Legal status in Canada

Per-substance legal status for Canada, from sourced statutes where available. Legal information, not legal advice — drug laws change; confirm with the destination’s embassy or drug authority before you travel.

Last updated: 2026-07-14

1P-LSD

Legal status: 1P-LSD occupies a legal gray zone in Canada: LSD is listed in Schedule III of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act as 'lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), its salts, isomers and salts of isomers', but 1P-LSD is a ring-substituted derivative — not a salt or isomer — is not individually named, and the CDSA contains no general controlled-substance-analogue offence.
Consequences if caught: Because 1P-LSD is not scheduled, possession and (absent misbranding) sale are not CDSA offences; conduct could still draw enforcement if the product is treated as containing or convertible to LSD, or as an unapproved drug under the Food and Drugs Act.
If prescribed / medical: No Health Canada authorisation; handling of scheduled LSD requires a section 56 CDSA exemption, but 1P-LSD itself is unscheduled.
Documentation: Confirmed via the CDSA Schedule III LSD entry (salts and isomers only, with no 'derivatives' or analogue clause); federal scheduling orders through late 2025 (e.g. SOR/2025-243) did not add lysergamide derivatives.

Source · Updated 2026-07-14

2-FDCK

Legal status: Controlled substance — the WHO ECDD (2023) lists Canada among jurisdictions controlling 2-FDCK under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA). Mechanism: national listing; exact CDSA schedule left to confirmation. (Ketamine itself is a CDSA Schedule I medicine, whereas 2-FDCK has no medical use.)
Consequences if caught: Handling a CDSA-controlled substance such as 2-FDCK carries criminal penalties for possession, trafficking and import/export.
If prescribed / medical: No medicinal or prescription status; 2-FDCK has no market authorisation as a drug in Canada.
Documentation: Import and purchase are offences; 2-FDCK is a Schedule II psychotropic under the 1971 Convention (in force 3 December 2024).

Source · Updated 2026-07-14

25I-NBOMe

Legal status: 25I-NBOMe is a Schedule III controlled substance under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA), added by Order SOR/2016-73 (Canada Gazette Part II, 4 May 2016; in force on the 180th day, 31 October 2016) following the March 2015 listing of 25I-NBOMe in Schedule I of the 1971 Convention.
Consequences if caught: Possession, trafficking, import/export and production are offences; trafficking a Schedule III substance is punishable by up to 10 years' imprisonment.
If prescribed / medical: Not an approved therapeutic product and not available on prescription; access is limited to an authorised research or dealer's licence.
Documentation: CDSA Schedule III; Order Amending Schedule III (2C-phenethylamines), SOR/2016-73.

Source · Updated 2026-07-14

2C-B

Legal status: Not confirmed — verify with Health Canada / CBSA / your embassy
Consequences if caught: This specific substance was not named by the reachable Canadian sources (CDSA / Health Canada). It may nonetheless be a controlled substance under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act — verify before travel. Importing/exporting controlled drugs without federal authorisation is prohibited (s.6 CDSA).
If prescribed / medical: Lawful only with valid authorisation (a prescription). A traveller may carry a prescribed controlled drug under the s.56 exemption — see documentation.
Documentation: Section 56 traveller exemption: you may carry a prescribed narcotic/controlled drug for personal use if the quantity is no more than the lesser of a single course of treatment or a 30-day supply, and you declare it to customs on arrival; it cannot be mailed or couriered. Stays longer than 30 days require a Canadian prescription. Carry the prescription plus original pharmacy packaging/label, and declare at the border.

Source · Updated 2026-06-25

2C-E

Legal status: 2C-E is a Schedule III controlled substance under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, caught by the 2C-phenethylamines class entry added by SOR/2016-72 — any 1-amino-2-phenylethane substituted at the 2 and 5 ring positions with alkoxy/haloalkoxy groups, plus salts, derivatives and isomers — in force 31 October 2016.
Consequences if caught: Possession of 2C-E is a Schedule III offence (up to 3 years on indictment); trafficking, import/export or production of the substance carries up to 10 years imprisonment.
If prescribed / medical: 2C-E has no approved medical use and is not available by prescription; lawful possession requires an exemption or licence under the CDSA and its regulations.
Documentation: Control is by the 2C-phenethylamines class definition (a parent-structure/generic catch), not an individual 2C-E listing — the 2016 amendment expanded Schedule III beyond the previously single-named 2C-B.

Source · Updated 2026-07-14

2C-I

Legal status: Not confirmed — verify with Health Canada / CBSA / your embassy
Consequences if caught: This specific substance was not named by the reachable Canadian sources (CDSA / Health Canada). It may nonetheless be a controlled substance under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act — verify before travel. Importing/exporting controlled drugs without federal authorisation is prohibited (s.6 CDSA).
If prescribed / medical: Lawful only with valid authorisation (a prescription). A traveller may carry a prescribed controlled drug under the s.56 exemption — see documentation.
Documentation: Section 56 traveller exemption: you may carry a prescribed narcotic/controlled drug for personal use if the quantity is no more than the lesser of a single course of treatment or a 30-day supply, and you declare it to customs on arrival; it cannot be mailed or couriered. Stays longer than 30 days require a Canadian prescription. Carry the prescription plus original pharmacy packaging/label, and declare at the border.

Source · Updated 2026-06-25

2C-T-7

Legal status: Controlled — 2C-T-7 (4-propylthio-2,5-dimethoxybenzeneethanamine) is caught by the 2C-phenethylamines structural class entry added as Item 35 of Schedule III to the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (Order SOR/2016-73, in force ~1 November 2016), which controls the 2,5-dimethoxyphenethylamine class together with its salts, derivatives and isomers rather than naming 2C-T-7 individually. CLASS/PARENT-ENTRY mechanism.
Consequences if caught: Schedule III: possession up to 3 years; trafficking, production and possession-for-trafficking up to 10 years imprisonment (CDSA ss. 4–7).
If prescribed / medical: Schedule III controlled substance with no marketed medical product; no ordinary prescription route — only a Health Canada exemption or licence.
Documentation: No lawful personal-import route for a Schedule III substance without a Health Canada permit.

Source · Updated 2026-07-14

3-MMC

Legal status: 3-MMC (3-methylmethcathinone) is controlled, caught under Schedule I of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act as an isomer/analogue within the amphetamines entry (“amphetamines… their salts, derivatives, isomers and analogues”), which reaches the 3-isomer without individual naming.
Consequences if caught: Schedule I offences: possession and trafficking are criminal, with trafficking punishable by up to life imprisonment. Non-death-penalty jurisdiction.
If prescribed / medical: No recognised medical use and no lawful prescription route.
Documentation: No lawful personal-import route for a Schedule I controlled substance.

Source · Updated 2026-07-14

4-AcO-DMT

Legal status: Not confirmed — verify with Health Canada / CBSA / your embassy
Consequences if caught: This specific substance was not named by the reachable Canadian sources (CDSA / Health Canada). It may nonetheless be a controlled substance under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act — verify before travel. Importing/exporting controlled drugs without federal authorisation is prohibited (s.6 CDSA).
If prescribed / medical: Lawful only with valid authorisation (a prescription). A traveller may carry a prescribed controlled drug under the s.56 exemption — see documentation.
Documentation: Section 56 traveller exemption: you may carry a prescribed narcotic/controlled drug for personal use if the quantity is no more than the lesser of a single course of treatment or a 30-day supply, and you declare it to customs on arrival; it cannot be mailed or couriered. Stays longer than 30 days require a Canadian prescription. Carry the prescription plus original pharmacy packaging/label, and declare at the border.

