security singled out our friends and went through all their luggage. I had to laugh because security completely ignored husband and I, and I was the one carrying a pipe in my carry-on bag (it was a hand-made souvenir clay pipe from Gouda).

Robyn