Shipping medicines

Generally, there is a difference between non-prescription drugs and prescription drugs. The non-prescription drugs can be purchased freely over the counter and thus are allowed to be shipped.

Also, more detailed, as for the prescription, the drugs can be divided in 5 categories:

1. Medicines without prescription
2. Medicines with prescription
3. Medicines with prescription to be renewed once at a time
4. Medicines with special prescription
5. Medicines with limitative prescription

The category of a medicine will be always decided by the Italian Agency of Drugs (AIFA).

Shipping OTC drugs

All the medicines without prescription in the Italian pharmacies, such as painkillers, cough syrups, ointments, eye drops, valerian and sim. are not part of the medicines with prescription and are freely marketable. Generally, these types of medicine do not cause problems when shipped.

Shipping medicines with prescription

All the drugs that require prescription such as strong painkillers, antibiotics, drugs such as cannabis are rx-type medicines. Shipping this type of medicines is forbidden for most of the EU states. 

Only proven pharmacies and individuals such as doctors have the permission for shipping, respectively, receiving medicines, however only for certain countries. This authorization should be requested in advance.

Shipping medicines abroad?

Can I, as a private person, send and receive medicines with prescription? As a private, you can only ship abroad OTC medicines, this means without any prescription. Furthermore, the assumption on one’s own need and contained quantities as a final consumer should persist. Otherwise, in some countries there is the possibility to order the drugs with prescriptions through a pharmacy, that has the license for online selling.