hey guys, im going to vietnam in a couple months, and was just wondering how hard it is to obtain opiates and benzos in vn over the counter with no script...can you buy things like oxy/vicoden/valium/xanax etc with ease and no script? im not asking for a source there or which place i should go to, but just in general is it possible/common? thanks...
otc pharms in vietnam..
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TripppAR
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Ha ha ha... no mate. Sorry you can't get anything like that OTC - The best you can get is either effervescent or normal 30mg codeine - 200 Ibprofen or APAP...
Although scoring that sweet hero'n or getting opium is really easy to come by... also weed man. Decent shit to all naturall...
Booze is cheap as hell and vietnam is an EPIC place man. Been a few times now and its really good.
Although scoring that sweet hero'n or getting opium is really easy to come by... also weed man. Decent shit to all naturall...
Booze is cheap as hell and vietnam is an EPIC place man. Been a few times now and its really good.
From what i remember, you can buy benzos over the counter with no probs. No idea about opiates. I contented myself with opium whilst there. Lots of heroin there too but I never bothered with that. Be very careful with scoring drugs of the street here though, because if your caught your FUCKED!
drug_mentor
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No sourcing guys, cheers.
wayfairingstranger
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It looks like this thread is kinda old, but swim is looking for some insight into OTC drugs in vietnam. SWIM takes tramadol regularly with no RX and is traveling to Northern vietnam for a few weeks. Is tramadol easily available OTC in vietnam, or are there any suitable substitutes widely available? SWIM transitioned onto tramadol after a few years of opiates, and still gets bad w/d's when trying to kick the trams. SWIM is concerned he will get there and be sick the whole time, or have to be prescribed suboxone before leaving (very expensive). SWIM wants to be able to enjoy this experience without having to worry about w/ds. Any help or info would be greatly appreciated!
hydroazuanacaine
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i'm subscribed to this thread, but i don't have a post. so i'd say the info i offered was deemed unacceptable. either by myself out of guilt or by a mod. makes me really curious as to what i posted. i'm not sure about ADD enforcement when it comes to OTC, but your post would have a better chance of being left alone if you got rid of "swim."
wait, ADD is Advanced Drug Discussion, right? what do you guys call yourselves here?
wait, ADD is Advanced Drug Discussion, right? what do you guys call yourselves here?
poledriver
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Ausdd
bit_pattern
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Kind of curious why anyone would want to go so close to the golden triangle and take OTC opiate...
hydroazuanacaine
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^avoid the penalties for street drugs in vietnam.
though it's really hard to determine if what you are buying OTC is legal. their laws are impossible to figure out.
though it's really hard to determine if what you are buying OTC is legal. their laws are impossible to figure out.
It isn't common but some pharmacies will do OTC benzos
Cautious Libertine
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True dat. Benzos used to be readily available OTC everywhere, but they've cracked down pretty hard on it now. Nevertheless, some pharmacies still sell it illegally - I've seen bromazepam, valium, Stilnox and zopiclone sold at certain pharmacies - all a lot cheaper than what you'd find here. Haven't seen Xanax, though. That being said, you'd have to spend a long time pounding the pavement trying to find the places that will sell you the shit. Most pharmacies would send you packing.
If you want to get a bit of a buzz, 30mg codeine effervescent tabs are sold OTC everywhere for chump change - the most common brand is Efferalgan Codeine. Tastes like shit, but a few of them will knock you on your ass if you don't have tolerance to codeine. If you do, you'll obviously need more to get you where you want to be.
Incidentally, pretty much everything that a pharmacy stocks in Vietnam can be purchased without a script, regardless of the fact that it's kept in a case labelled 'prescription medication'. If they have it, they'll sell it. So if you know your pharmaceuticals and have good eyesight, you may well be able to spot some interesting stuff sitting on the shelf.
One other thing - dexies/ritalin and all the amphetamine based ADHD drugs are completely unavailable in Vietnam. They're on a ban list that classifies them as narcotics. They can't be had for love nor money, even at expensive western clinics. So don't even try.
If you want to get a bit of a buzz, 30mg codeine effervescent tabs are sold OTC everywhere for chump change - the most common brand is Efferalgan Codeine. Tastes like shit, but a few of them will knock you on your ass if you don't have tolerance to codeine. If you do, you'll obviously need more to get you where you want to be.
Incidentally, pretty much everything that a pharmacy stocks in Vietnam can be purchased without a script, regardless of the fact that it's kept in a case labelled 'prescription medication'. If they have it, they'll sell it. So if you know your pharmaceuticals and have good eyesight, you may well be able to spot some interesting stuff sitting on the shelf.
