FDA took me laser :(

[blue bumblebee]

the FDA (or the canadian equivalent) took my laser last summer
took them friken 6 months to send me the letter -.-

i attached the image for all the pages i got

am i doing everything right? (telling them to throw it away)

will there be a permanent record/blacklist for my name, address, ect?

thanks

http://i.minus.com/ibs6JuwmNTv4bU.JPG

(hope you can read the letter)

 

[Blord]

I feel sorry for your loss. I hope you don't get in trouble in the future.

 

[blue bumblebee]

ya, im not too worried about the laser right now

so will there be a permanent record or something?
and did i check the correct box on the last page?

 

[lasersbee]

the FDA (or the canadian equivalent) took my laser last summer
took them friken 6 months to send me the letter -.-

i attached the image for all the pages i got

am i doing everything right? (telling them to throw it away)

will there be a permanent record/blacklist for my name, address, ect?

thanks

http://i.minus.com/ibs6JuwmNTv4bU.JPG

(hope you can read the letter)

That's too bad... Who did you buy it from..
Maybe the seller will ship you another one...

I would have checked off the first option just
to make them work to get my Laser... But that's
just me...


Jerry

 

[blue bumblebee]

i got it from DX :/
and i already tried, they refused to resend me another

what would you have written for the first one?

 

[ARG]

What laser did they take specifically? It's good that they are finally being clear on what is not allowed in Canada.

I would've checked the first box and told them you were going to use it for engraving or any other purpose that would require more than 5mW.

 

[blue bumblebee]

the sd-306 from DX 150mw version
i was only out $55

lol
they'd believe that sorry of bs excuse?

probably shuda done that instead

 

[hakzaw1]

How much $$ are you out-if not much let it go. I would use another to buy anything forward from this one.
IT MAY not hurt any to send info regarding your intended use to frighten away pests like porcupines- hawks around your chickens/livestock- saying you only had limited success with a 5mW pointer. You must convince them you are totally aware of all dangers, you are NOT a minor, and you own proper eyeware for all your uses. You might consider asking for it back to carry on outings alone in wilderness areas for signalling device in time of distress or as self defense item against bears, wolves. mountain lions etc.. These IMO al all legit reasons to own this device.

btw were the batteries included? Did you have eyeware also in the order?

I had to give up rights against 16 532 5mW pointers that were all checked in random test and found oSpec..the other 17 were finnaly sent a month after the destruction of he 16 and BTW all were also more than 5mWS==San Fransisco Customs..Luke got lasers two years after being siezed==go figure..

 

[blue bumblebee]

they sent the envelope like 2 months ago with only the charger and battery :/

so is the loss of the laser itself all there is?
no record/blacklist/future things that it may come bite be in the ass again?
thats my main concern right now :/

 

[DTR]

Has anybody just sent back they plan to use it for wood engraving and that can not be accomplished with 5mW? Since there seems to be a lot of gray with theses seizures I would think just standing your ground a little might be worth it.

 

[Polonium210]

I feel your pain! I too am expecting a letter from the Canadian Boarder Services/Canada Customs.
We will see how this turns out.

 

[InfinitusEquitas]

This certainly sucks. Sorry to hear about your laser loss.

Reading through that notice... it is surprisingly long and pointless.

The references to other countries seems out of place...

Seems to me that the central argument they made for seizure/forfeiture is that in their assumption the laser emits too much radiation for the manufacturer suggested use. Also doesn't seem like they actually bothered to test the laser, simply going off of the label.

Personally considering the low amount, I would have checked the last box too. For a more expensive laser though, I would contest the conclusions and the findings. For <$100 it's just not worth the hassle.

It's probably no consolation, but I have one of those SD-306 lasers... it only does ~50mW, so not a big loss.

 

[ElectroMagneticFreak]

I am really sorry this is happening.

The fact is Laserglow sells handheld lasers WITHIN Canada that are far more than 5mW for the sole purpose of enjoying a powerful laser beam! While they do have the 5 point safety system I saw no mention of that being a reason that your laser was seized, only stating that it was because anything over 5mW was in THEIR opinion more than what you needed.

It seems they claim to understand the other uses besides a pointer for something over 5mW but suggest these uses are questionable (in their opinion.) However, if there is no actual law prohibiting the sale of anything over 5mW as Laserglow in Canada sells much more powerful lasers legally, then they have no jurisdiction to seize based on opinion.

I guess what I don't understand is that if there are >5mW sold in Canada from Laserglow (a very reputable supplier) and that they have no trouble with the law selling their handheld (aka not pointer lasers) for no explicit practical purpose defined then what is the problem? Is it simply the terminology used to describe it - as in pointer vs. handheld? While Laserglow does have a 5 point safety system this was not the cause of siezure by customs as there was no mention even of the 5 point safety system in their letter and it had more to do with a product labeled as a pointer which is more than 5mW...

It sure seems like a lack of consistency and logic based on little actual law and more to do with discretion and personal opinion of those not actually qualified or knowledgeable about the acceptable safe practices and use by knowledgeable hobbyists / educators etc... These people know how to operate a laser safely using goggles and other safeguards in a controlled environment and should not be infringed on by this one size fits all approach to seizing things willy nilly that are deemed too dangerous by whoever happens to be on shift that day... I know there was some coverage in the news about legal adult pornography being seized at the border by some over zealous border guards bringing the law into their own hands.


EDIT: BlueBumbleBee, Have you had trouble with any other supplier than DX? Polonium who did you order from, are you sure yours has been seized too?

 

[blue bumblebee]

nope
i have ordered more of the same sd-306 before
one 50mw and one 100mw

and many more from o-like, lazerer

i think this was just caught during a random "spot check"

 

[electron]

Re: CDRH took me laser

So the device was forfieted to "Her Majesty", so they are now going to mail the device to the Queen of England....I wonder what "Her Majesty" is going to do with a Laser? :thinking:

Canada really needs to drop the Monarchy, it's nothing more than a figure-head that cost the citizens big bucks in the form of VAT and other taxes. The Prime Minister actually runs the country along with parliment.


Seriously though, sorry to hear about your loss; I think I would have fought them on principle though. The Title on this thread is a bit mis-leading, shouldn't it be labeled CDRH as outlined in the letter; it appears it happened in the USA, but reading it I see it was a Canadian issue.
I always thought that Canada had no import laws on Lasers because of Nova & Laser Glow, but I guess that's not true?

 

[GBD]

Had the same thing happen to me (health canada is the FDA equiv for canada), and 2-3 months later I got the letter and paperwork.

Your options are as follows:
1. Take them to court, pay fees and try to convince you should get your item.

2. Write to the gov and give concent to forfiet & destroy your item (IE customs gets a new toy).

3. Do nothing and they will take that as concent to destroy the item 30 days later at the time of letter.

The third option is the best, as easly expect the processing fees of the first one to exceed 100$, let alone lawyer fees, etc, so legal action is not even worth it for low priced items.

They will not harrass you nor put some specail mark on your name to thoroughly check every package from now on, or a criminal record as I had these letters show up before, so you don't have much to worry about unless you are really hell bent on persuing your item.

For the future -> Tell the dumbass who shipped it not to put down green laser pointer on the customs declaration and customs won't do anything.

As long as the decleration isn't something obviously "controvertial" or on the potential of bieng illegal, or something that catches the agent's interest (IE labels that give a red flag instantly) they really don't care, they have a ton of imports to deal with and it would horridly waste thier time to check every last detail.

Cheers.