Can you buys drugs in Cambodia? Well, yes you cam, but in the interests of this article I am taking about the pharmacy kind, rather than illegal drugs, although this is obviously a bit of a grey area.
So, by pharmacy drugs, or chemist drugs my meaning is drugs and medicine in Cambodia that you can buy, but would usually require a prescription, or indeed be illegal in other countries.
Does Cambodia have a drug problem?
Overall Cambodia does not have much of a drug problem, although it certainly does exist. Popular drugs of course include weed, now legal in Thailand, as well as coke at the higher end of things and meth/shabu at the lower end.
This undoubtedly is part of what fuels the freelance lady industry, as well as the non-violent petit thefts. In Phnom Penh people love stealing phones and it has happened to not just me, but to many friends.
This is without doubt one of the worst things about living in Cambodia, something that is otherwise extremely good.
Pharmacy drugs in South-East Asia
South-East Asia in general has a reputation for being able to buy almost everything from “over the counter”, which often means pharmacy tourism to some degree. This is inly partly true.
In Vietnam you will find some pharmacies that sell everything, but certainly not all. Thailand is also similar in this respects, but you can generally find what you want.
Other places such as the Philippines are not so open. In Hong Kong you can buy tramadol, but in China it is hard to get opioids even if you quite literally need them for surgery. At the top of the easy list is without doubt Cambodia.
Pharmacy drugs in Cambodia
I will not list absolutely every drug that usually needs a prescription, but you can buy in Cambodia, but will deal with the highlights. These are Valium, Xanax, Tramadol, Viagra/Cialis and Ambien
Other stuff is also available, such as even Ritalin and the like. Things like Fentanyl, or OxyContin from the opioid family are not, although pharmacies will quite literally take requests if you build up a relationship;. All of the above mentioned brand names come as their brand, as well as with a much cheaper generic companion.
How much do pharmaceuticals\ cost in Cambodia?
Overall they can described as very cheap, but also with a large spread meaning I cannot list every price. Generic benzo’s, particularly valium are just $2 a strip of 10 pills, while the real deal can be anything from 5-10 x that. Xanax comes as is and is usually $3-4 a go, as is generic viagra. Cialis does not have a generic version is $5+ for 4.
Tramadol costs $2 for generic, or $3 for the proper stuff, and yes this is universal throughout the Kingdom of Cambodia.
What is the legality of getting pharmaceutical drugs in Cambodia?
In Cambodia these drugs should not be missed, brought to be sold, or used recreationally, with one technically just having the ability to buy without having to get a prescription from a doctor. Of course some people do musses them and in general my advice is do not mess with drugs in Cambodia and do not use pharmaceuticals recreationally.
Yet while the legality in Cambodia is grey, when you travel it becomes not only much more grey, but at times all out dark. Now before I start I will add I AM NOT GIVING LEGAL ADVICE, but there are a few things I know.
Firstly these are prescription drugs in most countries, so most countries might ask for a prescription from you at best. On this front quantity is also a thing, because if you have too many quite simply look like and perhaps be treated like a drug dealer.
Now that lost point becomes even more important when you get to many countries of the Middle-East, such as Egypt, or the UAE. Here Valium, Xanax and Tramadol to name but a few are considered akin to marijuana and you will be considered a trafficker.
Therefore what you buy, how much you buy and if you travel with it are all things you need to consider when buying drugs in Cambodia.