Is Ayahuasca legal in Poland?

Also known as: yagé, hoasca

Legal status

Controlled. Poland names both of the brew's usual plants and its active alkaloid in its own national list. «BANISTERIOPSIS CAAPI» is entry lp. 30 in group I-N of Załącznik nr 2, the narcotic annex, whose entry continues with the words for live plants or dried material, seeds, extracts and concentrates. «PSYCHOTRIA VIRIDIS» is entry lp. 164 in group I-N of Załącznik nr 2, the narcotic annex, given the alternative name «Chacruna» and carrying the same plant wording. «DMT» is entry lp. 27 in group I-P of Załącznik nr 1, the psychotropic annex, with the designation «N,N-dimetylotryptamina». The published Poland entry reached the brew only through the convention status of DMT, which understates it: the vine and the leaf are named in their own right.

Consequences if caught

Capital exposure: none. Poland has no death penalty, and the heaviest band the 2005 Act reaches for any conduct with this substance is a term of years. Possession is an offence under article 62(1) of the 2005 Act and the band there is up to three years. Where the quantity is considerable, article 62(2) sets a band of one year to ten years. In a case of lesser gravity article 62(3) provides instead for a fine, a restriction of liberty or up to one year. Article 62a lets proceedings be discontinued, even before the decision to open an investigation, where the quantity is insignificant and intended for the holder's own use and a penalty would be inexpedient. That is a power of the prosecutor and not an entitlement of the holder, so it is not decriminalisation. The plant entries matter because they reach dried material, seeds and extracts, so a preparation carrying no measurable alkaloid is still the listed thing. Supply offences sit apart from possession. Article 56 punishes putting such a substance on the market with a fine and six months to eight years, and article 56(3) raises that to a fine and two years to twelve years where the quantity is considerable. Article 59(1) punishes supply for gain with one year to ten years. Poland also names Peganum harmala at lp. 153, the other common source of the harmala alkaloids, and Mimosa tenuiflora at lp. 130.

If prescribed or medical

There is no authorised medicinal product with this substance in Poland, so no prescription route exists for it. No ceremonial or religious exemption appears in the 2005 Act.

Documentation

No personal import route exists, because a listed substance may be brought in only under the licensing chapter of the 2005 Act and not on a traveller's own account. The certificate issued under article 75 of the Convention implementing the Schengen Agreement is the route for a prescribed controlled medicine and does not reach a substance for which no prescription can be written. Vine and leaf are named in their own right, so dried plant material is the listed thing whether or not it has been brewed.

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