Travelling with controlled substances through Doha, Qatar on a connecting flight?

Question

I just need to fly from Thailand to America and am considering using Qatar Airways. I know the word controlled substance sounds like a bad word so let me just explain in more detail. I have some sleep medicine, just about 4 pills of Lunasta with the prescription on a bottle that is my brother's (same last name). I also bought some Valium (about 4-6 pills) in Thailand that is in it's original packaging, no prescription. These pill woulds be on me, not in checked luggage.

I fly coach only and I plan on using this sleeping medicine to make the 26 hour journey not a sleepless one. I've got a bag of medicine I travel with that has other stuff in it too that would be in checked luggage. Stuff that is not a scheduled control substance but does require a prescription in some countries like ibuprofen and pseudoephedrine. And a lot of allergy medicines. Some with my name on them as a prescription and others not.

My wife suffers from migraines and since we are in Thailand I would like her to go ahead and get a prescription for pain medicines (narcotics) for that in case she has an episode in America. It would be a prescription for about a week's worth of medicine.

Questions/concerns: Will my stuff be confiscated? Will I go to jail? I've heard of the story where there was a young man who had some trace amount of weed in his shoe lace and was put into jail... My alternative is to fly through Japan but it costs about 300-400 dollars more that way for 2 people..

edit: and when I say narcotics, I mean clinical narcotics, like vicoden and tramadol. Not like street drugs... that word has some different interpretation.

Answer 1

You're probably OK, but I'd still skip the narcotics and anything you don't have a prescription for.

All the Gulf states, including Qatar, enforce very strict drug controls. Qatar has a list of all drugs you're allowed to bring into the country, and if it's not on there, you can't bring it in even with a prescription. However...

You're not actually entering Qatar, you're just passing through in transit, which means you're not going to pass through Customs. Now, there may be a random check of incoming passengers at the gate, but these are rare, and if you have a prescription, aren't entering the country and only have personal use quantities, they are highly unlikely to care.

Also, while it's not the focus of your question, I'd be very, very careful about importing narcotics to the US. If at all possible, you'd probably be better off getting a prescription and buying them in the US after you've arrive.