Is Memantine legal in France?
- Legal status
- Memantine is a prescription medicine (medicament soumis a prescription), not a stupefiant or psychotrope: it holds ANSM marketing authorisation and does not figure on the narcotics/psychotropics lists of the Code de la sante publique.
- Consequences if caught
- Memantine carries no narcotics-law penalty; supply outside the pharmacy prescription circuit is a medicines-regulation breach rather than a stupefiants offence.
- If prescribed or medical
- Prescribed for moderately-severe to severe Alzheimer's disease under ANSM-authorised indications.
- Documentation
- Ebixa and memantine generics (e.g. Memantine Mylan/Biogaran) appear in the ANSM public medicines database; travellers carry them with a prescription.
Drug laws and enforcement change and vary within a country. This is not legal advice. Always confirm with France’s embassy or official drug authority before traveling; penalties can be severe, including imprisonment.
Before you travel
Verify current rules with the destination country’s official drug authority and your own country’s embassy before traveling. Find the destination’s U.S. embassy & official country guidance →
Non-U.S. travelers: check your own government’s travel advisory and embassy.
If you’re detained or arrested abroad
Contact your own country’s embassy or consulate in the destination immediately — not the destination’s authorities. U.S. citizens: contact the nearest U.S. embassy/consulate and the U.S. State Department at +1-202-501-4444 (from abroad). If a U.S. citizen is arrested or detained abroad →