Vyvanse and tramadol: why the rules change so much from country to country

Adderall's active ingredient, amphetamine, is on the UN's international list of controlled psychotropic substances. So is methylphenidate, in Ritalin. Every country that signed the UN conventions has to control them, so their rules abroad follow a recognisable pattern.

Vyvanse (lisdexamfetamine) and tramadol are different. Neither is on the UN's international lists, which are kept by the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB). Each country decides for itself, and the answers range from "not controlled at all" to "only with a permit applied for in advance".

Vyvanse, country by country

• United States: a Schedule II controlled substance. You can bring it for your own use in its original container, and declare it.
• United Kingdom: a Schedule 2 drug. You can bring up to 3 months' supply in your hand luggage; if you don't live in the UK, carry a letter from your prescriber.
• Canada: Canada's schedule covers amphetamines and their derivatives, and we read that as including Vyvanse. Carry it yourself: up to 30 days' supply or one course of treatment, in pharmacy packaging, and declare it.
• Ireland: a Schedule 2 drug. Arriving from another Schengen country, you need an Article 75 certificate; from elsewhere, up to 3 months' supply with a prescription or doctor's letter.
• Japan: a "stimulants' raw material". You need permission from Japan's Narcotics Control Department before you travel. (Adderall itself can't be brought into Japan at all.)
• Singapore: on HSA's list of controlled substances, so you need HSA approval, applied for at least 2 weeks before you arrive.
• United Arab Emirates: on the UAE's controlled-medicines schedule. You can bring up to 3 months' supply with a recent stamped prescription and an attested medical report.

Tramadol, country by country

• United States: Schedule IV, under the same personal-use rule as above.
• United Kingdom: Schedule 3, also covered by the 3-month rule.
• Canada: Schedule I, so the 30-day limit applies.
• Japan: Japan's Narcotics Control Department says tramadol isn't a narcotic there, so the narcotics import certificate doesn't apply to it.
• Singapore: tramadol isn't on HSA's controlled-substances list, so the ordinary personal-medication rules appear to apply. Check the current list before you travel.
• Qatar: on Qatar's list of psychotropic substances, so you need a Ministry of Public Health permit.

Travelling in Europe

The Schengen rule (Article 75) lets you carry "narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances" with a certificate from your home country. Because Vyvanse and tramadol aren't on the UN lists, whether you need that certificate for them depends on each country's own law. Ireland, for example, lists lisdexamfetamine in its Schedule 2.

Check your trip

Search your medicine and destination in Trip Check, or see Vyvanse and tramadol country by country. Every answer links to the official source and the date we checked it.