Legality
Benzodiazepines legal status by country
Countries where the legal status of Benzodiazepines has been confirmed against a primary source. Legal information, not legal advice; drug laws change, so confirm with the destination’s embassy or drug authority before you travel.
Confirmed legal status
Each row links to the full detail for Benzodiazepines in that country, including consequences and the primary source.
- Aceh (Indonesia)Controlled as a Category I narcotic under Indonesia's national Narcotics Law No. the precise article and...
- AfghanistanControlled under the Law on Campaign Against Intoxicants, Drugs and their Control (with the 2005...
- AlbaniaThe benzodiazepines are controlled in Albania member by member, and Albania's own annexed tables print the...
- AlgeriaControlled under Law No. 04-18 of 25 December 2004 (as amended by Law No. 23-05 of 7 May 2023), trafficking...
- American Samoa (US)The benzodiazepines is controlled federally and locally. Scheduled federally by individual substance under...
- AndorraControlled under Andorra's Penal Code (Codi Penal) drug-trafficking provisions, trafficking carries...
- AngolaControlled as a class through their members. Alprazolam, diazepam, clonazepam, lorazepam and nimetazepam are...
- Anguilla (UK)Controlled under Anguilla's Misuse of Drugs Act (UK-model), possession, sale and trafficking are offences and...
- Antigua and BarbudaNot listed as a class, and not listed member by member either. This is a positive finding of absence and not...
- ArgentinaControlled through a named constituent or member, not as a label. The row itself is not an entry. The...
- ArmeniaControlled in Armenia member by member, and Armenia's own annex names the members, so this is a finding...
- Aruba (Netherlands)Controlled under Aruba's Criminal Code and narcotics (opium) ordinance, possession, sale and trafficking are...
- AustraliaControlled as a class, with a range and not one answer. The class has no single Commonwealth placement, so...
- AustriaControlled member by member in Austria as psychotropic substances, and the class label is not itself a...
- AzerbaijanControlled under the Criminal Code (adopted 30 December 1999, in force 1 September 2000), illegal...
- BahamasControlled as a set of individually named molecules, never as a class. The 1994 Application Order names...
- BahrainControlled. The benzodiazepines are reached through their members, thirty of which are listed individually in...
- BangladeshListed in two classes of the First Schedule, not one. The benzodiazepines are Class 'ga' serial 3 of the...
- BarbadosMixed: five of the six members considered are placed in Part II of the First Schedule and one is not, so the...
- BelarusControlled in Belarus member by member, and the Belarusian list names the members, so this is a finding...
- BelgiumControlled in Belgium member by member rather than as a class, and this table resolves every member it...
- BelizeThirty three benzodiazepines are printed by name in Belize's Misuse of Drugs Regulations at Schedule IV...
- BeninControlled under the Code des Drogues, classified a drogue à haut risque; any export regardless of quantity...
- Bermuda (UK)Controlled under Bermuda's Misuse of Drugs Act 1972 (as amended), possession, supply and trafficking are...
- BhutanControlled under the Narcotic Drugs, Psychotropic Substances and Substance Abuse Act of Bhutan 2015 (as...
- BoliviaResolved through its constituents rather than through an entry of its own. Resolved member by member against...
- BotswanaControlled under the Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 2018, trafficking...
- BrazilControlled in Brazil. The entry read is item 31 of lista B1, psychotropic substances, and it reads in full:...
- British Virgin Islands (UK)Controlled under the British Virgin Islands' Drugs (Prevention of Misuse) Act, possession, sale and...
- BruneiClass D controlled drug. It sits in the First Schedule to the Misuse of Drugs Act, Chapter 27 of the Laws of...
- BulgariaControlled. Benzodiazepines is a named entry of Списък III of the Наредба за реда за класифициране на...
- Burkina FasoControlled under Burkina Faso's national drug code (loi sur les stupéfiants), drug use is punishable by 1 to...
