Medellin Reports

[GeneHickman]

Just as a personal note. I was stopped in an uber late at night after going to a night venue. It was around 1 am and the cops randomly waved the uber over. They asked me to get out and asked me if I had drugs. They proceeded to thoroughly search me meticulously and looked in the car. I am a 30-something olive skinned male who could pass for Colombian (until I open my mouth). Thankfully I didn't have anything but I got the impression I'd be in significant trouble if I did have something on me.

I would advise caution when traveling abroad in Colombia thinking you can roll around with even a joint on you. The horrors of the Colombian prison system should scare you enough not to be reckless in a foreign country. It's not worth it.

If you are returning from the girls la Isla club after midnight towards Poblado. There is quite a high likelihood that you will be stopped and searched. I don't think it matters much whether you are in a taxi or an Uber. I agree I think they are looking for drugs. In my case it was a quick search they did not appear very interested in anything else. I had all of one beer in me. I read this thread and was prepared. I had a brief jovial conversation with the officer in my broken Spanish and was on my way. Entire stop was maybe 2-3 mins.

[Fun Luvr]

You don't go to jail, they will pretend to search your wallet for drugs but in reality checking out how much money you have so you can pay them off.

I think you know nothing about Medellin, other than you know it is in Colombia.

[TriFreak1]

Been lurking reading as much as I can. Question for the vets here what hotel would you recommend that's located between Downtown and Gringoville that's chica friendly and nice enough to not scare the FB chicas. I plan to do some hunting in the downtown area while setting up citas with the FB chicas. Also for any board members in town around 8/25 - 9/3 let's link up. I'm fluent in Spanish so no language barriers.

Just as a personal note. I was stopped in an uber late at night after going to a night venue. It was around 1 am and the cops randomly waved the uber over. They asked me to get out and asked me if I had drugs. They proceeded to thoroughly search me meticulously and looked in the car. I am a 30-something olive skinned male who could pass for Colombian (until I open my mouth). Thankfully I didn't have anything but I got the impression I'd be in significant trouble if I did have something on me.

I would advise caution when traveling abroad in Colombia thinking you can roll around with even a joint on you. The horrors of the Colombian prison system should scare you enough not to be reckless in a foreign country. It's not worth it.

[TriFreak1]

I'll be in Medellin from 8/25 - 9/3. This will be my 1st trip to MDE but been to Thailand, Peru and DR I'm fluent in Spanish so if there's anyone there at that time and want to link up hmu. In reading the reports and being to casa in DR and Peru I'm not a fan of them. I know I'll be spending a lot of time mining for some nuggets in the downtown area. I've established a nice network of FB girls so I plan on keeping busy with that along with the occasional strip club venture. My question is what hotel do yall recommend that's chica friendly centrally located from downtown to gringoville and not run down enough that the FB chicas are hesitant to roll through?

[Monger261]

Right! There has been a sharp increase of taxis and UBERS getting targeted and pulled over by cops with foreigners in them just to check for drugs of any kind. If you get caught with anything you go directly to jail. So be very smart about it.

Lurker here.

You don't go to jail, they will pretend to search your wallet for drugs but in reality checking out how much money you have so you can pay them off. There has to be a reason why they searched you though in the first place. I'm not sure about Medellin, but uber is illegal in Bogota so drivers get harassed even though it is used all the time. They get around it by saying you are their friend, but you have to sit in the passenger seat for it to be believable and know the driver's name etc.

[ThadMax]

Just as a personal note. I was stopped in an uber late at night after going to a night venue. It was around 1 am and the cops randomly waved the uber over. They asked me to get out and asked me if I had drugs. They proceeded to thoroughly search me meticulously and looked in the car. I am a 30-something olive skinned male who could pass for Colombian (until I open my mouth). Thankfully I didn't have anything but I got the impression I'd be in significant trouble if I did have something on me.

I would advise caution when traveling abroad in Colombia thinking you can roll around with even a joint on you. The horrors of the Colombian prison system should scare you enough not to be reckless in a foreign country. It's not worth it.

