What are the laws in Australia regarding the 10mg Valium tablets?

[hoover1979]

Hi, this is my first post. If I posted in the wrong place, my sincere apologies and can the thread be moved to where it's meant to be?



I have a friend who takes Valium whenever he/she flies. he/she is a regular traveler and was prescribed the blue 10mg Valium in south-east Asia.

I know that the Australian TGA (Therepeutic Goods Administration) has not approved the 10mg(blue), only the 2mg(white) and 5mg(Yellow) are available in Australian Pharmacies.

I have been trying to find information regarding Australian legislation and the 10mg tablets only to find highly illegal sites peddling these drugs without prescriptions and not the legislative information I am looking for.

If anyone can let me know what the Australian legislation is for the 10mg Diazepam tablets I would much appreciate it so I can inform my friend if he/she needs to destroy these tablets to avoid possible prosecution.

I do not want my friend to get into any trouble as he/she is a law abiding citizen.


The gist is: Is an individual who is legally prescribed 10mg Valium tablets overseas breaking the law when returning to Australia with leftover tablets.

 

[Mysterie]

are you sure they were prescribed? do they have a script? you can get benzos OTC (over the counter) in some SE asian countries i believe.

my gut instinct is that the best move would be to throw away the pills before going to the airport to come back to australia. if your friend is physically dependant they should be able to find a dr who will help them out here.

it just seems kind of sketchy to me, but i don't know the specifics of whether they have legal precedent to bring pills you were prescribed in SE asia (with the script).

also if you are writing this for yourself, theres no need to write it as if its advice for your friend, theres no point.

 

[hoover1979]

this was a friend of mine, I have never left Australia and have no passport. I just don't want him/her to get into hot water.

I know it is utterly stupid to post for ones self as posting for a friend. (But I guess lots of people do this so I am not offended by your asking) :D

 

[Bubblegummer]

I take Valium when flying also and because my tolerance is high the amount I would be prescribed here was never enough to cover my return 24+hour journey so whilst in Europe, I would see the GP local to where I was staying and they would prescribe me the 10mg tablets and ALOT of them. When I would bring them into Australia with the copies of the prescriptions I never had any grief from customs or my GP's here in Oz over the fact I still had remaining 10mg tablets. If they were prescribed legally by a Dr then I don't see your friend having any grief.

The 10mg tabs are great too! I gave one to a friend who would usually take 2mg tabs for back spasms and 15 minutes later he came out of his office looking soooo relaxed and then told me how good he felt so I said to go back inside to his office and just chill out of sight for a while. Our workplace at the time weren't all that into medication abuse or slightly stoned workers.

 

[pharmarat]

Are you sure Australia doesn't have prescription 10mg Diazepam? I've been given quite a few white generic 10mg diazepam tablets but I just assumed friends were prescribed them.

There's definitely no 10mg tablets available on prescription in Australia. I also wouldn't use the colour of the tablets as a guide...for example, Antenex brand 5mg diazepam tabs are yellow, the GA brand 5mg tabs are white. The colours may have matched with the Valium brand, but those are no longer being supplied here.

I travelled last year and the friend I was travelling with had some 10mg diazepam tabs that he'd picked up somewhere in South America. No issues on the return to Australia - they'd have to be checking very very thoroughly - and we had our bags searched several times in several countries on the way back. To be on the safe side, I'd carry the associated script and declare them though.

 

[Johno88]

As long as its a small personal amount they'll be fine. They're not breaking any laws if it's a small personal supply.

 

[brighton]

^ They are breaking the law if they don't have a prescription

 

[the_ketaman]

OK I'm a huge sceptic when people claim to have something that you are 97% positive does not happen in Australia .......BUT!!!!!

About a year ago my friend showed me a 10mg valium & obviously I was puzzled but apparently they are used in hospitals but only hospitals. They don't exist outside hospital pharmacies.

P.S They were the big blue ones. Roche I think.

 

[sgtseedy]

I have travelled from South East Asia to Australia extensively and I've always used the 10mg blue Mano Valium (generic indian manufacture) when I've travelled from Bkk to PER. I've never been stopped or checked, although the law states you must have a script on you!. If you aren't travelling with vast quantities I'm led to believe you will be let off with a warning and they will confiscate the prescription medicine off you and dispose of it.......

and as others have suggested, colours of benzos means nothing. There are several manufacturers that make a blue diazapam pill and if you purchases any benzo over the counter here (TH,PH,cambo,LAO,VIE) you have been sold a generic fake, most likely from India or Pakistan. Most countries in SE Asia have cracked down on benzo use so unless you have got your fix from the hospital (not a pharmacy, A HOSPITAL) then you have been sold a fake...