Source · Updated 2026-07-14

4-HO-MET

Legal status: Not confirmed — verify with Health Canada / CBSA / your embassy
Consequences if caught: This specific substance was not named by the reachable Canadian sources (CDSA / Health Canada). It may nonetheless be a controlled substance under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act — verify before travel. Importing/exporting controlled drugs without federal authorisation is prohibited (s.6 CDSA).
If prescribed / medical: Lawful only with valid authorisation (a prescription). A traveller may carry a prescribed controlled drug under the s.56 exemption — see documentation.
Documentation: Section 56 traveller exemption: you may carry a prescribed narcotic/controlled drug for personal use if the quantity is no more than the lesser of a single course of treatment or a 30-day supply, and you declare it to customs on arrival; it cannot be mailed or couriered. Stays longer than 30 days require a Canadian prescription. Carry the prescription plus original pharmacy packaging/label, and declare at the border.

Source · Updated 2026-07-14

5-MeO-DMT (Bufo / Toad)

Legal status: 5-MeO-DMT is NOT a scheduled controlled substance in Canada — unlike DMT, which is in Schedule III of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA), 5-MeO-DMT is not individually listed, and the CDSA contains no general structural-analogue clause to capture it.
Consequences if caught: Simple possession of 5-MeO-DMT is not a CDSA offence; however, importing, selling or distributing it for human use is regulated and generally unlawful under the Food and Drugs Act as an unapproved drug.
If prescribed / medical: No approved therapeutic product exists; lawful access is only through Health Canada's Special Access Programme or an authorised clinical trial.
Documentation: Absent from CDSA Schedules I–III (Schedule III names DMT but not 5-MeO-DMT); the compound is instead regulated under the Food and Drugs Act — the key divergence from the DMT parent.

Source · Updated 2026-07-14

6-APB

Legal status: 6-APB is controlled in Canada — caught as an analogue of MDA under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act Schedule I (amphetamines/MDA and their analogues); the analogue reading governs despite some 2014 interpretive commentary.
Consequences if caught: Schedule I: possession up to 7 years; trafficking or import up to life imprisonment. No death penalty.
If prescribed / medical: Schedule I — no recognised medical use, no lawful prescription route.
Documentation: No lawful personal-import route for a Schedule I analogue.

Source · Updated 2026-07-14

7-Hydroxymitragynine (7-OH)

Legal status: Neither 7-hydroxymitragynine nor kratom is scheduled under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act: 7-OH, a kratom alkaloid, shares the plant's non-CDSA status (personal possession is not criminal), with sale barred only through the Food and Drugs Act (unauthorised natural health product).
Consequences if caught: No CDSA penalty attaches to the alkaloid; unauthorised sale of kratom is restrained under the Food and Drugs Act, not the CDSA.
If prescribed / medical: No authorised kratom or alkaloid product exists in Canada; sale for human consumption is prohibited.
Documentation: No CDSA import controls apply to the alkaloid; personal possession is not criminal, but commercial sale is barred.

Source · Updated 2026-07-13

Adderall

Legal status: Adderall (mixed amphetamine salts) has no separate legal identity — it is regulated AS amphetamine: schedule I substance under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA) ('Amphetamines, their salts, derivatives, isomers and analogues').
Consequences if caught: Unlawful possession up to 3 years (indictable); trafficking or possession-for-purpose up to 10 years.
If prescribed / medical: Travellers may hand-carry a single course / up to a 90-day supply with the prescription in original labelled packaging, declared to CBSA.
Documentation: Section 56 traveller exemption: you may carry a prescribed narcotic/controlled drug for personal use if the quantity is no more than the lesser of a single course of treatment or a 30-day supply, and you declare it to customs on arrival; it cannot be mailed or couriered. Stays longer than 30 days require a Canadian prescription. Carry the prescription plus original pharmacy packaging/label, and declare at the border.

Source · Updated 2026-07-13

Alcohol

Legal status: Legal — alcohol (ethanol) is a provincially-licensed, age-regulated commodity, not a controlled drug; minimum age 18 (AB, MB, QC) or 19 (other provinces/territories).
Consequences if caught: No penalty for adult consumption; provincial liquor-control offences for unlicensed sale, sale to minors and open liquor in public.
If prescribed / medical: n/a — a beverage, not a medicine.
Documentation: Sold through provincial liquor boards and licensed retailers on proof of age; no traveller permit within import limits.

Source · Updated 2026-07-14

Amanita muscaria

Legal status: Not confirmed — verify with Health Canada / CBSA / your embassy
Consequences if caught: This specific substance was not named by the reachable Canadian sources (CDSA / Health Canada). It may nonetheless be a controlled substance under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act — verify before travel. Importing/exporting controlled drugs without federal authorisation is prohibited (s.6 CDSA).
If prescribed / medical: Lawful only with valid authorisation (a prescription). A traveller may carry a prescribed controlled drug under the s.56 exemption — see documentation.
Documentation: Section 56 traveller exemption: you may carry a prescribed narcotic/controlled drug for personal use if the quantity is no more than the lesser of a single course of treatment or a 30-day supply, and you declare it to customs on arrival; it cannot be mailed or couriered. Stays longer than 30 days require a Canadian prescription. Carry the prescription plus original pharmacy packaging/label, and declare at the border.

Source · Updated 2026-07-14

Amphetamine

Legal status: Schedule I substance under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA) ('Amphetamines, their salts, derivatives, isomers and analogues').
Consequences if caught: Unlawful possession up to 3 years (indictable); trafficking or possession-for-purpose up to 10 years.
If prescribed / medical: Travellers may hand-carry a single course / up to a 90-day supply with the prescription in original labelled packaging, declared to CBSA.
Documentation: Section 56 traveller exemption: you may carry a prescribed narcotic/controlled drug for personal use if the quantity is no more than the lesser of a single course of treatment or a 30-day supply, and you declare it to customs on arrival; it cannot be mailed or couriered. Stays longer than 30 days require a Canadian prescription. Carry the prescription plus original pharmacy packaging/label, and declare at the border.

Source · Updated 2026-07-13

Amyl Nitrite

Legal status: Amyl nitrite (an alkyl nitrite) is regulated as a prescription drug under the Food and Drugs Act (RSC 1985, c. F-27) and its regulations; Health Canada treats alkyl nitrites as drugs requiring market authorisation (a DIN / Notice of Compliance), and no amyl-nitrite product is currently authorised for sale.
Consequences if caught: Unauthorised amyl-nitrite/'poppers' products are recalled and seized as unauthorised drugs; this is Food and Drugs Act drug-regulation enforcement, not a Controlled Drugs and Substances Act criminal-narcotic tier.
If prescribed / medical: Health Canada states alkyl nitrites including amyl nitrite are prescription drugs to be used only under a healthcare professional's supervision; the only historical entry (amyl nitrite Vitrellae, DIN 02100150) was cancelled post-market in 2001, so there is no lawful pharmacy or retail product.
Documentation: No authorised amyl-nitrite product exists; consumer 'poppers' sold as leather cleaner or room odourizer are unauthorised drugs subject to seizure.

Source · Updated 2026-07-14

Ayahuasca

Legal status: In Canada the ayahuasca brew is a controlled substance because DMT (and harmalol/harmaline) are Schedule III under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act and s.2(2) CDSA treats anything containing a controlled substance as controlled; BUT the preparation's status differs for specific religious bodies, as Health Canada has granted subsection 56(1) CDSA exemptions to named Santo Daime and Uniao do Vegetal churches (first to Ceu do Montreal and the UDV in 2017, with further churches added in 2019) permitting sacramental import and use.
Consequences if caught: Without a s.56(1) exemption, importing, possessing or distributing the ayahuasca brew is prosecuted as a DMT (Schedule III) offence; the exempted churches may lawfully import and administer the sacrament only within the terms of their individual exemptions.
If prescribed / medical: Ayahuasca is not a prescription drug; lawful access is via a ministerial s.56(1) exemption on religious/public-interest grounds rather than the medical system, and DMT itself has no marketed medical product in Canada.
Documentation: Section 56(1) CDSA gives the Minister of Health discretionary power to exempt persons where it is in the public interest (including religious freedom); the church-specific exemptions are the operative instruments legalising the ayahuasca sacrament.

