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Friday, May 9, 2014

Back from Prague with my Medical Cannabis

Hi guys & dolls!
[Gosh, this sounds so politically incorrect!]

Anticlimax, just as I'd hoped in my previous post.

Leaving Ben Gurion Airport was fine. The two little cannabis bottles were nestled in my necessaire; I didn't tell anyone about them, and checking in was the usual mild hassle. (Oops -- just made a big mistake: looked at images of necessaires, which immediately made my old one look boring...)

As airports go, Prague Airport was quite satisfactory: modern, well-signposted in a language I understand, with plenty of duty-free shops and inviting eateries. But I had eyes only for Customs. With heart aflutter, I dragged my case over to the red zone, where three officials were chatting idly. They stopped their chat and one of them asked me, as if making sure I knew where I'd stumbled into: "Do you have something to declare?" "Yes," I said, "I have these two tiny bottles of medical cannabis oil... and a license in Czech..." He asked to see the items, I opened my case and took out the items. He looked at the oily bottles curiously, glanced at the paperwork, then explained in Czech to the other officials what it was about; I caught the word "marijuana" in Czech. I think they were more amused than impressed. Official #1 said it was okay, and waved me off.

The "all clear" has sounded. Sigh of relief. Now I could start enjoying my visit! Providing, of course, that my digestive tract behaved itself and my pains lay low, with or without medication.

I don't have to tell you that Prague is beautiful. Everyone else has already said so, and available online photos confirm it. All that was left for me to do was to walk, walk, walk and see for myself. More about that in my next post. Meanwhile, here's just one thing-of-beauty that appealed to me:

statue at Troja Chateau
As for traveling elsewhere in the world with medical cannabis, my 2 cents' worth at this point are:
- If you don't absolutely have to, don't. It's not worth the headache (and the cost).
- Find out at the relevant embassy exactly, but exactly, what the official rules are, and how strictly they are applied.
Good luck, bon voyage, and please share your experiences and conclusions online, for the benefit of other travelers. Thank you.

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