tramadol - controlled or not?

[tangent1]

SWIM wants to buy tramadol online from a overseas pharmacy and import it to the uk. Can anyone tell him if this is legal? He is pretty sure that tramadol isnt a controlled drug in the uk but seeks confirmation.

[adzket]

tramadol is not a controlled drug in the uk like say methadone or morphine, but however it does need a perscription to get it from a uk pharmacy like most medication. how ever perscriptions in the uk are diffirant for normall medications to what they are for controlled drugs swim has been perscribed both in the past. however for importing medication of any sort i think you need a licence i may be wrong on this point. so i would sugest that you tell swiy to be carefull as it is possible that customs may check pagage cause they no importing of drugs threw the mail is getting more populer. so although they may not get into trouble if package is stoped they will almost sertainly lose it. as they would ? why get it from abroad at a cost greater to you than getting it on a nhs perscription which has only one flat standerd price regardless of medication perscribed. also take care some forign internet pharmacys are scammers.

[Forthesevenlakes]

swim knows that its not controlled in the us...you need a prescription to obtain it, but not to possess it. swims feeling is that its similar in the uk. but tramadol isnt necessarily something to eff around with...in swim's experience the side effects are alot more dangerous than conventional opiates...

[tangent1]

i think that SWIM is looking for a safe and legal way of obtaining opiates. Swim reckons that someone can import prescription meds into the uk for personal use quite legaly without having a prescription as long as they arent controlled. if tramadol isnt then swim says that they will have to do. Swim thinks that maybe this forum is the right place to enquire about such things.

[jaked588]

isnt it like schedual 3 in the US?

[enquirewithin]

It also doesn't have much in the way of recreational potential.

[Micklemouse]

Originally Posted by tangent1

i think that SWIM is looking for a safe and legal way of obtaining opiates. Swim reckons that someone can import prescription meds into the uk for personal use quite legaly without having a prescription as long as they arent controlled. if tramadol isnt then swim says that they will have to do. Swim thinks that maybe this forum is the right place to enquire about such things.

SWiT thinks wrong. The best place to look for advice on this would be a solicitor... That said, possessing a prescription drug without a prescription is an offense under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 and the Medicines Act 1968 (tramadol being covered by the 1996 amendment http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si1996/Uksi_19961514_en_1.htm So, although not a cd as such it is regulated as a prescription only medicine...).

The law on importing is a bit shady however, and doesn't seem to tie in with the law on possession. It would appear that at present it is legal to buy prescription drugs online for personal use, but not necessarily to sell them - the onus is on the vendor to abide by the law when it comes to importing/selling medicines, not the purchaser. However, the law on possession would seem to contradict this.

My advice would be to consult a lawyer on this before going further.

[Nagognog2]

Bongo tried tramadol. It made him sweat like a sponge being wrung out under a waterfall. Coupled with the fact that it is a low-grade SSRI that tickles a few opiate receptors - maybe - and may cause convulsions, is this really something your monkey would want? God help anyone who got hooked on this crap! Not only would one have opiate withdrawl to contend with, but one would also be coming down from something similar to prozac.

Oh yeah. Bongo recalls one other lovely effect from his trying this: His temper was shortened like a firecracker fuse. Any little thing made him feel like smashing his fist into a wall! Yummy!

Caveat Emptor, baby.

[tangent1]

SWIM says that he quite likes tramadol although it doesnt compare to other opiates as stated by a number of the practiced SWIY'S on this forum. He says that if you respect things they will respect you back. Swim agrees that it is a bit of a shady area and all the research done suggests that he can buy tramadol online and stay within the law, at least until caught with it!

[Micklemouse]

Tangent1 - why risk it when you can probably consult a solicitor for free or not very much? Probably a lot less than the fine or loss of earnings SWiT might face if it does turn out to be illegal? None of us are experts on the law - a solicitor is.

[tangent1]

Swim will not buy online until he has made sure he cannot be prosecuted for doing so. i will post any findings (pardon the pun!).

[jaffacake]

I'm also interested in this question. At the moment I think it's a prescription-only medicine like Ketamine used to be before K was made class C and therefore legal to import and possess but illegal to sell. There are certain drugs in the prescription-only list that are also in the controlled drug list on the misuse of drugs act - like amphetamine. These are the ones that would be affected by the possession law.

