08-24-2015, 01:51 PM
Hate to bring a thread back from the dead but since the whole seizure process is a clusterfuck between several agencies - CBP doing the picking of the package, FDA doing the deciding to test, deciding to release despite it being something that's not allowed or LL (admin hearings get expensive), deciding to pass it on to the DEA if it's something more serious - there is procedure in place for them to release a personal supply to you on a discretionary level, meaning the individual officer at the FDA can essentially tell CBP to (no doubt begrudingly) give you your package with a stern warning or no warning at all despite them knowing that the package contains something that they're not supposed to let in.
If you ever wondered what prosecutorial discretion looks like, well, this is a form of that essentially. Testing cost money. Potential appeals cost money. Holding and potentially destroying your package cost money. Admin hearings with all the personnel required takes money. Inter-agency cooperation is difficult. It would not be surprisingly that you may very well get a letter and your drugs at the same time, or just a letter, or have your package opened but sealed with no letter, all these are within the discretion of the powers that be (CBP and FDA) and generally the smaller the amount the more likely it is that you'll get it through even if they know what it is. They also have discretion to keep your address on file or not.Â
Most of the alphabet agencies - ranging from the FDA to the IRS to the DOT are underfunded like crazy and running with a low degree of efficiency so giving individual officers a high amount of discretion is the compromise, aka whether you get your package or not relies on, guess what, a fair bit of chance and luck. There have definitely been more individual cases of Kinder Egg (3711 through Chicago alone in a 120 day period) and Cuban Cigar/alcohol seizures than IOP seizures in this country this year by a huge magnitude, let's put it that way.
If you ever wondered what prosecutorial discretion looks like, well, this is a form of that essentially. Testing cost money. Potential appeals cost money. Holding and potentially destroying your package cost money. Admin hearings with all the personnel required takes money. Inter-agency cooperation is difficult. It would not be surprisingly that you may very well get a letter and your drugs at the same time, or just a letter, or have your package opened but sealed with no letter, all these are within the discretion of the powers that be (CBP and FDA) and generally the smaller the amount the more likely it is that you'll get it through even if they know what it is. They also have discretion to keep your address on file or not.Â
Most of the alphabet agencies - ranging from the FDA to the IRS to the DOT are underfunded like crazy and running with a low degree of efficiency so giving individual officers a high amount of discretion is the compromise, aka whether you get your package or not relies on, guess what, a fair bit of chance and luck. There have definitely been more individual cases of Kinder Egg (3711 through Chicago alone in a 120 day period) and Cuban Cigar/alcohol seizures than IOP seizures in this country this year by a huge magnitude, let's put it that way.