- BurundiControlled under Burundi's Penal Code 2009 drug provisions (loi sur les stupéfiants), trafficking carries...
- Cabo VerdeControlled under Lei n.º 78/IV/93 (Lusophone six-table model), trafficking carries imprisonment; the precise...
- CameroonControlled under Loi n° 97/19 du 7 août 1997, trafficking offences (Sections 91-95) carry 10 to 20 years plus...
- CanadaControlled, and possession is not an offence. The benzodiazepines are in Schedule IV of the Controlled Drugs...
- Caribbean Netherlands (BES)Controlled under the Caribbean Netherlands (BES) narcotics law (old-Antillean Opium Ordinance via the WvS-BES...
- Cayman Islands (UK)Controlled under the Cayman Islands' Misuse of Drugs Act (2026 Revision), possession, sale and trafficking...
- Central African RepublicControlled under the Central African Republic's Penal Code drug provisions (national drug law), trafficking...
- ChadControlled under Chad's drug law (Loi n° 31/PR/2018 / Penal Code drug provisions), trafficking carries...
- ChileControlled. Decreto 867 artículos 1 and 2, because members of this class sit in both listas.
- ChinaControlled, benzodiazepines scheduled (further additions effective 1 July 2024)
- ColombiaControlled, resolved member by member. All six members of this class among the 88 carry their own entry in...
- ComorosControlled under Comoros' national drug law (Penal Code drug provisions), trafficking carries imprisonment...
- CongoControlled under the Republic of the Congo's Penal Code drug provisions (national drug law), trafficking...
- Cook IslandsControlled under the Cook Islands' Narcotics and Misuse of Drugs Act 2004, trafficking carries imprisonment...
- Costa RicaControlled through named members rather than through one entry, so the exposure turns on which member is in...
- Côte d'IvoireControlled under Loi n° 2022-407 du 13 juin 2022 (four-table system; repealed Loi 88-686 of 1988),...
- CroatiaControlled in Croatia through a bounded entry rather than under its own name. Benzodiazepines is not named in...
- Curaçao (Netherlands)Controlled under Curaçao's Opium Ordinance, possession, sale and trafficking are offences and the precise...
- CyprusControlled under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Law of 1977 (Law No. 29(I)/1977, as amended;...
- CzechiaControlled member by member and across three different lists rather than as a class. Seznam č. 7 carries the...
- DenmarkControlled under the Danish euphoriants legislation substance by substance rather than as a class: it is not...
- DjiboutiControlled under Djibouti's national drug law (Penal Code drug provisions), trafficking carries imprisonment;...
- Dominican RepublicControlled in part. Twelve benzodiazepines carry entries in acápite I of Categoría IV of article 8 of Ley...
- DR CongoControlled under the Ordonnance of 1903 on chanvre (approved by the Décret of 10 March 1917), cultivation,...
- EgyptControlled in Egypt's Table 3 as a class, with one member in Table 1. «الجدول رقم (٣) - المواد التي تخضع لبعض...
- El SalvadorControlled under the Ley Reguladora de las Actividades Relativas a las Drogas, Decreto Legislativo 153 of 2...
- Equatorial GuineaControlled under Equatorial Guinea's Penal Code 2022 drug provisions (national drug law), trafficking carries...
- EritreaControlled under the Penal Code of Eritrea 2015 (drug-control provisions), trafficking is graded by scale...
- EstoniaBenzodiazepines is a family label rather than a single scheduled entry, and in Estonia it has no single...
- EswatiniControlled under the Opium and Habit-Forming Drugs Act (with Pharmacy Act provisions), trafficking carries...
- EthiopiaControlled under the Criminal Code of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (Proclamation No....
- Falkland Islands (UK)Controlled under the Falkland Islands' own misuse-of-drugs / crimes ordinance framework (UK-model),...
- Faroe Islands (Denmark)Controlled under the Faroe Islands' own narcotics-control framework (distinct from Denmark), possession, sale...
