Is 4-HO-MET legal in Ukraine?

Legal status

Controlled in Ukraine by its own name as an especially dangerous psychotropic substance whose circulation is prohibited, and it is printed twice. The list prints «4-hydroxy MET (4-HO-MEТ; Metocin)» with the chemical name «3-[2-[етил(метил)аміно]етил]-1H-індол-4-ол», and again «4-HO-MET» with the chemical name «3-{2-[етил(метил)аміно]етил}-1H-індол-4-ол», both in Таблиця I, Список № 2, headed «Особливо небезпечні психотропні речовини, обіг яких заборонено». The first printed name carries a Cyrillic letter inside a Latin abbreviation and is quoted exactly as printed. The list was read at https://web.archive.org/web/20260112104514/https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/770-2000-%D0%BF/print on 3 October 2026, the publisher's own print view of Постанова Кабінету Міністрів України № 770 від 6 травня 2000 року in the redaction of 13 September 2025, basis 692-2025-п, as captured by the Internet Archive with the publisher's currency line of 12 January 2026. The one later amending act, Постанова № 146 of 5 February 2026, was read in full at https://web.archive.org/web/20260212034633/https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/146-2026-%D0%BF/print on 3 October 2026. It adds two synthetic cannabinoid entries, rewrites the tetrahydrocannabinol entry of Таблиця II, Список № 2, and moves piperonal and red phosphorus within Таблиця IV, and it touches no entry quoted in this cell. The publisher's card captured on 16 August 2026 at https://web.archive.org/web/20260816050801/https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/770-2000-%D0%BF names the current redaction as 7 June 2026 on the basis of 146-2026-п. This does not rule out a later amendment made after 16 August 2026. The publisher host itself refused every connection from here on 3 October 2026.

Consequences if caught

Capital exposure: none. Article 51 of the Criminal Code lists every punishment a Ukrainian court may impose and ends at «довічне позбавлення волі»; it lists no death penalty, and none of articles 305 to 318 provides a life term. This row is in Таблиця I, Список № 2, so the especially dangerous limb of articles 305 and 307 applies with no quantity condition. Sale, or production, acquisition, storage or transport for sale, under article 307 is four to eight years under part 1 for a restricted substance, but part 2 reaches «особливо небезпечні наркотичні засоби або психотропні речовини» without any quantity, so any sale of this row's substance carries six to ten years with confiscation of property, rising to nine to twelve years with confiscation under part 3 for an organised group, an especially large size or the involvement of a child. Smuggling under article 305 is five to eight years under part 1, and eight to ten years with confiscation of property under part 2, which reaches «особливо небезпечні наркотичні засоби чи психотропні речовини» with no quantity condition, so this row starts at part 2; an organised group or an especially large size gives ten to twelve years with confiscation under part 3. Possession, acquisition, storage or transport without intent to sell under article 309 is a fine of 1,000 to 3,000 tax free minimum incomes, correctional labour of up to two years, or probation supervision or restriction of liberty of up to five years under part 1; a fine of 2,000 to 5,000 tax free minimum incomes or imprisonment of up to three years under part 2 for a group, a repeat within a year or a large size; and five to eight years under part 3 for an especially large size or the involvement of a minor. Part 4 releases from liability a person who voluntarily seeks treatment for addiction. Trafficking or sale under article 307 thus spans four to twelve years across its three parts, with confiscation of property attached only in parts 2 and 3. Article 316, the public use offence, names only «наркотичних засобів» and not psychotropic substances, so its text does not reach this row; use in private is not itself an offence in the articles read either. Article 310 penalises growing only opium poppy and cannabis, so it does not reach this row. Below the criminal threshold, article 44 of the Code of Administrative Offenses punishes production, acquisition, storage, transport or sending of a small amount of a narcotic drug or psychotropic substance without intent to sell by a fine of 25 to 50 tax free minimum incomes, 20 to 60 hours of community service, or administrative arrest of up to 15 days, and releases a person who surrenders the substance voluntarily. That article was read on 3 October 2026 only on the secondary publisher https://urst.com.ua/kupap/st-44, whose own currency line gives a redaction of 11 February 2022, because the official host refused the connection. The small, large and especially large sizes that move a case between article 44 and the parts of articles 309 and 307 are set by Ministry of Health Order No. 188 (наказ МОЗ № 188 від 01.08.2000). Its Table 1 covers narcotic drugs only, and its separate table for psychotropic substances was not in the text read in this run, so no gram figure is stated for this row. Every figure in this paragraph is a penalty range or a fine taken from Кримінальний кодекс України in the redaction of 18 September 2026, basis 4986-IX, read at https://web.archive.org/web/20261001134802/https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/2341-14/print on 3 October 2026 with the publisher's currency line of 1 October 2026, and none of them is a quantity threshold.

If prescribed or medical

None. The heading of the list that carries this row says circulation is prohibited, «обіг яких заборонено», so no prescription, licence or foreign prescription can make carriage lawful in Ukraine. This run read no medicines or licensing law, and a prohibited heading leaves nothing for such law to authorise.

Documentation

VERIFIED against the instrument. Instrument: Постанова Кабінету Міністрів України № 770, перелік наркотичних засобів, психотропних речовин і прекурсорів. Sections: Таблиця I, Список № 2, both rows. Searched this run against the full list in both scripts. «HO-MET» in Latin matched the second row only. The same string with a Cyrillic final letter, and «Metocin», matched the first row only. «етил(метил)аміно» in the chemical name column matched both rows and the acetate «4-AcO-MET», which was read and set aside as a different compound. The penalty statements were written from articles 51, 305, 307, 309, 310 and 316 of Кримінальний кодекс України in the redaction of 18 September 2026, basis 4986-IX, read at https://web.archive.org/web/20261001134802/https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/2341-14/print on 3 October 2026 with the publisher's currency line of 1 October 2026, all read in full in this run before the capital statement was written. A traveller should carry nothing in reliance on this row, and anyone carrying a prescribed medicine should carry the original dispensing pack, the pharmacy label in the patient's name, the prescription and a prescriber's letter naming the active ingredient, strength and dose.

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