But the drugs like tramadol that arn't controlled in the misuse of drugs act are perfectly legal to possess without a prescription but illegal to sell.

According to the cops themselves on K:

Ketamine is currently a prescription-only medicine . Possession without a prescription is not illegal, but supply/possession with intent to supply without a licence is against the law under the Medicines Act.
Ketamine is currently a prescription-only medicine . Possession without a prescription is not illegal, but supply/possession with intent to supply without a licence is against the law under the Medicines Act.

http://www.herts.police.uk/crime_pre.../drugtypes.htm

[jaffacake]

Here's other info:

At first glance, it appears that almost any prescription-only medicine can be bought online, but whether this is true in practice can only be determined by attempting a purchase. For example, a site may refuse to supply products to customers from abroad (although many say they will).

The most widely-offered products are treatments for erectile dysfunction, obesity, hair loss, skin care (eg topical retinoids) and smoking cessation, but expensive medicines such as COX-2 selective NSAIDs are also listed at discount prices.

Some sites offer drugs such as anabolic steroids and hormones that may be used for apparently riskier cosmetic applications (see
How does UK law affect consumers?
Online purchasing of prescription-only medicines is legal because the Medicines Act regulates supply, not acquisition. Under the Act, prescription-only medicines may only be supplied by a practitioner (a doctor, dentist, nurse or pharmacist) or from a pharmacy on receipt of a practitioner’s prescription.

Someone who buys – from any source – a prescription-only medicine without a prescription is not committing an offence unless the medicine is a controlled drug, in which case they must have a prescription. It is also legal for a person to import medicines for their personal use or for members of their household.


WARNING TIME! Do Not Post Links To Commercial Sites!

Reputation Comments on this post:

Do not link to commercial sites

[jaffacake]

Originally Posted by Micklemouse

Tangent1 - why risk it when you can probably consult a solicitor for free or not very much? Probably a lot less than the fine or loss of earnings SWiT might face if it does turn out to be illegal? None of us are experts on the law - a solicitor is.

But actually finding a solicitor with knowledge of these drug laws is very difficult. Most solicitors will never have even heard of tramadol never mind know it's legal status.

[Micklemouse]

Jaffacake - 1)links to commercial sites are not allowed. Please re-read The rules of drugs-forum

2) Ketamine is now controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act (class C), as stated in your post. The post gets a bit misleading after that, having missed the bit directly after the quote from Hertfordshire Police about it becoming becoming Class C after Jan 1 2006. Scanning that post makes it look like you're saying that K is still legal. Nitpicking I know, but clarity is important in these matters.

3) Finding a Solicitor with expert knowledge of the Misuse of Drugs Act may well be hard, due to the torturously complex nature of the Act. The Medicines Act is a bit more basic, & shouldn't pose too much of a problem. Even if they haven't heard of tramadol they will be able to suss out whether it is a controlled drug under the MoDA or not, & advise on the legality of possession & importation under the Medicines Act without prescription.

A handy list of friendly & experienced solicitors from the Independent Drug Monitoring Unit

http://www.idmu.co.uk/sols/regionpage.htm

[jaffacake]

Well the post wasn't about Ketamine's legal status as it is now, so the stuff about Ketamine now being class C drug since 2006 isn't relevant. Before Ketamine was made class C it was a prescription only medicine and it was perfectly legal to import and possess without a prescription as long as you didn't sell it to anyone.

I've checked with the MHRA (medicines regulatory agency) and they say Tramadol isn't controlled under the misuse of drugs act. I'll check with the guy at idmu.

[jaffacake]

This is the offical legal position on POMs:

POM medicines can only be sold or supplied legally at registered
pharmacy premises by or under the supervision of a pharmacist in
accordance with the appropriate practioners (e.g GP) prescription. If
you are in possession of a POM, obtained by another route then it is the
supplier rather than the receiver which is in breach of the law:
possession and use is not an offence under the Medicines Act. Please
note that if you are in possession of a significant quantity of such a
product then police or customs officers may investigate if they suspect
that the product is not for personal use, which is usually stated as a
three month supply.