Is Barbiturates legal in Turkey?
- Legal status
- Barbiturates are controlled psychotropics (1971 Convention) dispensed on a green prescription (yeşil reçete) under TİTCK control and national drug-tracking — a prescription-controlled class transposing the 1971 tiers.
- Consequences if caught
- Possession without a valid Turkish prescription is prosecutable (Turkish Penal Code); trafficking carries multi-year terms.
- If prescribed or medical
- Phenobarbital is prescribed as a green-prescription antiepileptic (a WHO Essential Medicine); the sedative-hypnotic barbiturates are tightly controlled.
- Documentation
- Personal supply needs a prescription plus a doctor's report; without a Turkish prescription it is treated as criminal.
Drug laws and enforcement change and vary within a country. This is not legal advice. Always confirm with Turkey’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 →