Background into:
There are visual drug identification systems and it appears (unsurprisingly) that customs use them. I know only of the system commonly used in the UK. I don’t know if TICTAC is used through Europe, or whether other similar systems exist in other countries.
j
As said before the only real issue is with controlled meds like opiates, or stimulents like ritilin. A problem there is that the pill is probably illegal in some countries, so the bottle could create an issue that wouldn’t arise if you just had the 14 day pill caddy.
Most countries have a foreign ministry or state department that issues an advisory for the sort of countries that may arrest visitors for such bad reasons. Unless you have a very good reason, like need to visit a sick relative, I advise avoiding them, and think this is a much better safety measure than bringing pill bottles. This is the site for Americans:
https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories.html/
Here is the site for Canadians (although it might be better for Americans than the U.S. site):
One thing I don’t have any advice on is medical marijuana.
I take 8 pills every morning and 4 every evening and use two pill organizers (so I have a 4 week supply). What I carry is the receipt from the pharmacy that gives all the details–name dosage, etc. I’ve never actually had to show it, but I travel only between US and Canada (although I used to go to Barbados every winter). The only time I might have had trouble was on the Cascade train from Vancouver to Seattle. The US had just passed a law banning the import of drugs from Canada and I heard this idiot of a customs agent tell the people in the seat ahead of mine that the import of any drugs from Canada, even for personal use, was now banned. So when he asked me if I had any drugs, I just lied.
I do recall that an Australian I knew who had a narcotic pump implanted because of severe back pain and had to travel with a supply of the narcotic was extremely careful to get everything precleared when he came to a meeting in Canada. But that’s a very special case.
A few decades ago, I was invited to give a talk in Buffalo. As it happens there were no flights because the Canadian ATC was on strike. So I took an overnight train to Toronto, then another to Niagara Falls (Canadian side) and someone from Buffalo picked me. When we got to customs, he was asked how long he had been outside the US (he had, for some reason, Georgia plates) and said, “about 15 minutes”. “Pull over!” They got us out of the car and then searched the car, taking panels of the insides of the doors, although they didn’t look inside the tires. They also examined my luggage carefully. Oddly enough, the one thing that didn’t phase them at all was a small plastic bag full of baking soda that I was using in lieu of toothpaste. I saw the guy pick it up, look in and put it down without comment. I still don’t understand that. Took about a half hour, then we drove to Buffalo.
As i said, whether or not you carry drugs, whether or not you have documentation, there’s always a risk customs will decide to do something that significantly delays you.
It’s quite common for people to travel with weekly pill organizers. That’s not a red flag. It’s also generally legal to carry your own meds for use while traveling across borders, unless the specific med is restricted. If you are taking opiates or medical marijuana or other drugs that are likely to be illegal in any jurisdiction you are traveling through, seriously consider leaving them home. But if you are taking a blood pressure med or a statin or something like that, i don’t think you need to take any special precautions.
Maybe his shift was coming to an end.
You have a few good reasons there for Canada putting out an advisory on travel to the U.S.
I was at least once car-searched coming into Canada. I was with my young son and a friend of his. We did have a proper parental permission letter, and I can see why they would flag that kind of visit.
It’s more, “if they randomly detain you, it may be more difficult if you have pills in an organizer and not their bottles,” though of course you are right there is nothing magical about bottles that turns fentanyl into Tic-tacs. But customs agents work on odds and probabilities and the obvious, and are triggered by the unusual or the more opaque. Pills in a bottle with a label? Probably legit. Baggie full of different pills? Might not be legit. Unlabeled pills in an organizer? Somewhere in between. Then it comes down to what sort of a day the agent is having and what mood they’re in and whether you give them crap. This from a conversation with a friend who was a customs agent for several years.