Source · Updated 2026-07-14

Barbiturates

Legal status: Barbiturates are Schedule IV controlled substances under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA) — the class (including secobarbital, pentobarbital, amobarbital, phenobarbital and barbital) is listed generically, transposing the 1971 Convention as a prescription-controlled schedule.
Consequences if caught: Unauthorised possession is an offence; trafficking up to 3 years on indictment.
If prescribed / medical: Phenobarbital is prescribed as a Schedule IV antiepileptic (a WHO Essential Medicine); the sedative-hypnotic barbiturates are now rarely used.
Documentation: Declare a personal supply and keep it in the original labelled container with the prescription (s.56 exemption); carry roughly a single course of treatment.

Source · Updated 2026-07-14

Benzodiazepines

Legal status: Not confirmed — verify with Health Canada / CBSA / your embassy
Consequences if caught: This specific substance was not named by the reachable Canadian sources (CDSA / Health Canada). It may nonetheless be a controlled substance under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act — verify before travel. Importing/exporting controlled drugs without federal authorisation is prohibited (s.6 CDSA).
If prescribed / medical: Lawful only with valid authorisation (a prescription). A traveller may carry a prescribed controlled drug under the s.56 exemption — see documentation.
Documentation: Section 56 traveller exemption: you may carry a prescribed narcotic/controlled drug for personal use if the quantity is no more than the lesser of a single course of treatment or a 30-day supply, and you declare it to customs on arrival; it cannot be mailed or couriered. Stays longer than 30 days require a Canadian prescription. Carry the prescription plus original pharmacy packaging/label, and declare at the border.

Source · Updated 2026-06-25

Buprenorphine

Legal status: Buprenorphine is a Schedule I controlled substance under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, but unlike methadone it never required a federal prescribing exemption — buprenorphine/naloxone is first-line opioid-agonist treatment, a lighter regulatory tier in practice than methadone.
Consequences if caught: Unauthorised possession is an offence; trafficking up to life.
If prescribed / medical: Prescribed for opioid-agonist treatment by physicians and nurse practitioners with community-pharmacy dispensing; take-home ('carries') standard.
Documentation: Carry an INCB certificate/prescription and declare it at the border; personal import of a single course or up to a 90-day supply in original labelled packaging.

Source · Updated 2026-07-13

Caffeine

Legal status: Not confirmed — verify with Health Canada / CBSA / your embassy
Consequences if caught: This specific substance was not named by the reachable Canadian sources (CDSA / Health Canada). It may nonetheless be a controlled substance under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act — verify before travel. Importing/exporting controlled drugs without federal authorisation is prohibited (s.6 CDSA).
If prescribed / medical: Lawful only with valid authorisation (a prescription). A traveller may carry a prescribed controlled drug under the s.56 exemption — see documentation.
Documentation: Section 56 traveller exemption: you may carry a prescribed narcotic/controlled drug for personal use if the quantity is no more than the lesser of a single course of treatment or a 30-day supply, and you declare it to customs on arrival; it cannot be mailed or couriered. Stays longer than 30 days require a Canadian prescription. Carry the prescription plus original pharmacy packaging/label, and declare at the border.

Source · Updated 2026-07-14

Cannabis / THC

Legal status: Legal for adults within Canada (Cannabis Act 2018) — but illegal to take across the Canadian border in either direction
Consequences if caught: Recreational cannabis is legal for adults inside Canada under the Cannabis Act 2018. However, it remains illegal to take cannabis across the Canadian border in either direction — entering OR leaving — even in small amounts. Prescribed cannabis medicines (e.g. Sativex/Epidiolex) may be carried under the s.56 traveller exemption.
If prescribed / medical: Prescribed cannabis medicines (Sativex/Epidiolex) are allowed under the s.56 traveller exemption; recreational cannabis cannot cross the border in either direction.
Documentation: Section 56 traveller exemption: you may carry a prescribed narcotic/controlled drug for personal use if the quantity is no more than the lesser of a single course of treatment or a 30-day supply, and you declare it to customs on arrival; it cannot be mailed or couriered. Stays longer than 30 days require a Canadian prescription. Carry the prescription plus original pharmacy packaging/label, and declare at the border.

Source · Updated 2026-06-25

Cathinone

Legal status: Controlled — cathinone (khat's natural principal alkaloid) is a 1971 Convention SCHEDULE I psychotropic and is listed by name at Schedule III item 19 of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. Mechanism: 1971 Sch-I transposition, named. As the parent compound it is DISTINCT from the khat PLANT (Catha edulis Forsk, separately at Schedule IV item 19 with cathine) and from the synthetic cathinones (mephedrone/MDPV etc.) that derive from it; cathinone is the named Schedule-III CDSA alkaloid, cathine the milder Schedule-IV / 1971 Schedule-III metabolite.
Consequences if caught: Schedule III CDSA: possession, trafficking and production of the alkaloid are offences; import/export prosecuted. No death penalty in Canada.
If prescribed / medical: 1971 Schedule I substance with no accepted medical use; not a marketed medicine and not prescribable.
Documentation: No licit personal-import route; importing the scheduled alkaloid is a CDSA offence.

Source · Updated 2026-07-14

CBD

Legal status: CBD (cannabidiol) is a controlled phytocannabinoid under the Cannabis Act 2018 regardless of source or THC content; it is legal only when sold through a provincially/territorially authorised cannabis retailer, not as a general health-food supplement.
Consequences if caught: CBD held outside the legal cannabis framework (for example an unlicensed or imported CBD supplement) is an illicit-cannabis offence under the Cannabis Act, and it is illegal to carry across the Canadian border in either direction.
If prescribed / medical: Cannabidiol medicines are approved — Epidyolex for seizures and Sativex (nabiximols) — and Health Canada is consulting on a possible non-prescription CBD health-product pathway.
Documentation: Buy only through a licensed cannabis retailer; imported or mail-order CBD is illegal regardless of documentation, and Epidyolex/Sativex require a prescription.

Source · Updated 2026-07-14

Clonazepam

Legal status: Clonazepam is a Schedule IV controlled substance (Controlled Drugs and Substances Act) and a 'targeted substance' under the Benzodiazepines and Other Targeted Substances Regulations (SOR/2000-217).
Consequences if caught: Unauthorised possession is an offence; trafficking up to 3 years on indictment.
If prescribed / medical: Prescribed as a Schedule IV targeted benzodiazepine medicine.
Documentation: Import/export the lesser of a single course of treatment or a 90-day supply; declare it and keep it in the original labelled container with your prescription (s.56 exemption).

Source · Updated 2026-07-13

Cocaine

Legal status: Schedule I substance under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA)
Consequences if caught: A Schedule I controlled substance. Possession without authorisation is illegal; trafficking, import or export can carry penalties up to life imprisonment. Importing/exporting without federal authorisation is prohibited (s.6 CDSA). Declare any controlled drug at the port of entry.
If prescribed / medical: Lawful only with valid authorisation (a prescription). A traveller may carry a prescribed controlled drug under the s.56 exemption — see documentation.
Documentation: Section 56 traveller exemption: you may carry a prescribed narcotic/controlled drug for personal use if the quantity is no more than the lesser of a single course of treatment or a 30-day supply, and you declare it to customs on arrival; it cannot be mailed or couriered. Stays longer than 30 days require a Canadian prescription. Carry the prescription plus original pharmacy packaging/label, and declare at the border.

Source · Updated 2026-06-25

Codeine

Legal status: Low-dose 'exempted' codeine combinations (up to 8 mg/tablet or 20 mg/30 mL with at least two non-narcotic ingredients, e.g. Tylenol No. 1, 222s) are sold behind the pharmacy counter without a prescription in most provinces; Manitoba has required a prescription since 2016, and Tylenol No. 2/No. 3 are prescription-only. Codeine is a Schedule I controlled substance under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.
Consequences if caught: Possession of non-exempt codeine without authorisation is a criminal offence under the CDSA; trafficking carries up to life.
If prescribed / medical: Exempted low-dose combinations are sold pharmacist-supervised (except Manitoba, which requires a prescription); higher strengths are prescribed.
Documentation: Import a personal supply (the lesser of a single course of treatment or a 90-day supply) with a prescription, declared, in the original labelled container; OTC availability is province-dependent.

