USA CBP Medications

Any UK to USA experts out there?

I am confused regarding the USA CBP comments onprescription medication. The website states

“Prescription medications should be in their original containers with thedoctor's prescription printed on the container. It is advised that you travel with no morethan personal use quantities, a rule of thumb is no more than a 90 daysupply. If your medications or devices are not in their original containers, youmust have a copy of your prescription with you or a letter from yourdoctor. A valid prescription ordoctors note is required on all medication entering the U.S.“

Prescription medications should be intheir original containers with the doctor's prescription printed on thecontainer.

No problem with that.

It is advised that you travel with no morethan personal use quantities, a rule of thumb is no more than a 90 daysupply.

No problem with that – seems common sensereally!

If your medications or devicesare not in their original containers, you must have a copy of your prescriptionwith you or a letter from your doctor. A valid prescription or doctors note is required on all medication enteringthe U.S.

They can’t have it both ways – can they? If itis not in the original container they want a COPY of the prescription, butirrespective of that they want a valid prescription (or doctors note), whichthey can’t have. If I have the prescription then I don’t have the medicationand if I have the medication it is because the pharmacist has the prescription?

Will they accept the repeat prescription tearoff slip as given to you when the drugs are dispensed? Do they take into account that anything inthe ‘original container’ will have name, address, dob, medication details andfrequency of use all shown on them?

Or should I just ‘suck for it’ and get adoctors note?

Has anybody had any ‘hands on’ experience withthis issue?

Apart from that I am now going to engage panic mode as I have just realised we fly in eight weeks! EEK!

I have visited USA at least once every year for the last 30 odd years and never had a problem with the 2 pack of tablets I take. They just sit in my hand luggage and have never been mentioned. You may just be unlucky and find some jobsworth so your question is quite valid and I am not sure I know the answer.

The repeat tearoff sheet may be of some assistance if you were unluky but technically is not what they request.

As an aside on my Muse cruise in December we all had to appear in front of homeland security on arrival at Key West having completed a form. The officer we saw said himself that the forms were a waste of time and we were quickly waved through having been given the tearoff slip from it to hand in when we flew out of USA. At the airport the customs officer waived me through and returned both the passport and the tearoff card which said I should hand in when I left the country. I said dont you want this and he just shrugged and said he did not know what it was!

I shall continue to carry one as I have done and would not worry about it too much. These things are only there to enforce if they are given reason to and i am daft enough to think that common sense will be applied.

Hi

I too have a great deal of concern re bringing my meds into USA as I have booked the World Cruise for 2019.

I have a condition which although it is serious the drugs I take do control it very well but I have to take 14 pills of various types a day which adds up to a LOT. When I get my supply at home for 2 months I always take them out of the package and put them into bag for each day that way I know I have taken the correct amount. I can find no point of contact to answer some questions. I will need at least 2000 pills.

I would welcome any thoughts.

Thanks

Here’s a partial picture of my prescription information, I did not include the top portion of the receipt that includes my home address. So, this is an example of a receipt that customers of Walgreens receive when they fill a prescription. I expect that other pharmacy companies probably provide similar information to their customers. Does this look like something UK customers would receive? I hope this helps.

I also agree with the other posters who say that nobody ever bothers to look at your prescriptions as you’re passing through border control.

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The reason for the apparent contradiction is that some prescriptions are for more than 90 days and/or come in large containers. Besides, taking 90 days worth of something like insulin doesn't make much sense for a 14 day cruise.

I've never been asked to document my prescriptions, even though I travel with a couple of weekly pill boxes. But I do take a list from the pharmacy of recently filled prescriptions. Check with your pharmacy to see if it can produce a similar document. Otherwise obtaining a doctor's note would be the safest. But see below about what may need to be in the note.

One caution, some medications have different status in the US. Some prescriptions in your locale may be OTC in the US. Some OTC in your locale may be prescription in the US. And some may not be legal in the US. If a medication is not legal in the US it will at a minimum be confiscated. For this last group, a discussion with your doctor regarding alternatives would be a good idea.

I'm not sure how state laws affect things. Needles, for example seem to be regulated at the state level.

The operative word is "should" (be in original containers). With a very few individual states' requirements about narcotics who state "must be...," you can have your pills in a daily planner or sealed daily dose packaging as long as you have something called a "back panel" by pharmacists. It is a comprehensive listing of your meds, their description (often including thumbnail picture), your ID and prescribing MD info, etc.

At least, in the US, most pharmacies can quickly print this or something like it (e.g., the one page summary about one med cited, with picture, in an earlier post.

Again, the big stickler in the US is narcotics. Most need an actual paper prescription to be presented to a pharmacy (no calling/faxing allowed).

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Bring your prescriptions in the bottles from the pharmacy. Don't bring a huge supply of any drug. You will not have any problems. US CBP is not concerned with almost any meds that you would bring. If you have narcotics, you should bring a note from the MD. If you have what teh US considers illegal drugs, leave them at home.

Hi

 

I too have a great deal of concern re bringing my meds into USA as I have booked the World Cruise for 2019.

 

I have a condition which although it is serious the drugs I take do control it very well but I have to take 14 pills of various types a day which adds up to a LOT. When I get my supply at home for 2 months I always take them out of the package and put them into bag for each day that way I know I have taken the correct amount. I can find no point of contact to answer some questions. I will need at least 2000 pills.

 

I would welcome any thoughts.

 

Thanks

Don't know about other countries but there are US suppliers that pre-pack daily meds. Maybe someone who has done that will chime in.

