Travelling with Medicinal Cannabis

Can I take my medicinal cannabis medication with me on holiday, is a common question asked by our customers.  Most countries will allow people to bring their medicinal cannabis with them on holiday, and we will try to simplify the relevant information to minimise the stress so you can travel safely with your medicinal cannabis medication.

With medicinal cannabis being more widely use across the world, whether it is prescribed to treat certain conditions or used recreationally, it is therefore important to understand how you can take your cannabis medication with you on holiday.  Many countries in Europe have now come to accept medical cannabis, with other countries around the world beginning to accept it as an alternative treatment.  A simple search on the internet will list the countries that have legalised medicinal cannabis or list countries that allow recreational use of cannabis. This gives some idea of how your country of interest has accepted medicinal cannabis, while some countries may have legalised medicinal cannabis it does not mean you are freely able to travel with it.

We recommend the following steps when taking medicinal cannabis with you on holiday:

• Contact the embassy or embassies in the UK of the country you are travelling to ask if you can bring your medicinal cannabis in to their country and what documentation is required e.g. to complete a form, a letter from your clinician stating you have been prescribed medicinal cannabis and the condition being treated.
• Contact the private clinic to obtain a clinical letter stating the following:
  • The name and date of birth of the patient/traveller
  • The country or countries you are travelling to and the duration of stay
  • The medication that has been prescribed, detailing the strength and quantity and the dose to be taken.
  • The condition being treated by the medicinal cannabis.
  • The name and signature of the prescriber.
  • Ideally on a letter headed paper.
• Contact the pharmacy to obtain a copy of your most recent prescription as further evidence that the medication has been prescribed for your.
• Retain the pharmacy labels on the original packaging
• Take the required amount of medication need for the trip, avoid taking excessive amounts.

Read the guidance from gov.uk website for further information on travelling with controlled drugs.

Be prepared to be challenged by border control, their lack of understanding that medicinal cannabis is legalised in the UK may potentially cause problems when entering your destination country.  To minimise the risk of problems ensure you have relevant documentation to show as evidence.

If you require further advice or need help contacting the embassy do not hesitate to contact the pharmacy team:

Email: prescriptions@newgrovepharmacy.com

Tel no: 01527 396 256