Source · Updated 2026-07-13

Crack Cocaine

Legal status: Crack is the freebase (base) form of cocaine and has no separate legal identity in Canada: it is controlled AS cocaine, a Schedule I substance under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA), whose entry covers coca and cocaine including its salts, derivatives and preparations, thereby reaching the base/freebase form. Crack ('crack cocaine') is treated identically to cocaine under Schedule I.
Consequences if caught: Possession of crack (as cocaine) is an offence (up to 7 years on indictment); trafficking, production and import/export carry up to life imprisonment under the CDSA.
If prescribed / medical: Cocaine hydrochloride has narrow authorised medical use as a topical anaesthetic; the crack/freebase base has no medicinal form and cannot be prescribed.
Documentation: No prescription documentation exists for crack/freebase cocaine.

Source · Updated 2026-07-14

Delta-8-THC

Legal status: Controlled — delta-8-THC (Δ8-THC) is caught as an isomer of THC: the Cannabis Act and CDSA Schedule II define 'cannabis' to include THC and its isomers regardless of source (plant, hemp or synthetic), so delta-8 is legally 'cannabis'. Health Canada treats hemp-derived/synthetic delta-8 as a controlled substance lawful only if made by a licensed processor and sold through provincial retail — there is no US-style hemp loophole. No death penalty.
Consequences if caught: Illegal outside the licensed regime; unlicensed production/sale is a CDSA/Cannabis Act offence. Licensed adult-use delta-8 products must meet federal potency and packaging rules.
If prescribed / medical: No recognised medical use; delta-8-THC is not an authorised prescription cannabinoid (medical stream uses delta-9 products).
Documentation: Legal within Canada only via licensed retail; illegal to import/export, and unlawful to carry across the border.

Source · Updated 2026-07-14

Diazepam

Legal status: Diazepam is a Schedule IV controlled substance (Controlled Drugs and Substances Act) and a 'targeted substance' under the Benzodiazepines and Other Targeted Substances Regulations (SOR/2000-217).
Consequences if caught: Unauthorised possession is an offence; trafficking up to 3 years on indictment.
If prescribed / medical: Prescribed as a Schedule IV targeted benzodiazepine medicine.
Documentation: Import/export the lesser of a single course of treatment or a 90-day supply; declare it and keep it in the original labelled container with your prescription (s.56 exemption).

Source · Updated 2026-07-13

DMT

Legal status: Not confirmed — verify with Health Canada / CBSA / your embassy
Consequences if caught: This specific substance was not named by the reachable Canadian sources (CDSA / Health Canada). It may nonetheless be a controlled substance under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act — verify before travel. Importing/exporting controlled drugs without federal authorisation is prohibited (s.6 CDSA).
If prescribed / medical: Lawful only with valid authorisation (a prescription). A traveller may carry a prescribed controlled drug under the s.56 exemption — see documentation.
Documentation: Section 56 traveller exemption: you may carry a prescribed narcotic/controlled drug for personal use if the quantity is no more than the lesser of a single course of treatment or a 30-day supply, and you declare it to customs on arrival; it cannot be mailed or couriered. Stays longer than 30 days require a Canadian prescription. Carry the prescription plus original pharmacy packaging/label, and declare at the border.

Source · Updated 2026-06-25

DOM

Legal status: DOM (STP) is a Schedule III controlled substance under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA), listed as 4-methyl-2,5-dimethoxyamphetamine (STP), Canada's control of DOM's individual Schedule I compound under the 1971 UN Convention.
Consequences if caught: Possession is an offence under s.4 (up to 3 years for a Schedule III substance); trafficking under s.5 up to 10 years.
If prescribed / medical: No approved therapeutic product; lawful handling only under a s.56 exemption or licence for research.
Documentation: Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, Schedule III.

Source · Updated 2026-07-14

DXM

Legal status: Over-the-counter, non-prescription drug. Single-ingredient dextromethorphan (DXM)/DXM hydrobromide antitussives are sold under Health Canada's non-prescription adult antitussive labelling standard (maximum 120 mg per 24 h) with a Drug Identification Number; DXM is NOT scheduled under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA).
Consequences if caught: No CDSA controlled-substance offence; supply must meet the non-prescription labelling standard, and non-compliant products are a Food and Drugs Act matter.
If prescribed / medical: Cough-suppressant status: OTC non-prescription drug (labelled maximum 120 mg per 24 h).
Documentation: DXM cough medicine is sold on pharmacy and retail shelves in Canada without a prescription.

Source · Updated 2026-07-14

Ephedrine

Legal status: Regulated as a chemical PRECURSOR (1988 UN Convention Table I — a methamphetamine precursor), NOT as a scheduled narcotic; a Class A precursor under the Precursor Control Regulations (SOR/2002-359) made under the CDSA — NOT scheduled as a controlled drug itself. Also a Health-Canada-regulated decongestant with retail limits.
Consequences if caught: Precursor-diversion offences (unlicensed import/export/production/sale or diversion toward meth) are CDSA indictable offences up to 10 years — distinct from drug-possession offences.
If prescribed / medical: Also a pharmacy/prescription decongestant-bronchodilator medicine subject to sales limits; carry documentation for a personal supply.
Documentation: Section 56 traveller exemption: you may carry a prescribed narcotic/controlled drug for personal use if the quantity is no more than the lesser of a single course of treatment or a 30-day supply, and you declare it to customs on arrival; it cannot be mailed or couriered. Stays longer than 30 days require a Canadian prescription. Carry the prescription plus original pharmacy packaging/label, and declare at the border.

Source · Updated 2026-07-13

Etizolam

Legal status: Etizolam is a Schedule IV controlled substance under the CDSA, captured under the generic 'benzodiazepines and their derivatives' (Health Canada, 2013) rather than named individually; it is not an approved drug.
Consequences if caught: Up to 18 months for possession; up to 3 years on indictment.
If prescribed / medical: Not an approved drug in Canada — controlled only by interpretive capture, with no licensed product.
Documentation: No lawful personal-import route for a non-approved controlled substance.

Source · Updated 2026-07-13

Fentanyl

Legal status: Schedule I substance under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA)
Consequences if caught: A Schedule I controlled substance. Possession without authorisation is illegal; trafficking, import or export can carry penalties up to life imprisonment. Importing/exporting without federal authorisation is prohibited (s.6 CDSA). Declare any controlled drug at the port of entry.
If prescribed / medical: Lawful only with valid authorisation (a prescription). A traveller may carry a prescribed controlled drug under the s.56 exemption — see documentation.
Documentation: Section 56 traveller exemption: you may carry a prescribed narcotic/controlled drug for personal use if the quantity is no more than the lesser of a single course of treatment or a 30-day supply, and you declare it to customs on arrival; it cannot be mailed or couriered. Stays longer than 30 days require a Canadian prescription. Carry the prescription plus original pharmacy packaging/label, and declare at the border.

Source · Updated 2026-06-25

Gabapentin

Legal status: Gabapentin is a prescription drug (Prescription Drug List), not a controlled substance: Health Canada's Office of Controlled Substances has confirmed it is not listed in any schedule of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA), and it is authorised under the Food and Drug Regulations. Canada leaves gabapentin as an ordinary prescription medicine.
Consequences if caught: Gabapentin attracts no CDSA penalty; selling this prescription drug without authorisation is a Food and Drugs Act matter, not a controlled-substance trafficking offence.
If prescribed / medical: Prescribed for epilepsy and neuropathic pain on an ordinary prescription; some provinces run prescription-monitoring programmes, but no federal controlled-drug formalities apply.
Documentation: Gabapentin tablets/capsules (Neurontin and generics) are listed as prescription products in the Health Canada Drug Product Database; carried lawfully with a prescription.