- FijiControlled under the Illicit Drugs Control Act 2004, unlawful...
- FinlandControlled through named members rather than as a class. The decree names no class term for this row. Section...
- FranceBenzodiazepines is a class label, and in France the class resolves member by member onto the psychotropics...
- French Polynesia (France)Controlled as a stupéfiant under the French Code de la santé publique as applied in French Polynesia,...
- GabonControlled under Gabon's Penal Code drug provisions (loi sur les stupéfiants), trafficking carries...
- GambiaControlled under the Drug Control Act 2014 (as amended), trafficking carries imprisonment plus a fine; the...
- GermanyFour named benzodiazepines are narcotics under Anlage III of the Betäubungsmittelgesetz. Benzodiazepines...
- GhanaControlled, under two different instruments. One benzodiazepine is a narcotic drug: Fifth Schedule S of the...
- Gibraltar (UK)Controlled under Gibraltar's Crimes Act 2011 (drug offences), possession, sale and trafficking are offences...
- GreeceControlled narcotic under Law 4139/2013. The tables name them one compound at a time rather than as a class,...
- GrenadaControlled. The class word is not printed, but the members are named individually at Part II of the First...
- Guam (US)The benzodiazepines is controlled federally and locally. Scheduled federally by individual substance under...
- GuatemalaIllegal under the Ley contra la Narcoactividad (Decreto 48-92), articles 38 and 39.
- Guernsey (UK Crown Dependency)Controlled under Guernsey's Misuse of Drugs (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law 1974 (UK-model Class A/B/C system),...
- GuineaControlled under Guinea's drug-control law (Loi L/2016/035/AN; Loi sur le contrôle des drogues), trafficking...
- Guinea-BissauControlled under Guinea-Bissau's drug-control law (Lei n.º 7/2008), trafficking carries imprisonment plus a...
- HaitiControlled under Haiti's drug-control law / Penal Code drug provisions, trafficking carries imprisonment plus...
- Holy SeeControlled under Vatican City State criminal law (Law No. CCXCVII and related), trafficking carries...
- HondurasControlled. Benzodiazepines is reached through the substances it contains, and the entries read were PA 004...
- Hong KongMostly dangerous drugs in Hong Kong, member by member. Benzodiazepines are a class, and Part I of the First...
- IcelandControlled in Iceland, and the route to that answer is not the printed name of this row. The class name is...
- IndiaControlled in India. The matched entry reads «30 ALPRAZOLAM; 38 CLONAZEPAM; 43 DIAZEPAM; 56 LORAZEPAM; 63...
- IndonesiaControlled across several golongan of Indonesia's Undang-Undang Nomor 5 Tahun 1997 tentang Psikotropika: four...
- IranControlled, and the class splits across two regimes. Flunitrazepam is named in the opening of Article 8 of...
- IraqControlled through the entries its members occupy. The class word benzodiazepines it is not named in any...
- IrelandControlled in Ireland for every member this table carries. The placement recorded for this row reads:...
- Isle of Man (UK Crown Dependency)Controlled under the Isle of Man's Misuse of Drugs Act (Schedule 2 Classes A/B/C), possession, sale and...
- ItalyControlled through the members the tables name. The compilation's entries cited for this label are...
- JapanBenzodiazepines are not one substance in Japanese law, and the class is answered member by member. Each of...
- Jersey (UK Crown Dependency)Controlled under Jersey's Misuse of Drugs (Jersey) Law 1978 (UK-model Class A/B/C system), possession, sale...
- JordanThe named benzodiazepines are caught in Jordan as psychotropic substances. Benzodiazepines is a chemical...
- KazakhstanListed in Kazakhstan as substances held under control. Kazakhstan reaches benzodiazepines by naming them one...
- KenyaControlled in part under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Control) Act, Cap. 245: about thirty...
- KosovoControlled under the Criminal Code of Kosovo (narcotics articles) together with the Law on Narcotic Drugs,...
