AfghanistanTravelling with ADHD medication: rules, permits and documents
AsiaLast checked 24 Jul 2026Medium confidenceHow we rate a record
Afghanistan treats these medications differently. Of the 7 we track, 4 have no published rule we could find and 3 need only your prescription.
Serious penalties: Afghanistan's Counter-Narcotics Law treats unauthorised possession of more than 1 gram of morphine (or any Table 1-4 substance without medical-treatment authorisation) as a trafficking-level criminal offence (minimum 6 months' imprisonment). The 2025 anti-smuggling law states a different and much gentler consequence for the same person: under Article 23(2), a traveller arriving by land or air who brings medicine or health products for trade without a doctor's prescription and beyond personal need has the items destroyed and gives a written undertaking not to repeat, with three months' imprisonment under Article 23(3) if that undertaking is broken. Which of the two an arriving patient faces is what no source resolves. Australia's Smartraveller states it is illegal to bring drugs into Afghanistan and that doing so can lead to arrest. No source states that a foreign prescription satisfies t
By medication
Brand names first, generic in brackets. Each line resolves the drug class rule below, plus anything Afghanistan records specifically for that medication.
- Vyvanse (lisdexamfetamine)Unclear
Methylphenidate, dexamfetamine and amfetamine (the base compound of mixed amphetamine salts) are Table 2 'strictly controlled' substances under the same 2005/2006 Counter-Narcotics Law described for opioids, with the same unresolved interaction with the 2025 traveller-prescription law and its Article 23(2)-(3) enforcement counterpart (destruction of goods carried for trade without a prescription and beyond personal need, plus a written undertaking, and three months' imprisonment for breaching it). Lisdexamfetamine could not be found by name in the schedule text available to us (see gaps); this is recorded as an unresolved gap for that specific substance, not a divergent status.
- Ritalin, Concerta (methylphenidate)Unclear
The same rule as Vyvanse above.
- Dexamphetamine (dexamfetamine)Unclear
The same rule as Vyvanse above.
- Strattera (atomoxetine)Prescription
Atomoxetine, guanfacine and viloxazine are not internationally controlled; carry a prescription and keep in original packaging. General personal-use medicine import rules apply.
- Adderall (mixed amphetamine salts)Unclear
The same rule as Vyvanse above.
- Intuniv (guanfacine)Prescription
The same rule as Strattera above.
- Qelbree (viloxazine)Prescription
The same rule as Strattera above.
Rules by drug class
Narcotic (opioids)
Unclear- Quantity
- No traveller allowance is published. The Counter-Narcotics Law sets a 1-gram (heroin/morphine/cocaine) / 10-gram (opium/hashish) unauthorised-possession threshold that triggers trafficking-level penalties; this is a criminal threshold, not a stated traveller allowance.
- Permit
- Not published. No traveller-accessible permit process is published. Committee licensing under Counter-Narcotics Law Articles 7 and 9 is structured for commercial cultivators, manufacturers, distributors and importers, not individual travellers. The 2025 anti-smuggling law requires only a specialist's prescription for a traveller and does not mention a permit.
- Documents
- prescription
Psychotropic (ADHD stimulants, benzodiazepines, sleep)
Unclear- Quantity
- No traveller allowance is published for stimulants either.
- Permit
- Not published. Same gap as the narcotic class: no traveller-accessible permit process is published.
- Documents
- prescription
Not internationally controlled
PrescriptionAtomoxetine, guanfacine and viloxazine are not internationally controlled; carry a prescription and keep in original packaging. General personal-use medicine import rules apply.
Responsible authority
Afghanistan Food and Drug Authority, Ministry of Public Health
info@afda.gov.af; +93 788080101
Sources
The source behind everything above, so you can check it yourself rather than take our word for it. Always confirm the current rule with the source before you travel.
Your trip pack
A doctor's letter for Afghanistan, filled in with your medications and your stops, ready to sign.
The rules above are free and stay free. The pack is the paperwork that goes with them: a checklist for each stop in travel order, a printable PDF, and the letter to take to your GP.
Build your trip packThis page organises publicly available government information and links. It is not legal or medical advice. Rules change and enforcement varies, so always confirm with the official sources above or the Afghanistan embassy or consulate before travelling.