One other thing - dexies/ritalin and all the amphetamine based ADHD drugs are completely unavailable in Vietnam. They're on a ban list that classifies them as narcotics. They can't be had for love nor money, even at expensive western clinics. So don't even try.
hydroazuanacaine
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^how do you know they sell it illegally? "illegally" is specifically what i am getting at. i couldn't figure out whatthefuck the law was while i was there.
Cautious Libertine
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They aren't supposed to sell it. It's illegal. But somehow they get it (and it's not cheap by Vietnamese standards, but very cheap by ours). Remember that many self-proclaimed law abiding citizens do illegal things in Vietnam in all facets of life; traffic, building, medicines, beaureaucracy (a massive one).
If you're worried, go and ask at the pharmacies in the Old Quarter of Hanoi. They can only say no. Seriously, you're more likely to run into difficulties when you return back home (although they probably won't notice).
If you're worried, go and ask at the pharmacies in the Old Quarter of Hanoi. They can only say no. Seriously, you're more likely to run into difficulties when you return back home (although they probably won't notice).
lostNfound
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I was given morphine by a pharmacist when I asked for a strong pain killer otc with no script in Ho Chi Minh in 2008.
Cautious Libertine
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2008 was a long time ago. You could probably buy diazepam OTC pretty much anywhere in those days, too. The system that controls restricted pharmaceuticals in Vietnam still isn't watertight, but it's become a lot stricter than it used to be.
I hear Cambodia and Laos are still pretty lax.
I hear Cambodia and Laos are still pretty lax.
It depends on the store, though it is a lot stricter than it use to be.
Opiates are a no go- you can get tramadol, sometimes codeine/DHC (always with APAP) but on the whole, no. But if you need to buy opiates from a pharmacy in Vietnam you're a fucking retard.
Benzos are very hit and miss- it's changed a lot, you can't just stroll into any pharmacy and buy diazepam. Diazepam is what you're most likely to be able to get, some pharmacies will absolutely sell you diazepam.
Ketamine is probably the best thing that pharmacies can/will sell you. It was certainly the easiest thing for me to get from a pharmacy.
Opium, heroin and weed are all fairly common. It helps a lot to learn some of the language and to find a local who's willing to take you to the right pharmacy and put the pharmacist at ease. I mean, none of this is hard. I imagine you'll also have an easier time if you're not a feral- but I'm pretty feral and the Vietnamese didn't raise too many eyebrows. Needles are more or less the hardest thing to get your hands on, to be honest. But drugs are so cheap you don't needa use a spike.
All my info is from 2011-12.
Opiates are a no go- you can get tramadol, sometimes codeine/DHC (always with APAP) but on the whole, no. But if you need to buy opiates from a pharmacy in Vietnam you're a fucking retard.
Benzos are very hit and miss- it's changed a lot, you can't just stroll into any pharmacy and buy diazepam. Diazepam is what you're most likely to be able to get, some pharmacies will absolutely sell you diazepam.
Ketamine is probably the best thing that pharmacies can/will sell you. It was certainly the easiest thing for me to get from a pharmacy.
Opium, heroin and weed are all fairly common. It helps a lot to learn some of the language and to find a local who's willing to take you to the right pharmacy and put the pharmacist at ease. I mean, none of this is hard. I imagine you'll also have an easier time if you're not a feral- but I'm pretty feral and the Vietnamese didn't raise too many eyebrows. Needles are more or less the hardest thing to get your hands on, to be honest. But drugs are so cheap you don't needa use a spike.
All my info is from 2011-12.
Cautious Libertine
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I lived there very recently. Benzos are really not that easy to get anymore. If you had no idea where to go, I reckon you'd have to ask at 20 or 30 different pharmacies before you found one that stocked the stuff. Still, dodgy pharmacies still exist, and sometimes the ones that don't look dodgy are amongst the worst. I can think of a large, modern looking (by Vietnamese standards) pharmacy with tonnes of customers that sold OTC several different benzos in quantity, as well as Stilnox and Zopiclone. Nothing like Xanax or Klonopin, but most of the classical benzos and a few others. Strangely enough, not Diazepam. Go figure.
Yep Ketamine's dead easy to get due to its veterinary applications. The Vietnamese government has yet to catch on to its recreational potential, although I'd say it's only a matter of time.
Don't agree about the opiates - 30mg Codeine/500mg paracetamol is available in massive quantity at practically every pharmacy in North Vietnam (didn't spend so long in the South) it costs next to nothing, it's used widely and will be sold to you without a second glance. You can also buy French made 15mg codeine tablets which don't contain paracetamol.
And yes, heroin is ubiquitous (as you would expect considering proximity to the Golden Triangle). As a "rich foreigner", I wouldn't even know where to start looking for it. Not that I'd be interested in the stuff - in Vietnam it's mostly used by broke loser men* who usually but not always live in the mountainous regions. It's cheap as fuck because the vast majority of buyers are brokeass farmers in minority communities.