- KuwaitControlled substance under Decree Law 159 of 2025. Benzodiazepines are listed at Group 2, table 4 as a class,...
- KyrgyzstanControlled under the Criminal Code (No. 127 of 28 October 2021), illegal production for sale under Article...
- LatviaBenzodiazepines is controlled in Latvia. The controlling instrument is Annex 2 to the law on the entry into...
- LebanonControlled. The class name is not named in the four tables annexed to Law 673 of 16 March 1998, as those...
- LesothoControlled under the Drugs of Abuse Act No. 6 of 2008, trafficking carries imprisonment together with a fine;...
- LiberiaControlled under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act 2014 (as amended in 2022, reclassifying drug...
- LiechtensteinControlled under the Betäubungsmittelgesetz of 20 April 1983 (Austrian/Swiss model), trafficking and the...
- LithuaniaBenzodiazepines is controlled in Lithuania. Benzodiazepines is a family label and Order No. 5 gives it no...
- LuxembourgControlled under the Narcotics Law of 1973 (as amended by the Law of 10 July 2023), possession remains...
- MacauControlled in Macau, member by member. Benzodiazepines is a class, not one compound, and Law 17/2009 lists...
- MadagascarControlled under Loi n° 97-039 (six-table/high-risk model), trafficking in a high-risk (Tableau I) drug...
- MalawiControlled under the Dangerous Drugs Act (Cap. 35:02), trafficking and the unlawful possession or supply of...
- MalaysiaControlled under both the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 and the Poisons Act 1952, depending on the member. That...
- MaldivesControlled under the Drugs Act (Act No. 17/2011, Third Amendment ratified 6 December 2025), trafficking a...
- MaliControlled under Mali's national drug law (loi portant répression du trafic et de l'usage illicite des...
- MaltaBenzodiazepines are governed by the Medical and Kindred Professions Ordinance, Chapter 31, and not by the...
- Marshall IslandsControlled under the Marshall Islands Revised Code (Title 25 / controlled-substances provisions), trafficking...
- MauritaniaControlled under Mauritania's national drug control statute, trafficking carries imprisonment; the precise...
- MauritiusControlled under the Dangerous Drugs Act 2000 (Act No. 41 of 2000, as amended), a three-schedule system...
- MexicoControlled member by member. The third group of article 245 of the Ley General de Salud prints...
- MicronesiaControlled under the FSM Code Title 11 (Crimes) / controlled-substances provisions, trafficking carries...
- MoldovaControlled in Moldova. Benzodiazepines are listed member by member, across three tables. Table III, «Tabelul...
- MonacoControlled under Monaco's drug law (Penal Code / Loi sur les stupéfiants), trafficking carries imprisonment...
- MongoliaControlled under the Criminal Code of Mongolia (revised, in force 1 July 2017), drug trafficking (illegal...
- MontenegroControlled in Montenegro member by member, and Montenegro's own Prilog names the members, so this is a...
- Montserrat (UK)Controlled under Montserrat's Drugs (Prevention of Misuse) Act/Ordinance (UK-model), possession, sale and...
- MozambiqueControlled under Lei n.º 3/97 (combate ao tráfico e consumo de estupefacientes e substâncias psicotrópicas),...
- MyanmarBenzodiazepines are a chemical class, not a single schedule entry, and Myanmar controls them member by...
- NamibiaControlled under the Abuse of Dependence-Producing Substances and Rehabilitation Centres Act 41 of 1971,...
- NauruControlled under Nauru's drug law (Illicit Drugs Control Act 2004 / Crimes Act 2016 drug provisions),...
- NetherlandsControlled as soft drugs, member by member. The class name benzodiazepines is not named in lijst I, lijst IA...
- New Caledonia (France)Controlled as a stupéfiant under the French Code de la santé publique as applied in New Caledonia,...
- New ZealandResolved member by member, and every member this table names lands in the same place. The Misuse of Drugs Act...
