Imagine going through airport security, finding your gate and boarding the plane only to be held up for hours by armed police checking your documents.
Five passengers on a British Airways flight to Amsterdam in June found themselves in this nightmare situation after armed Metropolitan police received a tip that they had illegal drugs in their belongings.
This turned out to be a false report: the passenger was carrying medical marijuana, had obtained travel authorization before boarding the flight, and had passed security checks.
Nevertheless, the fiasco resulted in patients being subjected to anxiety-inducing interrogation and their drugs being confiscated and dumped on a conveyor belt at the airport on the other side, a GB News investigation has revealed.
Not the best way to start a holiday, but these passengers were lucky to escape.
Patient’s prescription drugs dumped on airport conveyor belt
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Brits travelling to less democratic countries find themselves in a Kafkaesque nightmare when prescription drugs run afoul of the law.
In one of the most extreme cases, Laura Plummer, from Hull, was sentenced to 13 months in an Egyptian prison for possessing the opioid painkiller Tramadol.
Plummer was originally charged with a more serious drug trafficking charge that could have carried a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison or the death penalty, but the sentence was reduced.
With the holiday season in full swing, GB News takes a closer look at what to look out for when travelling internationally with prescription medication.
Pharmacist Soran Govind said the “best advice” was to make sure the medicine was in its original packaging, clearly labelled with the pharmacy it came from and the dose required.
This gives the product more legitimacy and proves its legality, she told GB News.
It’s also a good idea to have a copy of your prescription with you, the pharmacist said, adding: “I always advise my patients to take a photo of something that shows they are taking the medication along with it, as there’s a chance the medication might get lost during transport.”
This should entail:
- A printed summary of your health conditions and any treatments you have received, as well as a list of any medications you are taking.
- Your doctor’s phone number
Also ask your doctor or pharmacist if the medicine contains any controlled substances. If so, Check with your destination country’s embassy to see what the rules are According to the UK government website, you should always check before traveling.
It can take a while to get an appointment, so it’s worth booking early, Soran added.
Make sure your medication is still in its original packaging, clearly labelled with the name of the pharmacy from which it was purchased.
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As pharmacists point out, it’s important to understand the rules of your country, as you might be surprised — for example, some countries have stricter measures for taking more than a three-month supply of medication out of the country, and some drugs are banned entirely.
According to the NHS, the following countries have a strict list of medicines that you cannot bring into them:
- India
- turkey
- Pakistan
- United Arab Emirates
What drugs are more dangerous?
For Soran, opioids such as tramadol and codeine can land him in danger zones, especially in the UAE, where they are listed as narcotics.
Medical marijuana also comes with risks.
Although it’s legal in the UK, travelling abroad is not necessarily a “straightforward process”, warned Nabila Chaudhry, medical director at the UK Medical Centre. Alternative Leaf.
She explains that many countries tend to have higher “bars” for cannabis legalization — Spain, for example, typically requires additional documentation — while France and Portugal tend to be much more lenient.
Nabila said while there is no guarantee that travel will be safe, she stressed the importance of contacting the embassy before travelling and obtaining travel clearance from a medical institution.
“Even if an embassy allows access, if police overseas are not educated about the legality of medical cannabis for travellers in their country, it could lead to a more difficult and stressful situation for patients,” she warned.
Other Important Tips
As long as you adhere to the necessary restrictions, Thorrun recommends bringing more medication than you need in case of travel delays.
She also recommends thoroughly researching your travel insurance to make sure you’re fully covered.
Finally, think about how your medication will be stored during transport.
Soran explained: “If you’re travelling with oxygen, insulin, injectable medications etc, it’s best to contact the airline in advance as certain products require specialised arrangements, such as storing them at specific temperatures.”
