Is Adderall legal in Yemen?

Also known as: addy, amphetamine salts

Legal status

Controlled as amphetamine in the 1993 text of Law No. 3 of 1993 read. Adderall, sold as mixed amphetamine salts, is not named in the Law, but Schedule 1 prints amphetamine as item 15, with the trade names Anorexine, Actedron, Benzedrin and Aktedro, and dexamphetamine as item 58, with the trade names Maxiton and Dexedrine. Under item 15 the Arabic text adds "مع ملاحظة أن ليفوامفيتامين لا يعتبر مادة مخدرة" (noting that levamfetamine is not considered a narcotic substance). Article 1(c) makes the substances set out in Schedule 1 the narcotic and psychotropic substances of the Law, excluding the Schedule 2 preparations, which list no amphetamine. A paragraph printed after item 111 of Schedule 1, and before items 112 to 120, extends the schedule to "أي مستحضر أو مخلوط أو مستخلص أو أي مركب آخر يحتوى على إحدى المواد المدرجة في هذا الجدول" (any preparation, mixture, extract or other compound containing one of the substances listed in this schedule) "وبأي نسبة كانت ما لم ينص على نسبة محددة" (in any proportion, unless a specific proportion is stated). No proportion is printed under item 15 or item 58, so a tablet containing dexamphetamine or amphetamine is within the Law.

Consequences if caught

These penalties are stated as printed in the 1993 text read, not as confirmed current law. Article 38 punishes with imprisonment for five years anyone who possesses, buys, produces or manufactures narcotic substances for consumption or personal use unless he proves he was authorised by a medical prescription or under the Law; instead of that sentence the court may commit a person proved to be addicted to a sanatorium for treatment, and no criminal action is brought against a user who comes to a sanatorium for treatment of his own accord. Article 39 applies the same penalty to possession for purposes other than trafficking or personal use. Article 34(a) punishes by death or imprisonment for twenty five years owning, possessing, buying, selling, delivering, transporting or offering a narcotic substance with intent to traffic in it. Article 33 punishes by death import or export of narcotic substances with intent to traffic or promote before obtaining the Article 3 licence, and production or manufacture with intent to traffic. Article 37 allows a penalty to be reduced only to the next penalty below it. Article 49 exempts from the Article 33, 34 and 35 penalties an offender who reports the offence before the authorities know of it, and one who reports after they know if the report actually leads to the arrest of the other offenders. The Law names no quantity that moves a case between these articles; what separates them is the purpose of the act.

If prescribed or medical

Article 14 lets pharmacies dispense narcotic substances against a medical prescription from a physician or dentist, or under a licence card (بطاقة رخصة) as provided in Articles 19 to 22, and Article 17 forbids dispensing on a prescription more than ten days after its date. Article 15 forbids dispensing on a prescription beyond the quantities in Schedule 4, but where the patient's condition requires more, the treating physician must apply for a licence card for the quantities needed. Schedule 4 caps "أقراص أكتدرون" (Aktedron tablets, an amphetamine trade name) at 30 tablets and Maxiton tablets (a dexamphetamine trade name) at 30 tablets in a single prescription (items 53 and 52 in the Arabic text). Article 38 excuses possession only where the holder proves a medical prescription or authority under the Law.

Documentation

Article 3 says "لا يجوز جلب المواد المخدرة مهما كانت الوجهة النهائية لها" (narcotic substances may not be imported whatever their final destination) and allows export only by prior written licence, yet Article 4 provides for "أذن الجلب المشار إليه في المادة الثالثة" (the import permit referred to in Article 3) for medical and scientific uses and grants it only to government health institutions, the Yemeni Drugs Manufacturing and Trading Company, the National Drugs Establishment, and chemical and industrial analysis and scientific research laboratories and science colleges and institutes under Ministry of Health supervision. The Law contains no provision for a traveller carrying a personal supply. The Arabic text read is the PDF the Yemeni House of Representatives publishes on its website; it is not an Official Gazette image, every page was read as a rendered image, and its schedules carry a note citing health decisions of 1976 and 1981 and footnote markers whose footnote text is not printed. The English translation on UNODC SHERLOC differs from the Arabic inside Article 38: the Arabic says a court committal to a sanatorium may not be shorter than six months, the English says it may not exceed six months and adds a paragraph on a committee and repeat committals that the Arabic does not print. The English is therefore not relied on for Article 38, and it also omits the levamfetamine note and numbers Schedule 4 differently.

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