We are of the opinion that patients participating in drug substitution treatment have the same right to travel abroad as everybody else. This right must not be withheld for the sole reason that they require a certain medical drug, i.e. methadone, buprenorphine, LAAM or codeine. But they should be aware of what to expect if they do travel to other countries. Therefore, this guide on "Travel Regulations for Patients Participating in Drug Substitution Treatment" has been designed to supply information on import regulations for substitute substances (such as methadone, buprenorphine, codeine or dihydrocodeine) effective world-wide and on the possibilities of maintaining treatment abroad, including useful contact addresses. It targets substitution patients who plan to travel abroad, their doctors and psycho-social advisory services as well as self-help groups and parents' initiatives. At the same time the guide is addressed to political and medical decision makers, because grave restrictions to the substitution patients' freedom to travel - and therefore a curtailment of self-determination - imposed by inhumane legal provisions are very evident. There is still an urgent need for action in the political field. We trust our travel guide will be able to provide some orientation and will help to reduce the expenditure of time and effort that accrues for patients, doctors and drug advisory services. In spite of all our efforts, the information mapped out here still contains many white patches. We have endeavoured to be as meticulous as possible in our research, but we cannot guarantee the correctness of our data, including the addresses, telephone and fax numbers as well as the legal framework. Still, we trust that we can meet the increasing need for information and supply essential guidelines to help close another gap in the addiction treatment system. In the interest of doctors and patients we have only used information obtained from official sources and deliberately dispensed with the documentation of methods that have stood the test of practice, e.g. regarding methadone takeaways. With a little imagination on the part of doctors as well as on the part of patients a lot is possible. We have not listed the names and addresses of methadone, buprenorphine and codeine prescribers in countries that prohibit substitution treatment, as the publication could jeopardise their professional existence, and in some countries even their lives. To facilitate the revision and updating of the information we should like to request all readers to let us have their critical comments, suggestions, corrections and additions. Furthermore, we should like to encourage methadone, buprenorphine and codeine prescribers from all over the world to have their names and contact details included in the travel guide (send email). We
should especially appreciate receiving reports from methadone patients
on their experience with foreign travel. We would also encourage doctors
and drug advisory services to communicate their experience.
No identification data of patients (e.g. email
addresses, phone numbers) will be given on this site! So far there are
two reports on the Thailand
page.
Reports on other countries greatly appreciated! We should like to thank the following people for
giving donations: Mrs. Dorothea Klieber,
Parents' Initiative, Markt Schwaben, Germany, December 10, 1997
First-time
visitors to this site are requested to first read the Basic
Recommendations before going on to the Please
address all correspondence regarding the travel guide to: Ralf
Gerlach (This
page last revised
August 20, 2005)
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