Student Health Service

Montana State University
Bozeman, MT 59717
(406) 994-2311

 
Don't Get Lit

Avoiding drug and alcohol problems while traveling
Safe Traveling
for Dummies 
 
Don't get bit
(Immunizations, and preventing insect bites and infectious diseases) 
 
Don't get hit
(Preventing accidents and injuries) 
 
Don't do "it"
(Avoiding STDs) 
 
Don't eat s...
(Preventing food- and water-borne diseases) 
 
 
Information About Specific Countries
Other Travel Resources
MSU Travel Clinic
Home Page

 

 Partying hard while traveling can change your life, and it may not all be good memories.
 
Just like in the US, getting stoned or drunk can seriously dilute your usual good sense and increase stupid behavior. This can increase your risk of motor vehicle and pedestrian accidents, becoming a crime victim and catching a STD. But you already know that. 
 
Using drugs and alcohol while traveling can also cause very serious legal problems. (Don't believe it? Rent "Midnight Express.") What might be legal or only a minor infraction in the US can mean a long jail term in a foreign country. When you travel abroad you are subject to local laws and no longer protected by the US Constitution. If you get arrested, you are on your own; the US Government can't help you much.
  
The US State Department warns:
"More than 1/3 of U.S. citizens incarcerated abroad are held on drug charges. Some countries do not distinguish between possession and trafficking; many have mandatory sentences - even for a small amount of marijuana or cocaine. Although we know of no U.S. citizens who have been arrested abroad for prescription drugs purchased in the United States for personal use and carried in original labeled containers, a number of Americans have been arrested for possessing prescription drugs, particularly tranquilizers and amphetamines, that they purchased legally in certain Asian countries and took to some countries in the Middle East where they are illegal. Other U.S. citizens have been arrested for purchasing prescription drugs abroad in quantities that local authorities suspected were for commercial use. If in doubt about foreign drug laws, ask local authorities or the nearest U.S.
embassy or consulate." - From A Safe Trip Abroad
 
Travel Warnings on Drugs Abroad from the US State Department goes into the gory details.
 
And in some countries, alcohol is also prohibited, with penalties similar to those for other drugs.
 
Get the picture?
 
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