CameroonTravelling with ADHD medication: rules, permits and documents
AfricaLast checked 24 Jul 2026Low confidence: check with the embassyHow we rate a record
Cameroon 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: Unlawful possession, purchase, sale, offer or transport of a Table I or II 'high-risk' controlled substance carries 10 to 20 years' imprisonment and a fine of 250,000 to 125,000,000 CFA francs under Article 93 of Law 97/019; using a controlled medicine without a genuine medical prescription is defined as 'usage illicite' under Article 90, and a forged or complaisant prescription is a separate offence under Article 94.
We could not find strong recent official guidance for this country. Contact the embassy or consulate directly before you travel.
By medication
Brand names first, generic in brackets. Each line resolves the drug class rule below, plus anything Cameroon records specifically for that medication.
- Vyvanse (lisdexamfetamine)Unclear
Article 62 of Law 97/019 is the only Cameroonian clause found that addresses a patient carrying their own medicine, and its scope is qualified. It covers 'les personnes sous traitement, en transit sur le territoire national' — persons under treatment in transit through the national territory — and lets them hold, for personal use, a medicine containing a Table II or Table III psychotropic substance, 7 days' treatment for Table II and 30 days' for Table III, provided they hold 'the corresponding medical prescriptions'. Whether it also reaches a traveller arriving to stay is unresolved: the section heading is 'Détention de médicaments par les malades' (possession of medicines by patients), which cuts towards a wider reading, but a heading is not the operative text, and no other source addresses the question. The decisive words also cannot be read cleanly — the only copy of the law with an extractable text layer renders 'en transit' as 'en traduit', an OCR corruption, and every other located copy is an unreadable scan. Both positions are recorded and neither is chosen, so no status is given. The law does not say whether a foreign prescription satisfies the article, nor which table Cam
- 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 and are not subject to the psychotropic transit-quantity limits; carry a prescription and keep in original packaging.
- 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 personal-use quantity for a narcotic is published.
- Permit
- Not published. The only import route published (the DPML Autorisation Officielle d'Importation) is completed by the pharmacist responsible for a Ministry-approved establishment, not an individual traveller. Law 97/019's one patient-possession clause (Article 62) is worded to cover psychotropic substances only, though the law's structure makes that exclusion arguable rather than settled; no equivalent clause naming narcotics was found.
Psychotropic (ADHD stimulants, benzodiazepines, sleep)
Unclear- Quantity
- Article 62 of Law 97/019 sets 7 days' treatment for a Table II psychotropic medicine or 30 days for a Table III medicine — but it states those figures for 'les personnes sous traitement, en transit sur le territoire national', persons under treatment in transit through the country, and nothing found says whether that reaches a traveller arriving to stay. Separately, which table methylphenidate, dexamfetamine, mixed amphetamine salts or lisdexamfetamine sit in was not found published in a readable form. Neither figure is recorded as a traveller allowance for either reason.
- Permit
- Not published. Article 62 requires only a medical prescription, not a permit, for the persons it covers. The DPML Autorisation Officielle d'Importation is a separate pharmacist/importer authorisation and is not a route a travelling patient applies for. No permit route for an arriving patient is published either way.
- Documents
- prescription
- In force
- Since 7 August 1997.
Not internationally controlled
PrescriptionAtomoxetine, guanfacine and viloxazine are not internationally controlled and are not subject to the psychotropic transit-quantity limits; carry a prescription and keep in original packaging.
Responsible authority
Direction de la Pharmacie, du Médicament et des Laboratoires, Ministère de la Santé Publique
info@dpml.cm
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 Cameroon, 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 Cameroon embassy or consulate before travelling.