Canada - U.S. Border Fail?
Hey ya'll. I was recently driving across to Canada with a friend for Christmas. I live in Washington state. On our way back from Canada, crossing in to the U.S. border was just completely ridiculous. The young guard kept asking the same questions and giving us shit. They seemed to be suspicious mostly of the fact that I had never met the guy and his family that we were going to go see. When he went to search our car, he asked us to empty our pockets. The only thing I had was my cell phone. The CBP officer (U.S. Customs and Border Protection) proceeded to take my phone and walked out and started digging through the car.
He is out there for a long time, maybe like 30 minutes, and I looked out the window once and saw him digging through the car. Good thing my dirty underwear is at the top of the bag. Finally the guy comes back and asks for the phone number of the guy we went to visit. He actually calls him. He seems very suspicious of us. Finally, after checking the car, asking us a million questions, and calling the friend we went to visit, he simply said, "you're good to go". When I asked him what we did wrong to cause such a delay, he said he was suspicious of me because I was going to spend Christmas with a family I haven't met. (my mistake of telling him I never met the people we were going to stay with). Whatever...
So the thing that has me worried is that I know these CBP guys can search your laptops, electronics, phones, etc. Being the stoner I am, I have pictures of weed on my phone, and text messages saying things such as "how much for a zip" or "the q probably won't work", etc. The pictures are mostly of nugs and it's only about 20 pictures out of the 650+ in my photos. It would take a little bit of digging through to find them. I also have one person I text for product and he was somewhere in the middle of my messages. Again, it would take a little bit of scrolling through to find them.
My questions are:
Can photos of weed on my phone be used to incriminate me in any way? For all they know, the pictures could be from the internet, right?
Can text messages saying things such as "how much for a zip" and other drug talk be used to incriminate me if a CBP officer reads them?
Would these guys report me to the real authorities in my city? I know these are small amounts we're talking, but would they really go that far? Maybe this young guy is trying to be a hero?
What are the CBP looking for when they go through your electronics? I understand they're mostly looking for child porn, terrorist activity, smuggling of drugs, and what goes in and out of the country. Which I have nothing to do with and never had anything to do with. Would they even care about anything that doesn't concern those things? I know they're also allowed to detain your electronics up to 5 days if they have suspicion. I did get my phone back.
Am I being overly paranoid about this? I can't tell if I'm just baked, or if there is a real reason to make my stash (up to an oz + much paraphernalia) disappear. The guy was a dick and I don't trust these asshole border monkeys. Anybody have a similar experience? Is there any reason to worry? Thanks in advance to anybody who wants to read all this.
Canada - U.S. Border Fail?
Use to cross the Blaine border every night for 2 years. They are dicks and always have been. They threatened to do a body cavity search on me once and I told him he'd better callin for some more backup.
They have device that they can plug into your cellphone and download everything on your phone, laptop or any other electronic device you have. The Patriot Act made that unconstitutionally legal for them to do. If for some reason they want to charge you with something they can use that in federal court against you. If its done through a state court that evidence CAN NOT be used against you because it was gotten without a judge signed search warrant. Pictures on cellphones can be traced right back to exactly what camera took the picture and if on a cellphone it embeds the GPS location that picture was taken. Its called IPTC data.
Never use a cellphone for cannabis. Turn the celpphone off and remove the battery before you go to do your business. When you're done put the battery back in the cellphone and turn it on. I don't mean to get over paranoid here but they can also legally put a small transponder on your car and know exactly where you are going and where you've been. Its already been done quite a few times. The chances they did that to you are propably pretty slim but it still might be a good idea to take a good look around and under your car.
The border patrol generally isn't worried about small time potheads but if they suspect you're involved in transporting any kind of quantity and they'll take a closer look at you.
Getting into trouble at the border was almost a nightly thing for me when I was crossing. I was never doing anything illegal so I just held my ground.
Canada - U.S. Border Fail?
Quote:
Originally Posted by killerweed420
Use to cross the Blaine border every night for 2 years. They are dicks and always have been. They threatened to do a body cavity search on me once and I told him he'd better callin for some more backup.
