ADHD concerta medication

“customs” is basically just a walk thru the correct door
The chances of your baggage being searched on arrival to Italy is slim to none

The official prescription and labeled bottle is all you should need

Hello jane29edwards, and welcome to the forum!

The standard/official advice is to have all your meds in their prescription bottles with current dates on them etc. In reality you can throw all your prescription drugs into a single ziplock bag and no one cares. You need to go through security but if it's not a liquid or your carrying so many pills that it looks weird on the x-ray security doesn't care. Passport control is just about your passport and any questions about you visa status to enter the country. As far as customs goes you walk through the door that says "Nothing to declare" and walk to the transportation curb with all the other tourists. Unless they have reason to believe you're carrying commercial quantities of illegal drugs, excessive amounts of money or agricultural contraband they have no reason to stop you.

The only caveats to this might be CDB and ADHD meds. Italy has waffled on how much THC they are willing to allow in oils but as long as it is marked "0% THC" on the packaging CDB should be fine in Europe. Any CBD products I would leave in the original packaging and make sure it is clearly labelled. The last I saw Italy had allowed .6% THC but that has changed a number of times. Also if you're connecting you need to be aware of rules in those places so .6% which is legal in Italy may not be in the UK where they measure limits differently. TSA officially says CDB is fine below .3% THC. Again they have no reason to search a random tourist but it's best to not accidentally break laws in countries you're passing through.

Italy has only recently started prescribing some of the meds for ADHD like America does, but they are not nearly as common as they are in the US. For non-prescribed medicines Italy essentially considers them to be "speed" and they are illegal. That being said they don't care about your prescription drugs and they have no reason to check them or care what you have. But be aware that if you were to lose them you probably won't be able to replace them or get replacements shipped to you.

Methylphenidate is the drug of choice for the treatment of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). It is available in Italy
only as a single formulation that is not optimal in ensuring an efficient therapy.

Also the sharing of your prescribed drugs with others would be treated as illegal drug dealing. I realize this scenario doesn't apply to you but most of these warnings come from advice for students going abroad who may be there for months and need to understand how seriously these seemingly minor infractions are treated.

In this instance I would leave ADHD drugs in their original packaging and if you're really worried get a diagnosis letter from your doctor. I took an explanation letter the first trip I carried my CPAP machine with me - they have to be removed at security - and absolutely no one cared. I haven't bothered since. Be smart about it, but no one is trying to deprive you of prescriptions drugs for your personal use.

Hope that helps, have a great trip!
=Tod

The standard/official advice is to have all your meds in their
prescription bottles with current dates on them.

And that's where the advice should end other than suggesting some due diligence as to if bringing your particular drug is legal or not.

Even though people say customs "is just a walk through," they can stop you. Sometimes, they randomly pick out people to stop. So it's always best to be prepared. And if stopped, they do care about your prescription drugs if they are controlled substances or classified as narcotic. That doesn't mean they're illegal, it just means they may give them a second look.

Having a copy of the prescription, which is on the bottle, with your name, doctor's name, name of drug and prescribing information is what they will look for. They also look at how many you are bringing in because they might be concerned you plan to sell it. Keeping prescribed narcotics and controlled substances in their original container is better than dumping them into a plastic bag.

But with a small amount--just enough to cover for your days in Italy and perhaps a few more in case of emergency--you should be fine.

Are you only going to Italy for four days? What about the rest of your trip? It might be a good idea to take a couple of extra in case your travel plans get changed.

Thanks everyone, my concern was that the medication is not recognised in Italy and is therefore illegal., so copy of prescription and original labelled bottle is the way.forward .We will only be in rome for four days this trip then returning home but we are planning a longer trip next year . Thanks again much appreciated

Taking the data sheet that comes with the prescription is also a good idea. It's something we always do.

I believe that having ADHD medication is illegal in Italy (it's a controlled substance). You can get around this and bring in your prescription if you have a very detailed letter from your doctor. The requirements about that letter are listed in the Ministry of Health of Italy government circular "Traveling Internationally with Medicines containing Controlled Substances".

I brought in my medication and was NOT questioned or stopped, but I felt better about having the correct documentation.

https://www.salute.gov.it/portale/medicinaliStupefacenti/dettaglioContenutiMedicinaliStupefacenti.jsp?lingua=italiano&id=5785&area=sostanzeStupefacenti&menu=sostanze

Thankyou all for your guidance and advice