Question: During the holidays, many people traveled. Are there any rules or recommendations for traveling with a controlled substance?

It is a good idea to always keep medications for an injury or chronic condition on hand when traveling. However, one should only bring as much medication as will be required for the time period away from home. For example, if a patient has a prescription for Vicodin® (a Schedule II controlled substance) that is intended to be taken as one tablet twice a day with a bottle of 60 tablets (a 30-day supply), it would be wise to bring only 14 of the 60 tablets on a seven-day trip (with perhaps a few extra tablets just in case). This way, if the medication is lost or stolen, the owner will not be left without any medication for the remainder of the month and may potentially have less of an issue getting a replacement or early refill. Controlled substances, unlike non-controlled medications, have tighter restrictions for the prescriber and often will not be dispensed by the pharmacy again prior to the time period they should run out according to the prescription.