Source · Updated 2026-07-14

GBL

Legal status: GBL (gamma-butyrolactone) is precursor-only — a Class A precursor listed in Schedule VI to the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA) and regulated under the Precursor Control Regulations; it is not itself a controlled drug (GHB is Schedule I). A licence and permit are required to import, export or produce it.
Consequences if caught: Handling bulk GBL without the required precursor licence or permit, or diverting it to manufacture GHB, is a precursor offence, while personal misuse feeds into GHB (Schedule I) enforcement.
If prescribed / medical: Not a medicine; it is an industrial chemical. Products containing GBL at concentrations of 20% or less (by weight or volume) in food, drug, cosmetic or household products are exempt — an explicit low-concentration industrial/consumer carve-out.
Documentation: Industrial GBL trades under precursor licensing and low-concentration mixtures are exempt, but concentrated GBL sold for ingestion is controlled.

Source · Updated 2026-07-14

GHB

Legal status: Not confirmed — verify with Health Canada / CBSA / your embassy
Consequences if caught: This specific substance was not named by the reachable Canadian sources (CDSA / Health Canada). It may nonetheless be a controlled substance under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act — verify before travel. Importing/exporting controlled drugs without federal authorisation is prohibited (s.6 CDSA).
If prescribed / medical: Lawful only with valid authorisation (a prescription). A traveller may carry a prescribed controlled drug under the s.56 exemption — see documentation.
Documentation: Section 56 traveller exemption: you may carry a prescribed narcotic/controlled drug for personal use if the quantity is no more than the lesser of a single course of treatment or a 30-day supply, and you declare it to customs on arrival; it cannot be mailed or couriered. Stays longer than 30 days require a Canadian prescription. Carry the prescription plus original pharmacy packaging/label, and declare at the border.

Source · Updated 2026-06-25

Heroin

Legal status: Schedule I substance under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA)
Consequences if caught: A Schedule I controlled substance. Possession without authorisation is illegal; trafficking, import or export can carry penalties up to life imprisonment. Importing/exporting without federal authorisation is prohibited (s.6 CDSA). Declare any controlled drug at the port of entry.
If prescribed / medical: Lawful only with valid authorisation (a prescription). A traveller may carry a prescribed controlled drug under the s.56 exemption — see documentation.
Documentation: Section 56 traveller exemption: you may carry a prescribed narcotic/controlled drug for personal use if the quantity is no more than the lesser of a single course of treatment or a 30-day supply, and you declare it to customs on arrival; it cannot be mailed or couriered. Stays longer than 30 days require a Canadian prescription. Carry the prescription plus original pharmacy packaging/label, and declare at the border.

Source · Updated 2026-06-25

HHC

Legal status: Not confirmed — verify with Health Canada / CBSA / your embassy
Consequences if caught: This specific substance was not named by the reachable Canadian sources (CDSA / Health Canada). It may nonetheless be a controlled substance under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act — verify before travel. Importing/exporting controlled drugs without federal authorisation is prohibited (s.6 CDSA).
If prescribed / medical: Lawful only with valid authorisation (a prescription). A traveller may carry a prescribed controlled drug under the s.56 exemption — see documentation.
Documentation: Section 56 traveller exemption: you may carry a prescribed narcotic/controlled drug for personal use if the quantity is no more than the lesser of a single course of treatment or a 30-day supply, and you declare it to customs on arrival; it cannot be mailed or couriered. Stays longer than 30 days require a Canadian prescription. Carry the prescription plus original pharmacy packaging/label, and declare at the border.

Source · Updated 2026-07-14

Hydrocodone

Legal status: Hydrocodone (dihydrocodeinone) is explicitly a Schedule I controlled substance under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act and a narcotic under the Narcotic Control Regulations — named alongside morphine and oxycodone; it is only marginally marketed but remains Schedule I.
Consequences if caught: Unauthorised possession up to 7 years; trafficking up to life.
If prescribed / medical: Prescribed as a Schedule I narcotic on a controlled-substance prescription where a product is available.
Documentation: Import or export the lesser of a single course of treatment or a 30-day supply, prescribed, in original packaging, and declared at customs.

Source · Updated 2026-07-13

Ketamine

Legal status: Schedule I substance under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA); regulated as a medicine.
Consequences if caught: Unlawful possession is an indictable offence (up to 7 years); trafficking or production can reach up to life imprisonment.
If prescribed / medical: Available as a prescription anaesthetic; esketamine (Spravato) approved (2020). Carry the original prescription.
Documentation: Section 56 traveller exemption: you may carry a prescribed narcotic/controlled drug for personal use if the quantity is no more than the lesser of a single course of treatment or a 30-day supply, and you declare it to customs on arrival; it cannot be mailed or couriered. Stays longer than 30 days require a Canadian prescription. Carry the prescription plus original pharmacy packaging/label, and declare at the border.

Source · Updated 2026-07-13

Khat

Legal status: Controlled — BOTH plant and alkaloids NAMED. Catha edulis Forsk (plant, its preparations, derivatives and alkaloids including cathine) is listed at Schedule IV item 19 and cathinone at Schedule III item 19 of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. Mechanism: NAMED (plant + alkaloid).
Consequences if caught: Simple possession of a Schedule IV item is not itself charged, but import/export, trafficking and production are offences; CBSA routinely seizes khat (2,000+ kg seizures).
If prescribed / medical: Khat is traditional plant material with no recognised medical use and no lawful prescription route.
Documentation: Do not carry or mail khat into Canada — importing is a CDSA offence even though simple possession of a Schedule IV item is not charged.

Source · Updated 2026-07-14

Kratom

Legal status: Kratom (Mitragyna speciosa) is not controlled in Canada — it is not scheduled under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, and neither mitragynine nor 7-hydroxymitragynine is scheduled, so personal possession is not criminal. Health Canada treats it as an unauthorised natural health product, so sale for ingestion is prohibited under the Food and Drugs Act.
Consequences if caught: No CDSA penalty for personal possession; selling kratom for human consumption is prohibited and enforced under the Food and Drugs Act (product seizures and recalls).
If prescribed / medical: Not a scheduled or authorised product — no prescription route; it has no market authorisation as a natural health product.
Documentation: Personal possession is not a controlled-substance offence; it may not be lawfully sold for ingestion, and commercial import for sale is restricted.

Source · Updated 2026-07-13

Lorazepam

Legal status: Lorazepam is a Schedule IV controlled substance (Controlled Drugs and Substances Act) and a 'targeted substance' under the Benzodiazepines and Other Targeted Substances Regulations (SOR/2000-217).
Consequences if caught: Unauthorised possession is an offence; trafficking up to 3 years on indictment.
If prescribed / medical: Prescribed as a Schedule IV targeted benzodiazepine medicine.
Documentation: Import/export the lesser of a single course of treatment or a 90-day supply; declare it and keep it in the original labelled container with your prescription (s.56 exemption).

Source · Updated 2026-07-13

LSA (Morning Glory)

Legal status: Not confirmed — verify with Health Canada / CBSA / your embassy
Consequences if caught: This specific substance was not named by the reachable Canadian sources (CDSA / Health Canada). It may nonetheless be a controlled substance under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act — verify before travel. Importing/exporting controlled drugs without federal authorisation is prohibited (s.6 CDSA).
If prescribed / medical: Lawful only with valid authorisation (a prescription). A traveller may carry a prescribed controlled drug under the s.56 exemption — see documentation.
Documentation: Section 56 traveller exemption: you may carry a prescribed narcotic/controlled drug for personal use if the quantity is no more than the lesser of a single course of treatment or a 30-day supply, and you declare it to customs on arrival; it cannot be mailed or couriered. Stays longer than 30 days require a Canadian prescription. Carry the prescription plus original pharmacy packaging/label, and declare at the border.

Source · Updated 2026-07-14

LSD

Legal status: Schedule III substance under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA)
Consequences if caught: A Schedule III controlled substance; possession without authorisation can carry up to 10 years' imprisonment. Importing/exporting without federal authorisation is prohibited (s.6 CDSA). Declare any controlled drug at the port of entry.
If prescribed / medical: Lawful only with valid authorisation (a prescription). A traveller may carry a prescribed controlled drug under the s.56 exemption — see documentation.
Documentation: Section 56 traveller exemption: you may carry a prescribed narcotic/controlled drug for personal use if the quantity is no more than the lesser of a single course of treatment or a 30-day supply, and you declare it to customs on arrival; it cannot be mailed or couriered. Stays longer than 30 days require a Canadian prescription. Carry the prescription plus original pharmacy packaging/label, and declare at the border.

