Is Barbiturates legal in Brazil?
- Legal status
- Barbiturates are controlled psychotropics in List B1 of Portaria SVS/MS 344/1998 — dispensed on a blue 'Notificação de Receita B' (30-day validity) — transposing the 1971 Convention tiers.
- Consequences if caught
- Outside the special-control regime it is an ANVISA infraction; trafficking falls under Lei 11.343/2006.
- If prescribed or medical
- Phenobarbital (Gardenal) is prescribed as a List B1 antiepileptic (a WHO Essential Medicine) on the blue Receita B; the sedative-hypnotic barbiturates are rarely used.
- Documentation
- Non-residents may import a personal supply with a prescription or report; domestically the blue Notificação B is required.
Drug laws and enforcement change and vary within a country. This is not legal advice. Always confirm with Brazil’s embassy or official drug authority before traveling; penalties can be severe, including imprisonment.
Before you travel
Verify current rules with the destination country’s official drug authority and your own country’s embassy before traveling. Find the destination’s U.S. embassy & official country guidance →
Non-U.S. travelers: check your own government’s travel advisory and embassy.
If you’re detained or arrested abroad
Contact your own country’s embassy or consulate in the destination immediately — not the destination’s authorities. U.S. citizens: contact the nearest U.S. embassy/consulate and the U.S. State Department at +1-202-501-4444 (from abroad). If a U.S. citizen is arrested or detained abroad →