They have device that they can plug into your cellphone and download everything on your phone, laptop or any other electronic device you have. The Patriot Act made that unconstitutionally legal for them to do. If for some reason they want to charge you with something they can use that in federal court against you. If its done through a state court that evidence CAN NOT be used against you because it was gotten without a judge signed search warrant. Pictures on cellphones can be traced right back to exactly what camera took the picture and if on a cellphone it embeds the GPS location that picture was taken. Its called IPTC data.
Never use a cellphone for cannabis. Turn the celpphone off and remove the battery before you go to do your business. When you're done put the battery back in the cellphone and turn it on. I don't mean to get over paranoid here but they can also legally put a small transponder on your car and know exactly where you are going and where you've been. Its already been done quite a few times. The chances they did that to you are propably pretty slim but it still might be a good idea to take a good look around and under your car.
The border patrol generally isn't worried about small time potheads but if they suspect you're involved in transporting any kind of quantity and they'll take a closer look at you.
Getting into trouble at the border was almost a nightly thing for me when I was crossing. I was never doing anything illegal so I just held my ground.
First off, thanks for your reply. Although I am scared to shit right now :), it's good to know these things. Is there any way of telling if this ordeal would go to federal court or to state court? I did not know that they could download all my phone stuff. So is it now just a matter of them taking the time to look through my whole phone or not? I have had people hit me up for dubs, etc on my cell, but this was up to a year ago. It would suck to get in trouble for something I did a year ago, and no longer do now (strictly personal use).
One more thing. I have never brought anything illegal to and from Canada. That day I didn't either, and they found nothing after a thorough search. You said they can take a closer look if they suspect me of something. How would they take a closer look? Will they just red flag me every time I try to cross the border? Or should I expect police at my door sometime soon, either raiding or searching with a warrant? I am truly hoping they have way bigger fish to fry than me and my ounce of personal weed. And I will check for any transponders.
You seem knowledgeable. What would you do in my situation? Get rid of my weed, bong, pipes, scales, papers, grinder? Stay put and know that there is a low chance they will even care about me? Yes I realize that it's my fault for being careless, but I have learned some important lessons through all this.
Canada - U.S. Border Fail?
For the minor amount of evidence you had on your phone I really doubt they're interested in you. But as a caution I wouldn't use that cellphone for anything but talking for a while.
The Border Patrol is Federal. If you get investigated by feds you will be charged in federal court. But it has to raise to the level of a felony and I don't think thats the case in your instance.
I would give a 95% chance that nothing will come of this.
Its a digital world now and the government has positioned itself very well for keeping an eye on this. Always be careful what you divulge in public forums or on cellphones. No warrants are needed any more for LEO to search your data thanks to the patriot act. The other thing for the public to remember. Because this a a digital world it is much easier to fake data. Everything can be manipulated so its best to keep an eye out for what you do. Even DNA evidence has been faked in courts so faking digital evidence would be the next step.
Canada - U.S. Border Fail?
Quote:
Originally Posted by killerweed420
For the minor amount of evidence you had on your phone I really doubt they're interested in you. But as a caution I wouldn't use that cellphone for anything but talking for a while.
The Border Patrol is Federal. If you get investigated by feds you will be charged in federal court. But it has to raise to the level of a felony and I don't think thats the case in your instance.
I would give a 95% chance that nothing will come of this.
Its a digital world now and the government has positioned itself very well for keeping an eye on this. Always be careful what you divulge in public forums or on cellphones. No warrants are needed any more for LEO to search your data thanks to the patriot act. The other thing for the public to remember. Because this a a digital world it is much easier to fake data. Everything can be manipulated so its best to keep an eye out for what you do. Even DNA evidence has been faked in courts so faking digital evidence would be the next step.
Well, you broke it down pretty well. Yeah, I would hope the feds aren't going to be wasting their time on little ole' me. If they don't have better things to worry about, then that's just sad. I have nothing that would even come close to a felony. I'll definitely be smarter from now on; knowing you can still be potentially incriminated even when you legally cross the border into the U.S. as a citizen with a clean record and no prohibited items. :)
Canada - U.S. Border Fail?
I don't cross the border any more. Wouldlove to go see some friends up in Alaska but I refuse to sign away my bill of rights just to cross the border. Don't fly any more for the reason.