I know less about opium, didn't come across it in Vietnam nor hear anything about it (I don't think smackheads would be interested in opium when there's so much heroin about) but I came across a lot of opium in Lao when I went visiting.
Dope availability can be patchy in Vietnam - not my thing, but a few of my mates who were regular buyers (from major green dealers in the North, not smalltime amateurs) had to endure a few months-long weed droughts over the past couple of years.
*truly - these guys are so often fucking useless pricks. Their long suffering wives raise the family, generate its income alone (much of which gets shoved up the arm of their husband) and put up with their often violent junkie husbands, not to mention the risks associated with sharing needles. Countless tragic stories, hundreds of thousands of innocent lives ruined and/or cut short. It's a major problem.
Yep Ketamine's dead easy to get due to its veterinary applications. The Vietnamese government has yet to catch on to its recreational potential, although I'd say it's only a matter of time.
Don't agree about the opiates - 30mg Codeine/500mg paracetamol is available in massive quantity at practically every pharmacy in North Vietnam (didn't spend so long in the South) it costs next to nothing, it's used widely and will be sold to you without a second glance. You can also buy French made 15mg codeine tablets which don't contain paracetamol.
And yes, heroin is ubiquitous (as you would expect considering proximity to the Golden Triangle). As a "rich foreigner", I wouldn't even know where to start looking for it. Not that I'd be interested in the stuff - in Vietnam it's mostly used by broke loser men* who usually but not always live in the mountainous regions. It's cheap as fuck because the vast majority of buyers are brokeass farmers in minority communities.
I know less about opium, didn't come across it in Vietnam nor hear anything about it (I don't think smackheads would be interested in opium when there's so much heroin about) but I came across a lot of opium in Lao when I went visiting.
Dope availability can be patchy in Vietnam - not my thing, but a few of my mates who were regular buyers (from major green dealers in the North, not smalltime amateurs) had to endure a few months-long weed droughts over the past couple of years.
*truly - these guys are so often fucking useless pricks. Their long suffering wives raise the family, generate its income alone (much of which gets shoved up the arm of their husband) and put up with their often violent junkie husbands, not to mention the risks associated with sharing needles. Countless tragic stories, hundreds of thousands of innocent lives ruined and/or cut short. It's a major problem.
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I found my experience there was different. My last trip was late last year and I found most pharmacists I visited would arbitrarily agree to sell certain things but not others. Many of them selling generic Xanax and Diazepam but only in small doses.
Cautious Libertine
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Arbitrary being the operative word. In the touristy areas, you may find such drugs (relatively) easily available. In the less touristy areas, they may stock them but they won't sell to you if they don't know you.
Don't forget that it's technically illegal for pharmacies to sell drugs like benzos to you, but most Vietnamese don't care too much about most regulations. In an area where there are a lot of tourists or foreign residents, some pharmacies will sell you what they can get for a couple of dollars more than what they'd usually charge for 10 pills. After all, it's somewhat illegal. In an area where there aren't many tourists, some pharmacies will sell to people they know for the standard price (ie a pittance), but not to a stranger. After all, it's somewhat illegal.
It's weird. The government there allows relatively powerful codeine medication to be sold OTC, as well as various SSRIs and so on, and has a patchy (but increasingly strong) grasp on the sale of benzos. Yet they consider ADHD drugs to be on a par with heroin, coke and so forth. Ritalin, Concerta and the rest of the amphetamine based ADHD drugs are simply not available - not from any hospital or (expensive western) clinic or wherever. If that's what you need, you can take all the prescriptions and so forth you can find - even from doctors in Vietnam - but you can't get it. Recreational users can forget it.
Don't forget that it's technically illegal for pharmacies to sell drugs like benzos to you, but most Vietnamese don't care too much about most regulations. In an area where there are a lot of tourists or foreign residents, some pharmacies will sell you what they can get for a couple of dollars more than what they'd usually charge for 10 pills. After all, it's somewhat illegal. In an area where there aren't many tourists, some pharmacies will sell to people they know for the standard price (ie a pittance), but not to a stranger. After all, it's somewhat illegal.
It's weird. The government there allows relatively powerful codeine medication to be sold OTC, as well as various SSRIs and so on, and has a patchy (but increasingly strong) grasp on the sale of benzos. Yet they consider ADHD drugs to be on a par with heroin, coke and so forth. Ritalin, Concerta and the rest of the amphetamine based ADHD drugs are simply not available - not from any hospital or (expensive western) clinic or wherever. If that's what you need, you can take all the prescriptions and so forth you can find - even from doctors in Vietnam - but you can't get it. Recreational users can forget it.
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