Travelling with prescription medications

Some tips:

• Keep your medication in your carry-on luggage

• Medication should be kept in original bottles with the medication name, prescriber’s name, and pharmacy name clearly visible

• Take enough medication for the duration of your trip plus one or two additional days in case of delays

• Keep in mind that not all medications in use in Canada are legal elsewhere

  • some anxiety medications, sleeping medications, stimulant treatments for ADHD, narcotics/opioids and cannabis may not be permissible in other countries

  • If you take any of the above, check with the embassy of your destination country to see if they are legal

  • If bringing the medication into the country is allowed, it is best to travel with a doctor’s note stating the indication for the medicine

• Don’t rely on being able to buy your medications abroad as the ones you take in Canada may not be available in your destination country

• Depending on your destination, there may be a significant risk of counterfeit medication available

• There is a website for HIV positive travellers (hivtravel.org) which specializes in entry regulations worldwide