[GreenBud]

Right! There has been a sharp increase of taxis and UBERS getting targeted and pulled over by cops with foreigners in them just to check for drugs of any kind.

And how would you know this?

Can you or the cops tell the difference between a Gringo and a White / Olive skinned Colombian?

If you get caught with anything you go directly to jail.

Incorrect. Many options are available.

I've seen cops randomly (I believe) stop taxis and cars. Not often though.

Most of the times, I've seen cops stop and frisk young people on the street walking in Santa Fe, Chapinero, and Vera Cruz. Never in Bogota's Zona T or Parque Lleras. I have never seen them stop and frisk business type people. I've never seen the cops stop and frisk females, but I was told that only female cops can search females. It has always been male cops doing random searches on young people.

Only time I've seen a business type person (a guy in a sports jacket) get into trouble was in La 70 at a bar with an outside sitting area. A very drunk guy (with his 2 passed friends and 1 sober one) was breaking up a bag of coke at a table right in front of the street. Unluckily for him, a cop was passing by. The cop yelled at him and took his bag. The drunk guy didn't seem worried. Then the manger came out and spoke with the cop. Then the manager and the drunk guy went into the bar. The drunk guy came back. Later the cop left. There is an easy solution. Wondering how much the bribe was.

On a side note, it's interesting that the young people being searched know the drill. They don't even open their mouth. Nothing about cops violating their constitutional rights. They spread and raise their arms. The cops always check their shoes and inside their baseball caps. If you dress like a gang banger, the cops will search you. I don't think they harass tourists, but hard to say since I'm not sure who the tourists are. Plus I believe the tourists don't dress like gang bangers.

[GreenBud]

1. I am not a drinker what-so-ever, much much more of a fanatic for la crippa. Does anyone have experience scoring grade-A product?

Edibles is the way to go. If you google "edibles Bogota", the first hit you get is: https://hightimes.com/edibles/inside...edibles-scene/.

I got 2 sources from that article. El Gato (in Bogota) is very, very good.

Very difficult, maybe impossible, to score California quality indoor weed.

Colombia has a large, growing medical marijuana industry. They plan to export. But I couldn't find good quality weed.

I spoke with couple of stoner poker players in Bogota. They said it is hard or impossible to get good indoor.

I spoke with Donny from Medellin. He's an American living in Medellin La 70 area. He sells everything. He said his contact can get good indoor quality because he gets it from his Barrio. But prices will be very high. I think he said either 300 K COP or US $300 per ounce. Donny adds a large mark-up. Low quality weed, the stuff you normally get off the streets, is 20 K COP for a 7-10 gram bag. Horrible quality.

Never seen weed laced with anything in Colombia. Sounds like a retarded story. Of course, the writer only heard about it. Why would anyone add other drugs, which cost money, to a cheap bag of weed?

Drugs have been decriminalized. But they are still prohibited.

Cops would have to be a total dick to mess with the locals for weed. But once in Santa Fe, I saw 2 cops on the street stopping people (young people, never businessmen types) and searching them. One cop found a small bag of weed on one young guy on a moto-bike. The cop was writing him a ticket. The guy just rolled up his eyes. But, as a tourist, cops might / will harass you for a bribe if you have weed. IMO, 50 K COP will be the lowest bribe for weed.

Coke is more serious. A local I know said he spent a night in jail, until 3 PM the next day, for getting caught with coke.

You will not spend a long time in jail for just drug possession. But there will be hassles. Colombian justice system is easier / better than the US. Just pay a bribe. Or even if you go to jail for a long time, you just have to pay extra money to get better living standards. Several years ago after a TV documentary about the luxurious living accommodations at a prison, the officials closed it down. But I am assuming stuff like that still exists.

People write BS without facts. It's always, they heard about it.

