Is 6-APB legal in Portugal?

Also known as: benzofury

Legal status

Controlled under the drug tables, not under the new psychoactive substances regime. 6-APB was removed from the list made under Decreto-Lei n.º 54/2013 by article 2(2) of Portaria n.º 232/2022, de 7 de setembro, because it had been added to table II-B of Decreto-Lei n.º 15/93. The move took effect on 8 September 2022.

Consequences if caught

article 2(2) of Portaria n.º 232/2022 states that the substances it lists are removed from the list of new psychoactive substances "por terem sido aditadas à tabela II-B do Decreto-Lei n.º 15/93", that is because they had been added to table II-B of the drug law, and 6-APB is one of them. The regime changed, not only the citation. While a substance sits on the new psychoactive substances list the consequence is the administrative offence in article 10 of Decreto-Lei n.º 54/2013. Once it is in a table of Decreto-Lei n.º 15/93 the drug law applies instead: the trafficking offence in article 21 is available, and holding for personal consumption falls under Lei n.º 30/2000 as amended by Lei n.º 55/2023, with the ten day quantity and the commissions for the dissuasion of drug addiction. The specific quantity and penalty band for this substance in table II-B was not read here and no figure is stated for it. The list was read as republished in full by Portaria n.º 232/2022, de 7 de setembro, which entered into force on 8 September 2022. Anything added after that date was not available here.

If prescribed or medical

There is no traveller prescription route for this substance. A foreign prescription does not authorise possession of it in Portugal.

Documentation

Carry any prescribed medicine in its original packaging with the prescription. No documentation authorises carrying this substance.

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.