Source · Updated 2026-06-25

MDA

Legal status: Controlled — MDA (methylenedioxyamphetamine) is enumerated by name among amphetamines in Schedule I of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. NAMED mechanism.
Consequences if caught: Schedule I: trafficking/import/production up to life imprisonment; possession an indictable or summary offence.
If prescribed / medical: Schedule I — no recognised medical use, no lawful prescription route.
Documentation: No lawful personal import; carrying MDA across the border is trafficking.

Source · Updated 2026-07-14

MDMA

Legal status: Schedule III substance under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA)
Consequences if caught: A Schedule III controlled substance; possession without authorisation can carry up to 10 years' imprisonment. Importing/exporting without federal authorisation is prohibited (s.6 CDSA). Declare any controlled drug at the port of entry.
If prescribed / medical: Lawful only with valid authorisation (a prescription). A traveller may carry a prescribed controlled drug under the s.56 exemption — see documentation.
Documentation: Section 56 traveller exemption: you may carry a prescribed narcotic/controlled drug for personal use if the quantity is no more than the lesser of a single course of treatment or a 30-day supply, and you declare it to customs on arrival; it cannot be mailed or couriered. Stays longer than 30 days require a Canadian prescription. Carry the prescription plus original pharmacy packaging/label, and declare at the border.

Source · Updated 2026-06-25

MDPV

Legal status: Controlled. MDPV is individually listed by name in Schedule I of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, added 26 Sep 2012 (SOR/2012-176), which captures MDPV and pyrovalerone analogues.
Consequences if caught: Illegal as a Schedule I drug; possession up to 7 years, trafficking/production up to life imprisonment. No death penalty.
If prescribed / medical: MDPV has no recognised medical use and no lawful prescription route in Canada.
Documentation: No lawful personal-import route for a Schedule I substance; do not carry.

Source · Updated 2026-07-14

Memantine

Legal status: Memantine is a prescription drug (Schedule D / prescription drug list), not a controlled substance: it is authorised by Health Canada in the Drug Product Database and does not appear on any schedule of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.
Consequences if caught: Memantine attracts no CDSA penalty; selling this prescription drug without authorisation is a Food and Drugs Act matter, not a controlled-substance trafficking offence.
If prescribed / medical: Prescribed for moderate-to-severe Alzheimer's disease.
Documentation: Memantine tablets (Ebixa and generics) are listed as prescription products in the Health Canada Drug Product Database; carried lawfully with a prescription.

Source · Updated 2026-07-14

Mephedrone (4-MMC)

Legal status: Controlled — mephedrone (4-methylmethcathinone), a synthetic cathinone, is captured as an analogue of amphetamine under item 19 of Schedule I to the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (S.C. 1996, c. 19), which lists 'Amphetamines, their salts, derivatives, isomers and analogues and salts of derivatives, isomers and analogues.' Health Canada treats mephedrone as already controlled by this generic analogue mechanism (not a stand-alone named entry).
Consequences if caught: As a Schedule I substance, unauthorised possession, trafficking, importing/exporting and production are the most serious CDSA offences — trafficking and production carry penalties up to life imprisonment.
If prescribed / medical: Mephedrone is not an approved therapeutic product in Canada; as a Schedule I substance it has no legitimate prescription pathway.
Documentation: Controlled under Schedule I, item 19 (amphetamines and their analogues) of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. (Note: the plant/2C SOR/2016-72 amendment concerns 2C-phenethylamines, not cathinones; mephedrone's control derives from the amphetamine-analogue Schedule I entry.)

Source · Updated 2026-07-14

Mescaline

Legal status: Not confirmed — verify with Health Canada / CBSA / your embassy
Consequences if caught: This specific substance was not named by the reachable Canadian sources (CDSA / Health Canada). It may nonetheless be a controlled substance under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act — verify before travel. Importing/exporting controlled drugs without federal authorisation is prohibited (s.6 CDSA).
If prescribed / medical: Lawful only with valid authorisation (a prescription). A traveller may carry a prescribed controlled drug under the s.56 exemption — see documentation.
Documentation: Section 56 traveller exemption: you may carry a prescribed narcotic/controlled drug for personal use if the quantity is no more than the lesser of a single course of treatment or a 30-day supply, and you declare it to customs on arrival; it cannot be mailed or couriered. Stays longer than 30 days require a Canadian prescription. Carry the prescription plus original pharmacy packaging/label, and declare at the border.

Source · Updated 2026-06-25

Methadone

Legal status: Methadone is a Schedule I narcotic under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (the federal methadone prescribing exemption was removed in 2018, easing access).
Consequences if caught: Unauthorised possession up to 7 years; trafficking up to life.
If prescribed / medical: Prescribed for opioid-agonist treatment by physicians/NPs and dispensed through community pharmacy (take-home 'carries' standard).
Documentation: Import/export a single course of treatment or a 90-day supply with a prescription in the original labelled container; declare at the border.

Source · Updated 2026-07-13

Methamphetamine

Legal status: Schedule I substance under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA)
Consequences if caught: A Schedule I controlled substance. Possession without authorisation is illegal; trafficking, import or export can carry penalties up to life imprisonment. Importing/exporting without federal authorisation is prohibited (s.6 CDSA). Declare any controlled drug at the port of entry.
If prescribed / medical: Lawful only with valid authorisation (a prescription). A traveller may carry a prescribed controlled drug under the s.56 exemption — see documentation.
Documentation: Section 56 traveller exemption: you may carry a prescribed narcotic/controlled drug for personal use if the quantity is no more than the lesser of a single course of treatment or a 30-day supply, and you declare it to customs on arrival; it cannot be mailed or couriered. Stays longer than 30 days require a Canadian prescription. Carry the prescription plus original pharmacy packaging/label, and declare at the border.

Source · Updated 2026-06-25

Methaqualone (Quaaludes)

Legal status: Methaqualone is a Schedule III controlled substance under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA), listed as 'methaqualone (2-methyl-3-(2-methylphenyl)-4(3H)-quinazolinone) and any salt thereof' — the named transposition of its 1971 Convention Schedule II status; no longer manufactured or marketed.
Consequences if caught: Possession is an offence, and trafficking, importing or production carry serious penalties under the CDSA.
If prescribed / medical: No recognised medical use / withdrawn — methaqualone is not available as a prescription medicine in Canada.
Documentation: No medical or traveller route; there is no legitimate prescription supply.

Source · Updated 2026-07-14

Methylone

Legal status: Treated as Schedule I under the CDSA on the CONTESTED basis that methylone is an analogue of amphetamine (Schedule I covers amphetamines and their analogues); because cathinone itself is excluded as an amphetamine analogue, the analogue reach specifically to methylone is legally contested — Schedule I in practice but the analogue basis is left to confirmation (medium confidence). No death penalty.
Consequences if caught: Treated as illegal; Schedule I possession and trafficking penalties. Carry none.
If prescribed / medical: No recognised medical use; no lawful prescription route.
Documentation: No lawful personal-import route; treated as a Schedule I substance.

Source · Updated 2026-07-14

Methylphenidate

Legal status: Schedule III substance under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA) — 'Methylphenidate and any salt thereof'.
Consequences if caught: Unlawful possession up to 3 years; trafficking or possession-for-purpose up to 10 years.
If prescribed / medical: Prescription ADHD/narcolepsy medicine (e.g. Ritalin/Concerta) via controlled channels; carry the original prescription and any required import permit.

