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Possible to bring Adderall on a 21-day BoE tour?

I am going on a 21 BoE tour in October and want to make sure that I can safely bring a 3 week supply of Adderall with me. Long story short, while studying abroad a little over 10 years ago a prescription refill was intercepted by customs and, had the contents of the package not been prominently labeled and letters from my doctor confirming the prescription was legal, I might have faced arrest. Naturally I want to avoid a similar situation on my BoE tour and need guidance.

Can I bring a 3 week supply with me? If so what documentation would I need to bring, beyond the Rx bottle itself? Do I need to check the laws of every country along the trip? If I need to forgo adderall on this trip, is there any resource that can give me a list of medications for ADD that are legal in Europe?

Posted by
2787 posts

I have taken 13 RS tours in the last 14 years of traveling in Europe and have always taken prescription medicines with me in the bottle they came in with the label attached. I also take along a letter from my family physician explaining why I am carrying one particular medicine, a narcotic. I have never been questioned by anyone, either local authorities or at airports. That said, I am sure to get questioned next trip to Europe.

Posted by
16362 posts

You can take whatever medication you need. Just make sure it is properly labeled.

I'll be the last time you had a problem had more to do with your age than anything else. They wanted to make sure you weren't smuggling it into the country.

Now, if you're going for three weeks but are carrying a six month supply....well....it might be suspicious. ;)

Posted by
1994 posts

I suggest you look at the responses to the other person who asked this question.

Adderall is a controlled substance with abuse potential. Furthermore, when I worked on ADHD drugs, Adderall was not approved in the EU (although maybe that has changed, but that would surprise me).

Consequently, our generic experience of having no problem bringing needed Rx drugs is irrelevant to your situation, and I wouldn't act on advice given in the context of a travel forum.

Posted by
7914 posts

I don't agree with Sherry. Maybe in Dubai or some third-world place. No one has ever looked at my pill bottles in 40 trips to Europe. Machine labelled bottles look very reassuring to civil service employees.

Posted by
1994 posts

Tim, FYI, my comments are not based on experience in multiple trips to Europe. They derive from a career working with pharmaceutical regulations in the US and EU. For a number of years, my focus was almost exclusively on EU drug regulation. I've also worked on a number of drugs that are controlled substances.

Therefore, my comments simply reflect what I would do if I were reliant on a controlled substance, particularly one that is not approved in the EU.

How any individual approaches the issue depends on their risk tolerance, and whether they would suffer if the pills were seized. The fact that the drug was not marketed in the EU when I last had contact with ADHD drugs suggests to me that loss of the drug during a border inspection could have significant implications.

Posted by
32362 posts

I've been taking prescription medication to Europe for several years, and no one has ever asked to see it, or questioned me about it. In all likelihood, your experience will be the same.

Posted by
8332 posts

When you enter the European Union, there will be no Medicine Police searching your bags. But I would suggest you have your drug store print a set of labels to document that your prescriptions are prescribed and current.
Otherwise, don't worry about taking your prescriptions with you.

My wife and I were planning on going to Europe next year for 2 1/2 months. She's got a couple of pain pills that are controlled substances, and she has to pickup her prescriptions in person. We're going to have to limit our trip to slightly less than 60 days because of her meds that she'll run out of. Prescriptions just cannot be refilled anywhere, especially out of our home country..

Posted by
14790 posts

I will just add that you will not encounter any passport control or customs after your first entry at Amsterdam or wherever you fly in to. There are booths when you come in to Switzerland and my BOE guide indicated while they could stop the bus they rarely did because checking a bus full of tourists takes a long time.

This is a wonderful tour. I know you will have a splendid time!