Canada - U.S. Border Fail?
Quote:
Originally Posted by cffigar
Hey ya'll. I was recently driving across to Canada with a friend for Christmas. I live in Washington state. On our way back from Canada, crossing in to the U.S. border was just completely ridiculous. The young guard kept asking the same questions and giving us shit. They seemed to be suspicious mostly of the fact that I had never met the guy and his family that we were going to go see. When he went to search our car, he asked us to empty our pockets. The only thing I had was my cell phone. The CBP officer (U.S. Customs and Border Protection) proceeded to take my phone and walked out and started digging through the car.
He is out there for a long time, maybe like 30 minutes, and I looked out the window once and saw him digging through the car. Good thing my dirty underwear is at the top of the bag. Finally the guy comes back and asks for the phone number of the guy we went to visit. He actually calls him. He seems very suspicious of us. Finally, after checking the car, asking us a million questions, and calling the friend we went to visit, he simply said, "you're good to go". When I asked him what we did wrong to cause such a delay, he said he was suspicious of me because I was going to spend Christmas with a family I haven't met. (my mistake of telling him I never met the people we were going to stay with). Whatever...
So the thing that has me worried is that I know these CBP guys can search your laptops, electronics, phones, etc. Being the stoner I am, I have pictures of weed on my phone, and text messages saying things such as "how much for a zip" or "the q probably won't work", etc. The pictures are mostly of nugs and it's only about 20 pictures out of the 650+ in my photos. It would take a little bit of digging through to find them. I also have one person I text for product and he was somewhere in the middle of my messages. Again, it would take a little bit of scrolling through to find them.
My questions are:
Can photos of weed on my phone be used to incriminate me in any way? For all they know, the pictures could be from the internet, right?
Can text messages saying things such as "how much for a zip" and other drug talk be used to incriminate me if a CBP officer reads them?
Would these guys report me to the real authorities in my city? I know these are small amounts we're talking, but would they really go that far? Maybe this young guy is trying to be a hero?
What are the CBP looking for when they go through your electronics? I understand they're mostly looking for child porn, terrorist activity, smuggling of drugs, and what goes in and out of the country. Which I have nothing to do with and never had anything to do with. Would they even care about anything that doesn't concern those things? I know they're also allowed to detain your electronics up to 5 days if they have suspicion. I did get my phone back.
Am I being overly paranoid about this? I can't tell if I'm just baked, or if there is a real reason to make my stash (up to an oz + much paraphernalia) disappear. The guy was a dick and I don't trust these asshole border monkeys. Anybody have a similar experience? Is there any reason to worry? Thanks in advance to anybody who wants to read all this.
yeah that shit is routine even before 911. i remember coming back from vancouver i was stuck their for four hours because my friend was mexican. thinking back it could have been longer if i said"lets see a warrant bitch!" apparently they dont need one or we just dont that they need one, perhaps its just quicker to go along with our traitorous gov. sure is easy getting into can though, eh.
Canada - U.S. Border Fail?
Quote:
Originally Posted by killerweed420
For the minor amount of evidence you had on your phone I really doubt they're interested in you. But as a caution I wouldn't use that cellphone for anything but talking for a while.
The Border Patrol is Federal. If you get investigated by feds you will be charged in federal court. But it has to raise to the level of a felony and I don't think thats the case in your instance.
I would give a 95% chance that nothing will come of this.
Its a digital world now and the government has positioned itself very well for keeping an eye on this. Always be careful what you divulge in public forums or on cellphones. No warrants are needed any more for LEO to search your data thanks to the patriot act. The other thing for the public to remember. Because this a a digital world it is much easier to fake data. Everything can be manipulated so its best to keep an eye out for what you do. Even DNA evidence has been faked in courts so faking digital evidence would be the next step.
the patriot act? this crap was always this way, just because they gave the word, traitor a name called patriot act doesnt mean anything has changed. CHANGE, hah hah haha hahahahahhahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahha.. .still a traitor, fuckin cunts.
Canada - U.S. Border Fail?
They were looking for Osama Bin Pothead
Canada - U.S. Border Fail?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gatekeeper777
They were looking for Osama Bin Pothead
Yeah he was probably living in Jersey running a 7-11.lol
