Is Barbiturates legal in Laos?
- Legal status
- Barbiturates are handled under Laos's general controlled-psychotropic regime (Law on Narcotics No. 10/NA, as amended), transposing the 1971 Convention; individual barbiturates are not separately enumerated in an accessible schedule.
- Consequences if caught
- Non-death-eligible psychotropic offences draw fixed-term imprisonment (months to years for use/possession; up to life for larger trafficking). The amended Article 146 death list is exhaustive by named drug and weight with no 'other psychotropics' catch-all — barbiturates are not death-eligible.
- If prescribed or medical
- Phenobarbital is handled as a controlled prescription antiepileptic (a WHO Essential Medicine); the sedative-hypnotic barbiturates are tightly controlled.
- Documentation
- Carry a prescription and original packaging and confirm import rules with Lao authorities before travel.
Drug laws and enforcement change and vary within a country. This is not legal advice. Always confirm with Laos’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 →