Is 4-AcO-DMT legal in Thailand?

Legal status

4-AcO-DMT is controlled in Thailand as a Category 1 psychotropic substance, as an ester of psilocin and not by a named entry of its own. The Ministry of Public Health notification ประกาศกระทรวงสาธารณสุข เรื่อง ระบุชื่อวัตถุออกฤทธิ์ในประเภท ๑ พ.ศ. ๒๕๖๕, published in the Royal Gazette volume 139, special part 182 ง, on 5 August 2565 (2022), names psilocin at item 45 as "ไซโลซีน (psilocine หรือ psilotsin)", chemical name "3-(2-(dimethylamino)ethyl)-1H-indol-4-ol". Clause 2(3) of the same notification extends every entry to "เกลือ เอสเทอร์ (ester) และอีเทอร์ (ether) ใด ๆ ของวัตถุออกฤทธิ์ดังกล่าว", any salt, ester or ether of the listed substance. PubChem records 4-AcO-DMT under CID 15429212 as "[3-[2-(dimethylamino)ethyl]-1H-indol-4-yl] acetate", which is psilocin with its 4 hydroxyl group esterified by acetic acid, so it is an ester of item 45. Psilocybin, the phosphate ester of the same hydroxyl, is named separately at item 46 of the same list. Section 94 of the Narcotics Code B.E. 2564 prohibits producing, importing, exporting, selling, possessing or transiting a psychotropic substance without a licence under section 35(5), and section 149 carries the penalties. The placement rests on reading clause 2(3) against the published structure; no Thai instrument read names 4-AcO-DMT, psilacetin or O-acetylpsilocin in words.

Consequences if caught

Capital exposure: none. 4-AcO-DMT is reached as a psychotropic substance. No provision of the Narcotics Code B.E. 2564 sets death for any psychotropic substance. Life imprisonment is reachable for a psychotropic only under section 172, which punishes inducing, deceiving, threatening or forcing another person to use one: up to 5 years or a fine up to 500,000 baht or both, 1 to 10 years with a weapon or two or more offenders acting together, and 3 years to life and a fine of 300,000 to 5,000,000 baht where the person is a woman or aged 18 or under, or the purpose is a criminal offence. The ordinary penalties are in section 149. For Category 1, section 149 paragraph 1(1) reads "วัตถุออกฤทธิ์ในประเภท ๑ ต้องระวางโทษจำคุกไม่เกินสิบปี และปรับไม่เกินหนึ่งล้านบาท": up to 10 years and a fine up to 1,000,000 baht for unlicensed production, import, export, sale or possession. Section 149 paragraph 2 raises that to 1 to 15 years and a fine of 100,000 to 1,500,000 baht where the conduct is for trade, spreads use among the public, is a sale to a person aged 18 or under, is a sale in the vicinity of a school, a place of worship or government premises, or involves force, the threat of force, or a weapon. Use carries up to 1 year or a fine up to 20,000 baht or both under section 162, and possession for use up to 2 years or a fine up to 40,000 baht or both under section 164. The death alternative in this Code sits only in section 145 paragraph 3, it belongs to Category 1 narcotics, and a psychotropic placement does not carry a person into it, whatever the quantity. Section 146 covers narcotic Categories 2 and 4 and is not this substance's section. Psilocybin mushrooms are a different entry again: Psilocybe cubensis is listed as a Category 5 narcotic, so a mushroom and this synthetic ester are not answered by the same section.

If prescribed or medical

No lawful route for a traveller was found. Section 39 paragraph 2 of the Narcotics Code B.E. 2564 exempts a traveller carrying a psychotropic substance of Category 2, 3 or 4 for personal treatment, up to a 30 day quantity with a prescription or certificate. Category 1 is not in that list, so it does not reach a psilocin ester, and a foreign prescription cannot create it. Any lawful possession would need a licence under section 35(5).

Documentation

Carry nothing that contains 4-AcO-DMT. The control runs through clause 2(3), which reaches any ester of a listed psychotropic, read against the published structure of 4-AcO-DMT as an ester of psilocin; no Thai instrument names the compound in words, so a seller's claim that it is not listed is true of the name and not of the control. The notification was read on 3 October 2026 from the Thai FDA Narcotics Control Division copy at https://narcotic.fda.moph.go.th/law-type/pc-185, and its amendments No. 2 B.E. 2566 to No. 5 B.E. 2569 (pc-194, pc-203, pc-211 and pc-183, the last gazetted 17 September 2569) were read; none touches items 45 or 46 or clause 2. The Category 5 narcotic notification naming Psilocybe cubensis was read at https://narcotic.fda.moph.go.th/law-type/nc-343, and the penalties at https://narcotic.fda.moph.go.th/law-type/na-10. No express open reuse licence was located on the cited pages, so only the wording needed for verification is reproduced, with attribution and a direct link. The status is stated as in force on 3 October 2026, and a later notification can move it, so re-read before relying on this.

Drug laws and enforcement change and vary within a country. This is not legal advice. Always confirm with Thailand’s embassy or official drug authority before traveling; penalties can be severe, including imprisonment.