Source · Updated 2026-07-13

Mitragynine

Legal status: Neither mitragynine nor kratom is scheduled under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act: mitragynine, the principal alkaloid of kratom, shares the plant's non-CDSA status (personal possession is not criminal), and Health Canada instead treats kratom as an unauthorised natural health product whose sale is prohibited under the Food and Drugs Act.
Consequences if caught: No CDSA penalty attaches to the alkaloid; unauthorised sale of kratom is restrained under the Food and Drugs Act, not the CDSA.
If prescribed / medical: No authorised kratom or alkaloid product exists in Canada; sale for human consumption is prohibited.
Documentation: No CDSA import controls apply to the alkaloid; personal possession is not criminal, but commercial sale is barred.

Source · Updated 2026-07-13

Modafinil

Legal status: Prescription drug on the Prescription Drug List — NOT scheduled under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA).
Consequences if caught: Prescription-medicine offence only (no CDSA controlled-substance penalties).
If prescribed / medical: Health Canada allows a single course / 90-day personal supply with the prescription.
Documentation: Section 56 traveller exemption: you may carry a prescribed narcotic/controlled drug for personal use if the quantity is no more than the lesser of a single course of treatment or a 30-day supply, and you declare it to customs on arrival; it cannot be mailed or couriered. Stays longer than 30 days require a Canadian prescription. Carry the prescription plus original pharmacy packaging/label, and declare at the border.

Source · Updated 2026-07-13

Morphine

Legal status: Morphine is explicitly a Schedule I controlled substance under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act and the Narcotic Control Regulations.
Consequences if caught: Unauthorised possession up to 7 years; trafficking up to life imprisonment.
If prescribed / medical: Prescribed and dispensed as a Schedule I narcotic for severe and cancer pain.
Documentation: Import or export the lesser of a single course of treatment or a 30-day supply, prescribed, in original packaging, and declare it at customs.

Source · Updated 2026-07-13

MXE

Legal status: MXE (methoxetamine) is treated as a controlled substance in Canada as an analogue of ketamine, which is listed at item 14(1) of Schedule I to the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA); Health Canada's status assessment placed MXE and its analogues within Schedule I on the basis of their close arylcyclohexylamine/ketamine structural and pharmacological similarity.
Consequences if caught: As a Schedule I substance, possession, trafficking, production and import of MXE are indictable offences under the CDSA carrying substantial imprisonment.
If prescribed / medical: MXE has no approved medical use and is not a prescribable drug in Canada (unlike ketamine, a regulated Schedule I medicine).
Documentation: There is no lawful supply; MXE ordered online is an illicit import liable to seizure by the Canada Border Services Agency.

Source · Updated 2026-07-14

Nicotine

Legal status: Not confirmed — verify with Health Canada / CBSA / your embassy
Consequences if caught: This specific substance was not named by the reachable Canadian sources (CDSA / Health Canada). It may nonetheless be a controlled substance under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act — verify before travel. Importing/exporting controlled drugs without federal authorisation is prohibited (s.6 CDSA).
If prescribed / medical: Lawful only with valid authorisation (a prescription). A traveller may carry a prescribed controlled drug under the s.56 exemption — see documentation.
Documentation: Section 56 traveller exemption: you may carry a prescribed narcotic/controlled drug for personal use if the quantity is no more than the lesser of a single course of treatment or a 30-day supply, and you declare it to customs on arrival; it cannot be mailed or couriered. Stays longer than 30 days require a Canadian prescription. Carry the prescription plus original pharmacy packaging/label, and declare at the border.

Source · Updated 2026-07-14

Nitrous Oxide

Legal status: Nitrous oxide sold for inhalation is treated as a drug requiring market authorisation (a DIN) under the Food and Drugs Act and Food and Drug Regulations and may lawfully be administered only by a health professional; it is legal for genuine medical and food (cream-charger) use, but selling it for recreational inhalation is unauthorised. It is not a controlled substance under the CDSA.
Consequences if caught: Health Canada seizes unauthorised inhalation products and works with the CBSA to stop shipments; enforcement is regulatory (unauthorised-drug sale) rather than narcotics-based. No death penalty (non-DP).
If prescribed / medical: Nitrous oxide is an approved medical/anaesthetic and dental gas and a food-preparation propellant (E942); those uses are lawful.
Documentation: Cream chargers are sold for food use; products marketed or sold for inhalation lack a DIN and are subject to seizure at the border and at retail.

Source · Updated 2026-07-14

Oxycodone

Legal status: Oxycodone is explicitly named as a Schedule I controlled substance (Controlled Drugs and Substances Act) and a narcotic under the Narcotic Control Regulations — a marketed strong opioid.
Consequences if caught: Unauthorised possession up to 7 years; trafficking up to life.
If prescribed / medical: Prescribed as a Schedule I narcotic; dispensing is recorded.
Documentation: Import a single course of treatment or a 90-day supply, prescribed, in original packaging, and declare it at the border.

Source · Updated 2026-07-13

PCP

Legal status: Not confirmed — verify with Health Canada / CBSA / your embassy
Consequences if caught: This specific substance was not named by the reachable Canadian sources (CDSA / Health Canada). It may nonetheless be a controlled substance under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act — verify before travel. Importing/exporting controlled drugs without federal authorisation is prohibited (s.6 CDSA).
If prescribed / medical: Lawful only with valid authorisation (a prescription). A traveller may carry a prescribed controlled drug under the s.56 exemption — see documentation.
Documentation: Section 56 traveller exemption: you may carry a prescribed narcotic/controlled drug for personal use if the quantity is no more than the lesser of a single course of treatment or a 30-day supply, and you declare it to customs on arrival; it cannot be mailed or couriered. Stays longer than 30 days require a Canadian prescription. Carry the prescription plus original pharmacy packaging/label, and declare at the border.

Source · Updated 2026-06-25

Peyote

Legal status: Peyote (Lophophora williamsii) is expressly EXEMPTED from control: the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act schedules the alkaloid mescaline but the entry reads "Mescaline ... and any salt thereof, but not peyote (lophophora)", so the living cactus is lawful while isolated mescaline is a Schedule III substance.
Consequences if caught: Possessing or selling the peyote cactus itself is not a CDSA offence because the plant is carved out of the mescaline entry; extracting or trafficking isolated mescaline is a Schedule III offence.
If prescribed / medical: Mescaline has no approved medical use; the peyote cactus, being outside the schedule, is not a prescription-controlled item.
Documentation: CDSA Schedule III, item 17 lists mescaline (3,4,5-trimethoxybenzeneethanamine) and its salts with the explicit exclusion "but not peyote (lophophora)".

Source · Updated 2026-07-14

Phenibut

Legal status: Not confirmed — verify with Health Canada / CBSA / your embassy
Consequences if caught: This specific substance was not named by the reachable Canadian sources (CDSA / Health Canada). It may nonetheless be a controlled substance under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act — verify before travel. Importing/exporting controlled drugs without federal authorisation is prohibited (s.6 CDSA).
If prescribed / medical: Lawful only with valid authorisation (a prescription). A traveller may carry a prescribed controlled drug under the s.56 exemption — see documentation.
Documentation: Section 56 traveller exemption: you may carry a prescribed narcotic/controlled drug for personal use if the quantity is no more than the lesser of a single course of treatment or a 30-day supply, and you declare it to customs on arrival; it cannot be mailed or couriered. Stays longer than 30 days require a Canadian prescription. Carry the prescription plus original pharmacy packaging/label, and declare at the border.

Source · Updated 2026-07-14

Pink Cocaine / Tusi

Legal status: Pink cocaine (tusi) is not scheduled as such; it is a variable mixture (typically ketamine + MDMA) prosecuted through its constituents — Canada lists ketamine in Schedule I and MDMA in Schedule III of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA), which reaches any product containing a controlled substance. Because the blend varies batch to batch, exposure follows the most-severely-controlled detected component.
Consequences if caught: Possession and trafficking are offences under the CDSA, with the applicable schedule and penalty set by whichever constituent is detected (ketamine Schedule I carrying the heavier maximums).
If prescribed / medical: No lawful supply of the mixture; ketamine is a regulated Schedule I medicine used as an anaesthetic, while MDMA has no marketed medical use.
Documentation: Sold as an unregulated party powder; because the makeup varies batch to batch, purchasers cannot know its constituents, so legal exposure under the CDSA is unknowable at purchase.

