13 Prohibited Medicines in Indonesia

Review by : Yuli SE., MM

Medicines are helpful drugs to help many people heal from their illnesses. Moreover, they are also helpful in relieving symptoms or even preventing serious disease from further formation. Although many of the medicines are useful, some can become dangerous when people misuse them. There are a lot of medicines with harmful components that people may not be aware of.

They might not even know the side effect from these medicines. In Indonesia, there are medicines that you can easily get from your local pharmacy. However, there are also medicines that must come with doctor’s prescription since they are prohibited from distribution among the public. Here are 13 Prohibited Medicines in Indonesia that you should know about.

1. Morphine

Morphine is a highly prohibited medicine in Indonesia due to its opioid nature. In Indonesia, opioid falls under the narcotic category, therefore it is highly monitored by the authorities. Morphine is a drug taken to ease pain for extremely severe pain. However, it can be highly addictive. Too many use of it may cause a person to develop dependency on the medicine. In serious matters, some may overdose and die from too much morphine.

2. Amphetamine

Amphetamine is another prohibited medicine in Indonesia unless you have a prescription for it. This medicine is usually used for treating attention deficit disorder and narcolepsy. It has the ability to increase focus to the person who consume the medicine. The downside of this medicine is its chance of causing disruption in the brain and the nervous system. Amphetamine has also been banned in several countries.

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3. Carisoprodol

Carisoprodol is a type of a muscle relaxer medicine. It is able to block the feeling of pain since it disrupt the connection between the nerves and the brain. The medicine is often used to treat injuries. However, this medicine may cause unnecessary reliance and increases the chance of addiction.

4. Chlorpromazine

Chlorpromazine is an antipsychotic drug that is often misused by students in Indonesia. For that, the prescription for this type of drug has become stricter. The medicine increases the dopamine level in the brain. What’s worrying about this misused of this medicine is its ability to cause uneven rhythm of the heart.

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5. Codeine

This next prohibited medicine in Indonesia is called Codeine. Codeine is a form of opiate used to treat serious cases of cough, diarrhoea and also extreme pain. But there have been studies showing the ineffectiveness of this medicine for treating cough. It can cause addiction to those who consume it.

6. Tramadol

Since Tramadol is also a form of opioid medication, it is prohibited in Indonesia as well. Tramadol is often used to treat cases of severe pain. The effect of this medicine come quickly in just under an hour. High dosage of this medicine may ruin the kidneys and the liver. It is also not a recommended medicine to those who have suicidal tendencies.

7. Panadeine

Panadeine is another medicine used to relieve extreme pain. It contains codeine which is also prohibited in Indonesia. Other than treating pain, the medicine may also help in reducing fever. Panadeine can cause addiction if taken for more than 3 days without any monitoring from doctors.

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8. Barbiturate

Barbiturate is a type of medicine that could lessen the function of the nervous system. It is a medicine that could help in sedating oneself. Barbiturate is highly addictive and may cause serious overdose. As of now there is no highly effective antidote to treat an overdose caused from consuming Barbiturate.

9. Metamphetamine

This type of drug is used to treat obesity and also attention deficit disorder. It is able to increase the level of alertness to the person who consume it. Additionally, it increases energy and able to make one’s mood better. But in a high dosage of this medicine, it can cause serious seizure, bleeding in the brain and psychosis. It can cause a person to act violently due to paranoia and hallucinations.

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12. Buprenorphine

Buprenorphine medicine is often sold under the name of Subutex. It is a medicine used to treat severe case of chronic pain. Moreover, Buprenorphine is a medicine that help in treating people with addiction to dangerous opioids. Those opioids are namely heroin and oxycodone. But the major concern for this medicine is its ability to cause people to become addicted to it. They may even use it as an alternative for their addictions.

13. Oxycodone

The last prohibited medicine in Indonesia for this article is called Oxycodone. Oxycodone is opioid drug taken from the Persian poppies. This medicine can relieve all levels of pain, from bearable ones to the most painful ones. The downside of this medicine is the fact that it can cause addiction. What’s more worrying is its ability to cause even more pain rather than relieving it.

If you are a tourist but you need to bring some medications with you into Indonesia, it would be wise to carry along your doctor’s prescription with you to avoid troubles with the law. But if you are already in Indonesia, it is best to avoid these medicine or go to the doctor for official prescription so you won’t cause danger to yourself.