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I don't know if I'm jinxing myself by saying this, but as a US citizen, I am subject to this requirement every time I fly. My usual practice is to just dump the appropriate number of pills that I will need while away into the smallest container that will fit them or a ziploc bag; no copies of prescriptions or original containers (seriously, does the pharmacy REALLY need to put 30 tiny little pills into an eight ounce container???). I've never had an issue, but I suppose there's a first time for everything. And I don't take an awful lot of prescription meds and those that I do are not narcotics, but I do throw in vitamins, a handful of various over the counter meds "just in case", etc. as well so I usually have a noticeable amount, although not enough to really make me look like I'm starting my own cartel.

Bechi

pf778c: there is a significant difference between clearing security at the airport and clearing customs.

When flying into a foreign country it is best to have medications in original pharmacy packaging with the appropriate labels. Our pharmacy will do custom blister packs with all the required daily meds in one blister. This makes it easier for short trips, although we always take a few extra days worth in case of travel delays.

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Thanks for the help. It’s a strange one as I have never been on ‘regular / daily’ medication before

I have spoken with the pharmacist who can’t help so I guess my best option is to complete the customs honestly and declare the meds. There won’t be that many and the two that are ‘controlled’ are FDA approved. I will keep the tear off slip showing what has been dispensed, who prescribed it and where. All my personal details will tally so all that is missing is my waist and inside leg. I am not going to get paranoid about it.

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I have visited USA at least once every year for the last 30 odd years and never had a problem with the 2 pack of tablets I take. They just sit in my hand luggage and have never been mentioned. You may just be unlucky and find some jobsworth so your question is quite valid and I am not sure I know the answer.

The repeat tearoff sheet may be of some assistance if you were unluky but technically is not what they request.

 

As an aside on my Muse cruise in December we all had to appear in front of homeland security on arrival at Key West having completed a form. The officer we saw said himself that the forms were a waste of time and we were quickly waved through having been given the tearoff slip from it to hand in when we flew out of USA. At the airport the customs officer waived me through and returned both the passport and the tearoff card which said I should hand in when I left the country. I said dont you want this and he just shrugged and said he did not know what it was!

 

I shall continue to carry one as I have done and would not worry about it too much. These things are only there to enforce if they are given reason to and i am daft enough to think that common sense will be applied.

I am a transplant recipient (2009) and otherwise a very active and healthy 68 yo male. I travel with weekly pill dispensers (4 areas a day of pills) and take somewhere between 30 and 40 pills per day. All the pills are in 1 or 2 full weekly dispensers dispensing 4 groups per day (no original bottles and no prescriptions)-- I have never been questioned by anyone ever on the meds. I keep a weeks worth in my briefcase and the rest in my suitcase--I agree fully with the above statement

Border patrol and customs agents don't care about normal prescription meds taken by law abiding citizens. What they are looking for are illegal drugs, mainly narcotics. I am a US citizen, which probably makes it a little different, but I have been through customs and immigration 100s of times, and no one has ever looked at my meds, which is a good thing I guess since I am an MD and don't have an actual prescription for most of them. I did break my shoulder last year and had a prescription of narcotic pain med when traveling. For that, I made sure it was in the original prescription bottle just to be safe.

Many people transfer a weeks supply of their medications to "daily pill boxes" for their trip so in this case CBP want proof that it is a true prescribed medication. A pharmacy receipt works in these cases without a problem.

For larger quantities they want the medication in it's original prescription containers but it is a good idea to also carry a copy of the pharmacy receipt.

I once had a problem in Palm Beach when I carried a one day supply in a pill box and the Customs Officer made me take each pill out of the box and identify each of my high blood pressure medications, vitamins and low-dose aspirin. Made no sense really because the CBP officer had no idea what those medications were; she asked repeatedly if any of the medications were a narcotic and I said no they were just for high blood pressure.

I now make sure that I carry a copy of the pharmacy receipt whenever I enter the United States. Of course, since I started doing that I have never been questioned again.

Any UK to USA experts out there?

I am confused regarding the USA CBP comments onprescription medication. The website states

“Prescription medications should be in their original containers with thedoctor's prescription printed on the container. It is advised that you travel with no morethan personal use quantities, a rule of thumb is no more than a 90 daysupply. If your medications or devices are not in their original containers, youmust have a copy of your prescription with you or a letter from yourdoctor. A valid prescription ordoctors note is required on all medication entering the U.S.“

Prescription medications should be intheir original containers with the doctor's prescription printed on thecontainer.

No problem with that.

It is advised that you travel with no morethan personal use quantities, a rule of thumb is no more than a 90 daysupply.

No problem with that – seems common sensereally!

If your medications or devicesare not in their original containers, you must have a copy of your prescriptionwith you or a letter from your doctor. A valid prescription or doctors note is required on all medication enteringthe U.S.

They can’t have it both ways – can they? If itis not in the original container they want a COPY of the prescription, butirrespective of that they want a valid prescription (or doctors note), whichthey can’t have. If I have the prescription then I don’t have the medicationand if I have the medication it is because the pharmacist has the prescription?

Will they accept the repeat prescription tearoff slip as given to you when the drugs are dispensed? Do they take into account that anything inthe ‘original container’ will have name, address, dob, medication details andfrequency of use all shown on them?

Or should I just ‘suck for it’ and get adoctors note?

Has anybody had any ‘hands on’ experience withthis issue?

 

 

Apart from that I am now going to engage panic mode as I have just realised we fly in eight weeks! EEK!