Are Barbiturates legal in Thailand?

Also known as: barbs

Legal status

Barbiturates are psychotropic substances in Thailand, named member by member across three categories, so the answer for a given product depends on which barbiturate it contains. The three Ministry of Public Health naming notifications of B.E. 2565, all published in the Royal Gazette volume 139, special part 182 ง, on 5 August 2565 (2022), place them as follows. Category 2, ระบุชื่อวัตถุออกฤทธิ์ในประเภท ๒: secobarbital, item 38, "เซโคบาร์บิทาล (secobarbital)". Category 3, ระบุชื่อวัตถุออกฤทธิ์ในประเภท ๓: amobarbital, item 1, "อะโมบาร์บิทาล (amobarbital)"; butalbital, item 2; cyclobarbital, item 3; and pentobarbital, item 7, "เพนโตบาร์บิทาล (pentobarbital)". Category 4, ระบุชื่อวัตถุออกฤทธิ์ในประเภท ๔: allobarbital, item 1; barbital, item 2; butobarbital, item 5; methylphenobarbital, item 31; phenobarbital, item 36, "ฟีโนบาร์บิทาล (phenobarbital)"; secbutabarbital, item 41; and vinylbital, item 45. Clause 2 of each notification extends every entry to any stereoisomer, any salt, ester or ether, and any preparation containing it. No barbiturate was found in the Category 1 psychotropic list or in any narcotic list. Section 94 of the Narcotics Code B.E. 2564 prohibits producing, importing, exporting, selling, possessing or transiting any psychotropic substance without a licence under section 35(5), and section 149 carries the penalties.

Consequences if caught

Capital exposure: none. Every barbiturate named is a psychotropic substance. No provision of the Narcotics Code B.E. 2564 sets death for any psychotropic substance. Life imprisonment is reachable for a psychotropic only under section 172, which punishes inducing, deceiving, threatening or forcing another person to use one: up to 5 years or a fine up to 500,000 baht or both, 1 to 10 years with a weapon or two or more offenders acting together, and 3 years to life and a fine of 300,000 to 5,000,000 baht where the person is a woman or aged 18 or under, or the purpose is a criminal offence. The ordinary penalties are in section 149. For secobarbital, Category 2, section 149 paragraph 1(2) reads "วัตถุออกฤทธิ์ในประเภท ๒ ต้องระวางโทษจำคุกไม่เกินเจ็ดปี และปรับไม่เกินเจ็ดแสนบาท": up to 7 years and a fine up to 700,000 baht, raised by paragraph 2 to 1 to 15 years and a fine of 100,000 to 1,500,000 baht for trade, public spread, sale to a person aged 18 or under, sale in the vicinity of a school, place of worship or government premises, or force, the threat of force, or a weapon. For the Category 3 and Category 4 members, phenobarbital and pentobarbital among them, section 149 paragraph 1(3) sets up to 5 years and a fine up to 500,000 baht, and the aggravated paragraph does not apply to those categories. Sections 162 and 164, on use and possession for use, cover psychotropic Categories 1 and 2 only, so for secobarbital possession for use can carry up to 2 years or a fine up to 40,000 baht or both, while for the Category 3 and 4 members unlicensed possession is charged under section 149 itself. The death alternative in this Code sits only in section 145 paragraph 3, it belongs to Category 1 narcotics, and no barbiturate is a narcotic, whatever the quantity. Section 146 covers narcotic Categories 2 and 4 and is not this class's section.

If prescribed or medical

There is a statutory route for a traveller and it is narrow. Section 39 paragraph 2 of the Narcotics Code B.E. 2564 provides that bringing a psychotropic substance of Category 2, 3 or 4 into or out of Thailand, in a quantity not exceeding what is needed to treat the traveller's own condition within 30 days and with a prescription or certificate from a physician, dentist or first class veterinarian, needs no permit; carrying more than 30 days' supply needs a permit under ministerial regulation. Every barbiturate named in the Thai lists falls in Category 2, 3 or 4, so phenobarbital for epilepsy, for example, can travel within that limit. A barbiturate that is in none of the three lists was not established either way by this reading.

Documentation

Carry the prescription or a doctor's certificate, which section 39 requires, and no more than 30 days' supply, which it also requires; keeping the medicine in its original packaging is practical advice and not a statutory condition; for a longer course, apply for the permit before travelling. Identify the barbiturate by name, because secobarbital in Category 2 carries a heavier penalty band than phenobarbital in Category 4. The three notifications were read on 3 October 2026 from the Thai FDA Narcotics Control Division copies at https://narcotic.fda.moph.go.th/law-type/pc-186, https://narcotic.fda.moph.go.th/law-type/pc-187 and https://narcotic.fda.moph.go.th/law-type/pc-188, with the later amendments to Category 2 and Category 3, which add only etomidate and carisoprodol, at https://narcotic.fda.moph.go.th/law-type/pc-212 and https://narcotic.fda.moph.go.th/law-type/pc-213. The Code, including section 39, was read at https://narcotic.fda.moph.go.th/law-type/na-10. No express open reuse licence was located on the cited pages, so only the wording needed for verification is reproduced, with attribution and a direct link. The placements are stated as in force on 3 October 2026, and a later notification can move them, so re-read before relying on this.

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