Is 4-HO-MET legal in Portugal?

Legal status

Prohibited as a new psychoactive substance. 4-HO-MET is not in tables I to IV of Decreto-Lei n.º 15/93, but it is named on the list made under Decreto-Lei n.º 54/2013, so a separate prohibition applies and the drug consumption regime does not.

Consequences if caught

4-HO-MET was checked against the schedules of Decreto-Lei n.º 15/93 and is not there. It is named instead on the list of new psychoactive substances approved by Portaria n.º 154/2013 and amended by Portaria n.º 232/2022, at entry 25 of the annex, '4-HO-MET (4-hidroxi-N-metil-N-etiltriptamina)'. Decreto-Lei n.º 54/2013 is a separate regime from the drug tables and it prohibits far more than consumption. Portaria n.º 232/2022 recites it: it 'proíbe a produção, importação, exportação, publicidade, distribuição, venda, detenção, ou disponibilização de novas substâncias psicoativas', in translation it prohibits the production, importation, exportation, advertising, distribution, sale, possession or supply of new psychoactive substances, and article 3.º provides that the substances are those on a list approved by ministerial order. Because this substance is on that list and not in tables I to IV, the ten day quantity, the commissions for the dissuasion of drug addiction and the trafficking offence in article 21 of Decreto-Lei n.º 15/93 do not apply to it. A different prohibition does. The penalty provisions of Decreto-Lei n.º 54/2013 were not read here, so no penalty figure is stated. The list was read as amended to 7 September 2022 and any later amendment was not available.

If prescribed or medical

There is no prescription route. A new psychoactive substance on this list has no authorised medicinal form in Portugal.

Documentation

No documentation can authorise possession of a listed new psychoactive substance. If you are carrying other controlled medicines on Schengen travel, carry a Schengen certificate together with the original packaging and the prescription.

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