Something I learned in my last trip to Italy. My friends gave me a driving tour of the various prisons and jails in Florence (don't ask me why, I have no idea, LOL). But anyway they told me that in Italy if you are a citizen of the EU and are jailed you are incarcerated with all the other EU citizens. If you are are NOT a citizen of the EU you are incarcerated with all the other non EU Citizens and that although no prison/jail in Italy is good the ones for the non EU citizens are especially terrible. It was an interesting afternoon and not your typical "tour" of Florence.

"And it hardly bears mentioning, but I've read on the more youthful forums of people who thought that sticking pot in a coffee can was a wise plan, because the coffee smell would overwhelm the pot. Not a good idea."

Horrible idea, and what's more, smoking that pot will keep you up at night!

Watch out in Seattle, they have a Pit-Bull thqat will destroy your bag if he gets a scent of something.

So... what is the best way to sneak 'er in?

Seriously, I heard on TV that a pickle (in a sandwich) smells the same as explosives to the sniffing dogs.

hey, i never saw a pit bull at SeaTac... really? when?

I assume the backpack made it back through US Customs without incident. Unless you had washed the bag in Italy, kind of makes you wonder about US Customs now, doesn't it...?

Try to smuggle ANY drug into Indonesia and recent trials confirm that either a life sentence or the death penalty awaits you. One Australian recently hanged, with others on death row. But still they try..

It was Singapore where the young Australian was recently hanged, despite considerable public outcry and calls for clemency here. But yes, there are two under sentence of execution in Bali and another in Vietnam. The Indonesians appear to have been less than assiduous in following up their end of the supply chain, apart from one individual who died in suspicious circumstances after being apprehended by the police (presumably before he got a chance to implicate certain others). Almost certainly, police and justice systems in SE Asia (including Singapore) have been extensively corrupted by the drug trade, which encourages some cynicism about a few high-profile executions of foreigners. The mules are often caught, their controllers seldom.

I hear Rick Steves is really trying to get pot legalized in the USA. I agree with him. IMO smoking pot isnt that bad. Beer is stronger.

Last time in custums there were 2 adorable black labs...had to resist from trying to pet them and give them dogtreats...what pitbulls?

And yes, I agree with the previous poster--3 cheers to Rick and Hempfeast! But, having said that, even with more liberal views on pot in Europe, it's still stupid to try to take any across boarders!

Reading this thread makes me proud of the efficiency of our (European) border controls. I sleep sounder in my bed knowing that you Yanks will never get away with bringing a carrot into my country. I rest easy.

Maybe Rick Steves should start Drug Tourism into Mexico:

http://tinyurl.com/zudyk

It could only bolster the economy down there.
Might stop some illegal immigration.
Give the DEA less to do.
Make Mr. Steves very, <i>very</i> rich.

I has had so many problems with those dogs and customs officers at airports! Once it was an apple that I forgot to eat, another time I was on my way home from camp and, as I was going for my Riflery certificate, some of my stuff must have smelled of weapons, as I got stopped, sniffed, and then searched. Then there was a borrowed pair of jeans that landed me in the back room, and on my way back from Venezuela (I went for 4 days. . . a wedding), I got questioned for quite a while. . .
Officer: Why were you there for only 4 days?
Me: I went to a wedding
O: Were you there for the bride or groom?
M: Bride.
O: Where is the invitation? (i give it to him, he looks and continues) What language is this?
M: Hebrew.
O: So, they are white and not Venezuelan
M: Uh, there are white Venezuelans.
O: What does that mean?
M: Well, being Venezuelan does not exclude being white.
O: Step aside, please. Female assist!

And I will probably be searched over and over again thanks to those stamps in Arabic on my passport.

Yup, beware residue. A few years ago, flying out of Honolulu, my bag 'sniffed positive' for nitrate residue. I had no idea why, but the resulting delay when they searched most thoroughly not only my baggage but that of my family almost caused us to miss our flight. Later, upon reflection, I realized that I had used, the previous year, the suspected dufflebag on a hunting trip and had carried home a handful of expended shell cases in it. It certainly doesn't take much to leave a trace element.

&lt;grin&gt; But I will forever treasure the expression on the security person's face when he opened that duffle..I'd run a 10K race that morning, in Hawaiian humidity, and my sweatsoaked running gear was in there, sealed in a plastic bag. I thought he'd call for hazardous waste disposal then and there, but he bravely persisted, turning green all the while. Sometimes payback comes in strange ways!