Cairo - East Cairo Prosecution decided to drop over-the-counter drug possession charges against Egyptian Member of Parliamnet and film director 'Khaled Youssef'. Youssef, who has been released Immediately on his own recognizance, was stopped on Sunday from boarding a flight at Cairo International Airport for possessing 100 Xanax pills without a prescription. Once released, Youssef went public to explain that the ‘medicine' found in his luggage was for his French wife who lives in Paris, and was by no means for personal use or addiction. He posted a statement on Facebook: "I was released without any guarantees after the prosecution checked all official documentation: the report from the doctor who treats my wife and the pharmacist who sold us the medicine upon presenting a prescription." Dr. Ahmed Okasha, Professor of Psychiatry, confirmed Youssef's statement saying, "whoever thinks of Xanax as contraband drug is just ignorant. Xanax is a tranquilizer drug taken in cases of insomnia and chronic migraine. Youssef's wife has been taking it for several years under the supervision of Dr. Hisham Hatata back in Egypt before she moved to Paris." Youssef's doctor told prosecutors that the amount Youssef was carrying is the standard number of pills found in a large pack, which is not indicative of drug trafficking or abuse. Xanax, which is used to treat anxiety, panic disorders and depression, is a schedule B controlled substance in Egypt and cannot be legally purchased without a doctor's prescription. Youssef told presenter Amr Adib on talk show "Every Day", that he had purchased the medicine legally from the pharmacy for his wife, not knowing that Xanax was blacklisted under ‘Category B of Narcotics'. "Yet suffice it to present an official prescription stamped by a physician," he argued.
