Some rumors and urban myths dispelled..

Dogs smell individual scents, not the collection like humans do. A beef stew smells to us like a beef stew. To a dog, it smells like beef, carrots, celery and each individual ingredient. Thus trying to "mask" the scent with coffee or other powerful scents is valid only to conceal from human screened bags.

NOTE- some head shops sell smell-proof bags; these are HIGHLY recommended. A smell proof baggie in a medicine container works in a pinch.

I've flown with pot many times, both domestically (around Cali, to Chicago, NYC, Atlanta, Texas) and internationally (London, Mexico). I have a valid CA prescription which I keep with me at ALL TIMES. No, the FAA doesn't recognize state law but it gives you some excuse if you're caught plus I never take more than a gram, if that.

DO NOT TAKE A USED PIPE. Take papers, or better yet, buy papers after you land. At minimum, take a NEW UNUSED pipe. OPTIONAL- every hotel has a bible, and that paper is really thin.. 8-) Just get some with the least amount of print; it doesn't taste great but hey.. I put a thumbtack in my bag and get a can of coke when I get there..

MY STRATEGY- PART 1- minimize risk and exposure. A certain percentage of people at the airport are a) high; b) have handled pot recent; c) brushed up against someone who has; d) etc.. leaving many people with traces of residue somewhere on their person or luggage. Obviously there is some threshold or there would be several or more people detained on every flight- which obviously there is not.

PART II - minimize contact transfer. DOMESTIC. Pack your weed the day before in something water/air tight. Then wash the packed container (and your hands) with soap and water and set it aside. This is a good test- if water leaks into the weed when you wash the container, it was a bad choice anyway. Find something else to pack your weed in. The next day, after a shower and fresh change of cloths, pack normally. I put it in the pocked of some rolled up jeans (with many pairs). I pack the prescription (or copy of and keep the original in my carry-on) somewhere close by or in the same pocket. RISK- if you go to great length to conceal your weed, you risk "the concealment told us you knew it was wrong to transport weed" so YMMV.

INTERNATIONAL/EXTRA PARANOID- Minimize transfer as described above, plus added security. Without touching the week, transfer to as small a vacuum sealing bag as you can. Use a food vacuum sealer to suck all the air out creating a TIGHT thin, long little nugget of pot. I then re-seal this in another vacuum bag. Trim off the edges to make it as small as possible. Wrap in duct tape TIGHTLY. Put this long thin weed pack into an opaque bottle of shampoo, place in your cosmetics/overnight bag, put into the luggage and check it. Getting the weed pack out afterwords can be a bit of a bitch, but just pack some tweezers and you'll be fine :-) Just don't tear the package trying to get it out.

OPTIONAL- mentioned earlier- jar of face cream or hair product. Scoop it out, put weed pack inside, put product back in and smooth it over.

After you've done this once or twice, you can do all the above in less than 5 minutes. The payoff is that you arrive at your destination with the weed of your liking vs WTF you might end up with via a street buy.