- NicaraguaControlled in Nicaragua. The entry relied on is «Diazepam», printed among the lists and tables annexed to Ley...
- NigerControlled under Niger's drug law (Loi n° 99-42 du 23 septembre 1999 sur la lutte contre la drogue),...
- NigeriaControlled, member by member. The Nigeria dossier reads the 1971 Convention Schedule IV, incorporated by...
- North MacedoniaControlled in North Macedonia member by member, and the country's own classification lists name the members,...
- Northern Mariana Islands (US)The benzodiazepines is controlled federally and locally. Scheduled federally by individual substance under...
- NorwayControlled in Norway, member by member rather than as a class. There is no benzodiazepine group in the groups...
- OmanControlled, member by member. The dossier records that the tables of Group II, Tables 2 to 4, of the annex to...
- PakistanBenzodiazepines is a psychotropic substance under the Control of Narcotic Substances Act, 1997. Section 2(za)...
- PalauControlled under Palau's National Code Title 34 (Crimes) controlled-substances provisions, trafficking...
- PanamaControlled. Benzodiazepines is reached by the Panamanian criminal definition of a drug, not by a national...
- Papua New GuineaControlled under the Controlled Substances Act 2021 (which replaced the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952), the 2021...
- ParaguayControlled, member by member. The class word is not an entry. All six members this corpus carries are entries...
- PeruControlled, member by member: every benzodiazepine row this corpus carries is placed in Peru's controlling...
- PhilippinesControlled member by member, not as a class, and the list is long. The Dangerous Drugs Board's Updated Lists...
- PolandControlled. Poland names the benzodiazepines individually in its own national list rather than reaching them...
- PortugalDecriminalised for own consumption. The benzodiazepines are listed in Decreto-Lei n.º 15/93 by individual...
- Puerto Rico (US)The benzodiazepines is controlled federally and locally. Scheduled federally by individual substance under...
- QatarControlled member by member as psychotropic medicines, and the family name is not named in Table 1 or Table 2...
- RomaniaBenzodiazepines is controlled in Romania. The entry relied on reads «Alprazolam =... benzodiazepine; Diazepam...
- RwandaControlled under Law n° 03/2012 of 15/02/2012 and the Penal Code (Law n° 68/2018), unlawful...
- Saint Helena (UK)Controlled under Saint Helena's misuse-of-drugs ordinance (UK-model; Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da...
- Saint Kitts and NevisControlled under Saint Kitts and Nevis's Drugs (Prevention and Abatement of the Misuse and Abuse) Act,...
- Saint LuciaControlled in part, resolved member by member. The word benzodiazepine appears nowhere in the act and Part...
- Saint Vincent and the GrenadinesControlled under Saint Vincent and the Grenadines' Drugs (Prevention of Misuse) Act, trafficking carries...
- SamoaThe Narcotics Act 1967, the official version as at 31 December 2023, does not use "benzodiazepine" or...
- San MarinoControlled under San Marino's Penal Code drug provisions, trafficking carries imprisonment plus a fine; the...
- Sao Tome and PrincipeControlled under Sao Tome and Principe's Lusophone Penal Code / drug-control law, trafficking carries...
- Saudi ArabiaBenzodiazepines are a class and not a molecule, and in Saudi Arabia the class resolves member by member...
- SenegalControlled under the Code des Drogues (Loi No. 97-18 of 1997, amended by Loi Latif Guèye No. 2007-31 of 27...
- SerbiaThere is no class wide entry for benzodiazepines on the Serbian list and the class resolves member by member....
- SeychellesControlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act 2016, trafficking carries imprisonment plus a fine, with aggravated...
- Sierra LeoneControlled under the National Drugs Control Act 2008 (Prohibited/High-Risk/Risk schedules), trafficking...
- SingaporeNot a controlled drug under this Act. The benzodiazepine class is in no Part of the First Schedule....
- Sint Maarten (Netherlands)Controlled under Sint Maarten's Opium National Ordinance of 1960, possession, sale and trafficking are...
