Medication regulations vary significantly from nation to nation. Drugs that you use at home may be banned at your destination.
Many travelers, including me, must carry important medications with them, including some that are restricted due to their contents and classification. Pay attention to medication regulations. If you’re using drugs that contain a “controlled substance,” such as codeine, you’ll likely be required to have extra documentation to be permitted to bring them with you when outside your home country.
Unfortunately, too many international travelers are regularly caught with medications that are legal in their home countries, but illegal at their destinations. International travelers must be cautious about any medication they take on their journeys.
Make sure that you have all the essential documentation for medications that are needed during your travels.
I’m preparing for a long international trip now. I take a prescription medication regularly that’s restricted in most countries across the world and banned in some. Fortunately, I’m generally permitted to travel with it, but I’m required to bring my prescription and a letter explaining my medical need for it from my physician.
The consequences of breaking medication regulations can be serious. It ranges from confiscation to stiff financial penalties and imprisonment for drug trafficking. Even confiscation can be serious if the medication is essential to treat a chronic condition.
I’ve got ten tips to help you safely bring the medications you need while traveling internationally.
Here are my ten tips for travelers who need to take medications with them on their international journeys. Some of the tips may apply to those traveling domestically. In the U.S., for example, laws restricting some “controlled substances” vary significantly from state to state.
1. Detailed medication list:
Make a detailed list of every medication, prescription, and over-the-counter drug that you plan to take with you on your journey. Don’t omit any medications. This will facilitate the planning you’ll need to do.
2. Research each international destination for their regulations for each medication:
Each nation has its own drug laws. When traveling internationally, you must research each medication on your list for each of your journey’s destinations to ensure it’s legal and what documentation is necessary for it, if any, to comply with your destinations’ medication regulations. Some nations not only ban some prescription medications, they may also ban some common over-the-counter medications including allergy, cough and sinus medications.
In the U.S., if you’re using a controlled substance, make sure that you can take it across state borders and that it’s legal in your destination states.
Even if you have all your written prescriptions with you, don’t assume you can purchase any of your medications at your international destinations.
3. Never assume that you’ll be able to purchase your medications at your international destination, particularly if they contain a “controlled substance:”
Never count on being able to purchase any medication at your international destination. While it’s possible that you may be able to purchase some of your medications at your destination, one or more of them may be banned for local sale. Some may be out of stock or not carried locally. You should also be wary of purchasing counterfeit drugs while traveling. In addition, your home prescription may not be honored internationally. You may need to have a full exam with a local physician to obtain a prescription at your international destination(s).
4. Bring a sufficient supply of your medications:
I recommend that travelers always bring a sufficient supply of their prescription and over-the-counter medications to cover them for their entire journey, plus an extra amount in case of delays. That said, be aware that with regard to a medication containing a “controlled substance,” many countries allow travelers to bring no more than a 30-day supply of the drugs.
For domestic travel, use the list of prescription medications you’ve made to ensure you have an active refill available at your pharmacy. You can potentially transfer it to a pharmacy at your domestic destination in case you need more medication before you return home.
Pack your medications in their original container, not in your pill organizer, when traveling internationally.
5. Pack medications in their original container:
Always travel with each medication in its original container to clearly identify it, in case of inspection. If the prescription details of the medications aren’t on the original containers, you’ll need a copy of your prescription and/or a letter from your doctor concerning each prescription. You might need the prescription and/or a letter in some countries even if they’re in their original container.
Many travelers who regularly take multiple medications daily use a pill organizer. If you use an organizer, bring it along, but don’t fill it until you’re safely at your hotel or other accommodations.
6. Medical devices’ documentation:
Don’t forget that some medical devices, such as syringes and inhalers, aren’t necessarily legal at some destinations. Unused syringes, for example, may be considered illegal drug paraphernalia and land you in jail with a huge fine. Research them along with the drugs you take and be sure of their legality and the documentation you’ll need for them.
Never, repeat — NEVER, pack your medications, prescriptions, or over-the-counter drugs in your checked luggage.
7. Pack medications in your carry-on:
While traveling by air, always pack your medications for domestic or international travel in your carry-on or personal item to ensure they arrive with you at your destination. If you’re required to gate-check your carry-on, remove your medications before checking the bag and keep it with you inside the plane.
If traveling by bus or train, always pack your medications in your carry-on or personal item if you are checking a bag with the bus or train company. You want to make sure your medication is available in case the bus or train company misplaces or loses your checked bag. The same is true if you’re taking a cruise. On a cruise I was on a number of years ago, it took the cruise line more than a day to get the bags that had been delivered to the wrong cabins to the correct cabins.
8. Liquid medications at airport security:
In the U.S., for example, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) allows air travelers to bring medication in the form of pills or any solid form in unlimited quantities in carry-ons. TSA also allows liquid medication in excess of 3.4 ounces in reasonable quantities in carry-ons, packed outside of the liquids bag; however, you must tell a TSA officer that you have such liquid medication at the security checkpoint. Most other countries’ airport security agencies follow similar regulations.
Be careful about your health insurance when traveling internationally.
9. Health insurance:
If necessary, your health insurance may not cover prescription medication purchases at your destination. For example, Medicare doesn’t provide international coverage for U.S. senior citizens. If you’re traveling internationally, unless your health insurance provides full coverage at your destination, purchase travel health insurance that includes coverage for medications.
10. Be cautious with herbal medications:
Herbal medications often contain various ingredients, including teas, extracts, and plant materials. Some are illegal at many international destinations, so it may be difficult and essential to determine their legality before you trave of these are ill.
The above guidelines are important for anyone traveling internationally. You need to be certain about each nation’s regulations, as you’re responsible for following them. Claiming ignorance of your destinations’ prescription laws won’t help you prevent fines or jail. If you have any doubt about your destinations’ laws, check with each destination’s embassy.
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After many years working in corporate America as a chemical engineer, executive and eventually CFO of a multinational manufacturer, Ned founded a tech consulting company and later restarted NSL Photography, his photography business. Before entering the corporate world, Ned worked as a Public Health Engineer for the Philadelphia Department of Public Health. As a well known corporate, travel and wildlife photographer, Ned travels the world writing about travel and photography, as well as running photography workshops, seminars and photowalks. Visit Ned’s Photography Blog and Galleries.
