Under CAFRA 2000, notice must be sent within 60 days of seizure or 60 days after establishing party’s identity if unknown at time of seizure, or the property must be returned.
This wording does not seem to be impressing the JBTs when they see something they want to steal without trial. Consider the case of the Guatemalan dishwasher who, after working in the US for 11 years, returned to Guatemala without filling out the right Customs form on leaving the US, and had $59,000 cash stolen.
http://chuckpalahniuk.net/community/showthread.php?t=30904
This happened long after CAFRA 2000, and this wasn't even a drug case. I don't like stoners any more than you do, but what I really resent is drug enforcement being used as an excuse to militarize law enforcement and strip us of our basic rights.
Despite that governmentally-ignored verbiage you cited, we have now lost the right to carry cash without getting official permission. AND... we still have the same drug problem.