- SlovakiaBenzodiazepines is controlled in Slovakia. Benzodiazepines is a family label and Annex 1 gives it no single...
- SloveniaControlled in Slovenia member by member, and Slovenia’s own annex names the members, so this is a finding...
- SomaliaControlled under the Somali Penal Code of 1964 (unrevised), Somalia has ratified the UN narcotic conventions...
- South AfricaControlled as a class under the Medicines and Related Substances Act 101 of 1965, as at the SAHPRA...
- South KoreaControlled-substance medicine, MFDS advance approval required (Narcotics Control Act)
- SpainControlled in Spain member by member, not as a class. Anexo 1 of Real Decreto 2829/1977 has no generic...
- Sri LankaDangerous drug under Sri Lanka's Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218): Group B Section...
- SurinameIllegal for five of the six members this corpus carries separately, and the sixth is not named at all. Lijst...
- SwedenControlled. The benzodiazepines are scheduled compound by compound in the Swedish narkotikaförteckningar,...
- SwitzerlandControlled by member, and in this table every member resolves to list b. The ordinance carries no class...
- TaiwanControlled under Taiwan's Narcotics Hazard Prevention Act (毒品危害防制條例) across more than one grade, at 附表三 items...
- TajikistanControlled under the Criminal Code of the Republic of Tajikistan (1998, as amended to 2020), illegal...
- TanzaniaControlled, member by member, for five of the six members checked. The dossier row, citing the First Schedule...
- ThailandNot applicable as a class status, and not because the notifications are silent about the members....
- Timor-LesteBenzodiazepines are a class slug. Table IV of Lei 2/2017's Anexo II lists 64 substances in total, a mixed...
- TogoControlled under the Code des Drogues (loi sur les stupéfiants), trafficking carries imprisonment; the...
- TongaNamed, as a class. Schedule 1 (section 2) of the Illicit Drugs Control Act, Act 7 of 2003, Cap. 4.06, 2020...
- TurkmenistanControlled under the Criminal Code (No. 222-1 of 1997, as amended), illegal...
- Turks and Caicos Islands (UK)Controlled under the Turks and Caicos Islands' Control of Drugs Ordinance, possession, sale and trafficking...
- TuvaluControlled under Tuvalu's Penal Code / drug-control provisions, trafficking carries imprisonment plus a fine;...
- U.S. Virgin Islands (US)The benzodiazepines is controlled federally and locally. Scheduled federally by individual substance under...
- UgandaControlled under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Control) Act, 2016 (Act No. 3 of 2016),...
- UkraineControlled in Ukraine member by member, and Ukraine's own list names the members, so this is a finding rather...
- United Arab EmiratesBenzodiazepines is a class label, and the member by member check that answers such a label was run against...
- United KingdomControlled as Class C drugs, member by member; there is no single class entry, and the range is one class...
- United StatesControlled, and the class spans four schedules. The common prescription benzodiazepines are Schedule IV:...
- UruguayA class, resolved member by member against the annex, and every member checked is listed in it, all at the...
- UzbekistanControlled under the Criminal Code (Articles 270-276) and the Law on Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic...
- VanuatuControlled under the Dangerous Drugs Act (Cap. 12), trafficking carries imprisonment plus a fine; the precise...
- VenezuelaControlled. Ley Orgánica de Drogas article 3 identifies estupefacientes as the substances figuring in lista I...
- VietnamControlled member by member, not as a class. “Benzodiazepines” is not one terminal chemical identity in the...
- ZambiaControlled under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act No. 35 of 2021 (which repealed Cap. 96 of...
- ZimbabweControlled under the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act [Chapter 9:23] (dangerous-drugs provisions,...
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Not individually verified
For these 26 countries the governing national drug law is known and cited, but we have not verified that Benzodiazepines specifically is scheduled under it. These are not legal answers and are deliberately not published as their own pages. Confirm with the country’s drug authority or your embassy.