[Chicafan]

There are a few things you should be aware of. Unless you get a Colombian doctor to give you a prescription, it's illegal for you to possess or smoke marijuana in Colombia. Also, the Colombian legal system works differently than the US legal system. If you are arrested, you go to jail. Assuming the police don't immediately decide your arrest was a mistake, you then go to prison. You remain in prison until the prosecutors have collected all their evidence and they are ready to take you to trial. There is no time limit on this process. No bail, no lawyer to talk you out. Just you, enjoying the finer aspects of Colombian prison.

"but but but I'm American". No good?

As a bonus, you'll probably learn a lot of Spanish.

Not the romantic kind.

[PaisaPorFavor]

It doesn't compare to California or Dutch weed. Lesser quality outdoor. It's really poor if you are use to California quality.

Not sure if you had California, Dutch, Moroccan Bud / Hashish, but that's all I have to compare with.

But, How is the quality? Is it all outdoor grown?

I have also heard of stores in El-Centro selling Edibles too, I imagine that ingest-format would be most ideal for sub-par bud.

.

[ColombiaLover]

Although the cops seemed more interested in my Colombian amigas and whether they had drugs or stolen cell phones. I just stood there.

Right! There has been a sharp increase of taxis and UBERS getting targeted and pulled over by cops with foreigners in them just to check for drugs of any kind. If you get caught with anything you go directly to jail. So be very smart about it.

[Husker Dude]

What's the weather like in Medellin for mid August?

Weather pretty much the same year round mid 70's day upper 60 night. Just certain rainy periods, but I don't know when they are.

[FortuneWaffers]

Right! There has been a sharp increase of taxis and UBERS getting targeted and pulled over by cops with foreigners in them just to check for drugs of any kind. If you get caught with anything you go directly to jail. So be very smart about it.

Drugs for personal use is decriminalized in Colombia. Personal use for weed equals up to 20 grams on you and 20 plants in your house. Personal use for cocaine is 1 gram.

Source: http://www.drugpolicy.org/news/2012/...a-personal-use.

So, lets assume the laws are correct and the police are corrupt but only want bribes for offences that they can't get a case from the moment you arrive at their police headquarters. Maybe the police is looking for tourist with more than 1 g of miley realistically. Its okay if you don't smoke the bud and wouldn't know the amount associated with personal use, but any "recreational" user that has a need to carry more than 20 grams at a time, is not a "recreational" user, those are dealer's amount's where in most countries of these amounts is a felony.

But perhaps you knew someone that got busted at these amounts no matter what and went directly to jail? If that was the case, please enlighten me. Other than that, I don't see a reason unless someone snorts the shit in front of police, I think we Gucci.

[Trojan22]

What's the weather like in Medellin for mid August?

[JjBee62]

Well considering how historically sex, drugs, and rock-and-roll kinda plays into one another, forgive me if I thought I can smoke some bud in a brothel. That was certainly how things were in Amsterdam, an equally conservation place if not way more. Bud is technically illegal and decriminalized in both countries. I certainly do not think this is harsh though. But Medellin really doesn't strike me as conservative. Because they go to church?

This is the difference between getting an impression from the television vs getting an impression from experience.

Marijuana use is common, more so amongst the lower economic classes. Technically it's legal to have up to 25 grams in your possession for medical use. A few years ago the courts ruled that the 25 g limit was not a hard limit, so a person could probably get away with carrying 30 g or more, under the right circumstances.

However, when Duque took office he declared that possession was illegal, any quantity, medical marijuana prescription or not. Recently, the Supreme Court declared Duque's ruling unconstitutional, however it would appear people are still being arrested.

There are a few things you should be aware of. Unless you get a Colombian doctor to give you a prescription, it's illegal for you to possess or smoke marijuana in Colombia. Also, the Colombian legal system works differently than the US legal system. If you are arrested, you go to jail. Assuming the police don't immediately decide your arrest was a mistake, you then go to prison. You remain in prison until the prosecutors have collected all their evidence and they are ready to take you to trial. There is no time limit on this process. No bail, no lawyer to talk you out. Just you, enjoying the finer aspects of Colombian prison.

As a bonus, you'll probably learn a lot of Spanish.