US Troops Approved to Take Banned Medication Off Post In South Korea and Japan
This is not an issue I was even aware of before, but I can easily see how someone could get in trouble for this without even knowing they were doing something illegal:
U.S. personnel in Japan and South Korea won’t get in trouble if they take prescription or over-the-counter medication off-base, even if the ingredients are prohibited under host-nation law, according to local national officials.
A U.S. English teacher, Carrie Russell, was arrested last month after officials discovered 180 Adderall pills that she had mailed to her new home in Nagoya, Japan. Russell’s mother earlier sent the pills — used to treat attention deficit disorder — to her daughter in South Korea, according to the Tribune News Service.
Adderall, which contains amphetamines, is illegal in Japan and South Korea. Ritalin, the other main drug used in the West to treat ADD, was banned in 2007 in Japan as officials cited widespread abuse.
Pseudoephedrine-based medications sold over-the-counter in the U.S. and at on-base commissaries are also controlled substances in Japan.
Warnings about the import of cold and flu medications with brand names such as Tylenol, Nyquil, Actifed, Sudafed, Advil, Dristan, Drixoral, Vicks and Lomotil are posted on Japanese consular websites. The cold and flu remedies contain narcotic or stimulant ingredients in excess of Japan’s standards, the websites state.
However, officials said U.S. military personnel won’t get in trouble if they take that type of medication off-base.
U.S. Forces Korea spokesman Andre Kok said by email that the Status of Forces Agreement there affords the U.S. the right to furnish medical support for troops, civilians and family members. [Stars & Stripes]
You can read more at the link.
“A U.S. English teacher, Carrie Russell, was arrested last month after officials discovered 180 Adderall pills that she had mailed to her new home in Nagoya, Japan. Russell’s mother earlier sent the pills — used to treat attention deficit disorder — to her daughter in South Korea, according to the Tribune News Service.”
A junkie English “teacher” like Carrie Russell is exactly what Korea and Japan should be filtering out… and a stupid one who thinks nothing of sending 180 prescription pills known for recreational use through international mail also needs to be put down before she reproduces.
This shyt gives English teachers and foreigners a bad name. There are plenty of potential teachers who aren’t nutcases… or pill junkies to keep from being noticed as nutcases.
And to top it off, much of this isn’t used by the whackjobs who “need” it. It is sold to other whackjobs who want it.
Some months ago, I went out with a group of shady-but-somewhat-fun English “teachers”. It was a stereotypical case of an older dysfunctional group of English “teachers” in Korea. There were a couple of divorced men who, through the watery eyes of drunktalk sadness, bragged about their kids while regretting how long it had been since they had seen them… and then turned to cheerful discussion about how many whores they were going to fukk on their next trip to Thailand. There was an incredibly funny but incredibly bitter woman who chain smoked with tattooed hands through unlipsticked lips framed by stringy hair and complained that all the foreign guys were only interested in “these scrawny Korean girls”. There was a flamer who had to introduce “but because I’m gay” into every concept that was discussed. There was what appeared to be some kind of soccer hooligan who barely spoke understandable English. There was a weasely-looking guy who started telling me (without any prompting) about the warrant he has out for him back in the States for having drug paraphernalia when busted for shoplifting. There were a couple of no-personality sad-sack broke-diick old guys who were probably no-personality sad-sack broke-diick young guys a few decades back. There was a cheerful wide-hipped women’s studies major with a bit of not-exactly amused scolding whenever some guy made the wrong joke or comment.
This was an older crowd so there were no poser hipsters, stinking hippies, border-line autistic geeks thinking they might score some puzzy if they talk about it more, and no grossly fat girls in shapeless clothes making no effort to look like anything better than grossly fat girls in shapeless clothes.
As the night passed, I looked over at the other end of the table and some guy had his head flat on the table, passed out. I laughed out loud.
“What’s up, dude! You having trouble holding your liquor or are you just doing a line?”
Ha ha, right?
The girl next to me hissed, “Shut the fukk up!”
The guy lifted his head and wiped his nose.
WTF? He WAS doing a line. In Korea… in public… off the table with a bank card… in a small bar filled with foreigners and Koreans… and in front of people like me who he never met before.
“Oh, man, I feel so square. He totally looked passed out. Kill me now, baby, I have it coming.”
At Round 3 karaoke, about half of the people were doing open lines off the table while the other half ignored it as if it did not exist… kind of amusing to watch.
I was in no position to ask questions and I tried to reason out exactly what the hell drug they were doing.
The next time I bumped into them, one of the girls turned to me and said, “I had such a great night with you last time… or maybe I can have a great time with anybody after ten lines of Ritalin.”
Ah-ha. I see now.
“You know it, baby. Tonight, I will feed you the blood of a crack whore and you will be wanting to have my child.”
This was not the women’s study major, obviously.
Anyway, after getting to know everyone better, I learned this is a bit of thing. The pill junkies order up as many as they can get and then strike a balance between what they need to function and what they can sell for extra pocket cash. It’s a bit of a thing in the States, too.
Korea should test for this and kick out anybody who comes back positive.
Foreigners who need it and foreigners who abuse it are not needed.
Sad story, CH… Sounds like exactly what the inets tell us about ESL teachers… 🙁
I agree with the first comment, you cannot mail ( prefer ) schedule ll drugs internationaly without declaring it to customs before or upon entry. I believe this is also international law.
You may fill an Adderall script ( written for you ) at a military pharmacy in Japan. I don’t believe you can hand carry a small supply into Japan though because it has to be declared at customs upon entering Japan ( on or of base as a civilian ) and it’s prohibited.
CH, you obviously have a higher tolerance for that type of person than I do.
It’s really quite telling how many expats have a need to chemically enhance their enjoyment of expats while living surrounded by Koreans.
How many were Bernie voters, we wonders?