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Traveling with medication in Turkey

Posted by (Seattle, WA) on

Hi all,
When I travel, I always bring a letter from my doctor documenting the medications I take, but I've read that Turkey may be stricter than some others when it comes to controlled substances. Does anyone have any experience with traveling with stimulant medication? I take it for narcolepsy, so I'd rather not leave it at home. But even more, I'd rather not get arrested or something for bringing it.

I tried contacting the US embassy in Istanbul. They were no help. Told me to try the Turkish Embassy here in the states. I can't seem to get a call back from them, and all of their email addresses listed on their website are broken.

Any thoughts or experiences?

Posted by
17 posts

I finally got a useful response! Posting it here for anyone who might have this question in the future.

Dear Madam,
I would like to inform you that, travellers under medical treatment carrying medical preparations containing controlled substances for personal use are required to prescription or Doctor's certificate endorsed by the health authorities of the country of residence in English. The patiens are also expected to carry with them only the amount of medicine necessary to cover the duration of stay in Turkey.

You can also check the information from INCB web site (https://www.incb.org/documents/Travellers/English/TUR_ENG.pdf)

Moreover, all the documents should be in English. Sworn translation is not required.
Original prescription should be wet signed and original copy. It should not be xero of prescription. The documents should be with you during the travel.

Regards,

Turkish Medicines and Medical Devices Agency
Department of Pharmacovigilance and Controlled Substances
Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Control Unit
Damla AYCAN, MSc. Pharm.*

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