Source · Updated 2026-07-14

Poppers

Legal status: Poppers (alkyl nitrites) are not a Controlled Drugs and Substances Act narcotic but ARE regulated as drugs under the Food and Drugs Act: any product containing alkyl nitrites promoted to be inhaled or ingested is a 'drug' requiring Health Canada market authorisation (a DIN), and there is NO authorised poppers product — so selling them is an unauthorised-health-product offence. No death penalty.
Consequences if caught: Selling or importing unauthorised alkyl nitrite poppers is illegal under the Food and Drugs Act; Health Canada seizes stock and works with the CBSA to block importation.
If prescribed / medical: Alkyl nitrites (amyl/butyl/isobutyl nitrite) are treated as prescription drugs for supervised medical use; no over-the-counter or consumer poppers product is authorised.
Documentation: No lawful retail poppers market; unauthorised imports are subject to seizure at the border.

Source · Updated 2026-07-14

Pregabalin

Legal status: Pregabalin is a prescription (Schedule D / prescription-drug) medicine under the Food and Drugs Act and is NOT scheduled under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act — unlike its US Schedule V status, in Canada it is an ordinary prescription medicine, as is gabapentin.
Consequences if caught: Supply without authorisation is a medicines-law offence; pregabalin is not subject to CDSA possession or trafficking penalties.
If prescribed / medical: Prescribed and dispensed as an ordinary prescription-only medicine.
Documentation: Carry the prescription or a doctor's letter with a personal supply (generally up to 90 days) in original packaging.

Source · Updated 2026-07-14

Psilocybin

Legal status: Schedule III substance under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA)
Consequences if caught: A Schedule III controlled substance; possession without authorisation can carry up to 10 years' imprisonment. Importing/exporting without federal authorisation is prohibited (s.6 CDSA). Declare any controlled drug at the port of entry.
If prescribed / medical: Lawful only with valid authorisation (a prescription). A traveller may carry a prescribed controlled drug under the s.56 exemption — see documentation.
Documentation: Section 56 traveller exemption: you may carry a prescribed narcotic/controlled drug for personal use if the quantity is no more than the lesser of a single course of treatment or a 30-day supply, and you declare it to customs on arrival; it cannot be mailed or couriered. Stays longer than 30 days require a Canadian prescription. Carry the prescription plus original pharmacy packaging/label, and declare at the border.

Source · Updated 2026-06-25

Quetiapine

Legal status: Quetiapine is a prescription drug (Prescription Drug List), not a controlled substance: Seroquel, Seroquel XR and generics are authorised by Health Canada in the Drug Product Database and do not appear on any schedule of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.
Consequences if caught: Quetiapine attracts no CDSA penalty; selling this prescription drug without authorisation is a Food and Drugs Act matter, not a controlled-substance trafficking offence.
If prescribed / medical: Prescribed as an atypical antipsychotic for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder; sedative off-label misuse is documented in correctional settings but does not confer scheduled status.
Documentation: Seroquel and quetiapine generics are listed as prescription products in the Health Canada Drug Product Database; carried lawfully with a prescription.

Source · Updated 2026-07-14

Salvia divinorum

Legal status: Controlled. NAMED: Order SOR/2015-209 added 'Salvia divinorum, its preparations and derivatives, including salvinorin A' to Schedule IV of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, in force February 2016. Schedule IV bars production, trafficking, import and export but does not itself prohibit simple possession. Mechanism: NAMED (plant + salvinorin A).
Consequences if caught: Producing, selling, importing or exporting salvia is a Schedule-IV CDSA offence (up to 3 years on indictment); simple possession is not prohibited under Schedule IV.
If prescribed / medical: Salvia divinorum and salvinorin A have no approved therapeutic use; before CDSA scheduling salvia products were subject to Food and Drugs Act enforcement, and there is no lawful prescription route.
Documentation: No lawful commercial import/export route; salvia consignments are treated as Schedule-IV imports and seized.

Source · Updated 2026-07-14

Scopolamine (Devil's Breath)

Legal status: Scopolamine (hyoscine) is a prescription drug, not a controlled substance: the Transderm-V motion-sickness patch is authorised by Health Canada in the Drug Product Database and scopolamine appears on no schedule of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.
Consequences if caught: Scopolamine attracts no CDSA penalty; selling this prescription drug without authorisation is a Food and Drugs Act matter, not a controlled-substance trafficking offence.
If prescribed / medical: The Transderm-V (scopolamine transdermal) patch is prescription-only for motion sickness and post-anaesthetic nausea; hyoscine butylbromide (Buscopan) is available over the counter for spasm.
Documentation: Transderm-V (scopolamine) is listed as a prescription product in the Health Canada Drug Product Database; carried lawfully with a prescription.

Source · Updated 2026-07-14

Synthetic Cannabinoids (K2 / Spice)

Legal status: Controlled as a class. Synthetic cannabinoids ('Spice'/'K2' products) are caught by the item in Schedule II of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act that deems any 'similar synthetic preparation' of cannabis to be controlled, so compounds such as JWH-018 fall within Schedule II; after the 2018 Cannabis Act removed natural cannabis from Schedule II, that schedule now functions primarily to capture lab-made synthetic cannabinoids.
Consequences if caught: Illegal as a Schedule II controlled substance; possession and trafficking carry CDSA imprisonment penalties. No death penalty.
If prescribed / medical: These synthetic cannabinoids have no recognised medical use and no lawful prescription route in Canada.
Documentation: No lawful personal-import route for CDSA-controlled synthetic cannabinoids; do not carry.

Source · Updated 2026-07-14

THC-P

Legal status: Not confirmed — verify with Health Canada / CBSA / your embassy
Consequences if caught: This specific substance was not named by the reachable Canadian sources (CDSA / Health Canada). It may nonetheless be a controlled substance under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act — verify before travel. Importing/exporting controlled drugs without federal authorisation is prohibited (s.6 CDSA).
If prescribed / medical: Lawful only with valid authorisation (a prescription). A traveller may carry a prescribed controlled drug under the s.56 exemption — see documentation.
Documentation: Section 56 traveller exemption: you may carry a prescribed narcotic/controlled drug for personal use if the quantity is no more than the lesser of a single course of treatment or a 30-day supply, and you declare it to customs on arrival; it cannot be mailed or couriered. Stays longer than 30 days require a Canadian prescription. Carry the prescription plus original pharmacy packaging/label, and declare at the border.

Source · Updated 2026-07-14

Tobacco

Legal status: Not confirmed — verify with Health Canada / CBSA / your embassy
Consequences if caught: This specific substance was not named by the reachable Canadian sources (CDSA / Health Canada). It may nonetheless be a controlled substance under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act — verify before travel. Importing/exporting controlled drugs without federal authorisation is prohibited (s.6 CDSA).
If prescribed / medical: Lawful only with valid authorisation (a prescription). A traveller may carry a prescribed controlled drug under the s.56 exemption — see documentation.
Documentation: Section 56 traveller exemption: you may carry a prescribed narcotic/controlled drug for personal use if the quantity is no more than the lesser of a single course of treatment or a 30-day supply, and you declare it to customs on arrival; it cannot be mailed or couriered. Stays longer than 30 days require a Canadian prescription. Carry the prescription plus original pharmacy packaging/label, and declare at the border.

Source · Updated 2026-07-14

Tramadol

Legal status: Tramadol is a Schedule I controlled substance under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act and item 19 of the Narcotic Control Regulations, in force since 31 March 2022.
Consequences if caught: Unauthorised possession is an offence; trafficking of a Schedule I narcotic can carry up to life imprisonment.
If prescribed / medical: Prescribed and dispensed as a Schedule I narcotic medicine.
Documentation: Carry the prescription or a doctor's letter and import only a personal supply (generally up to 90 days), declaring it on entry.

Source · Updated 2026-07-13

Xanax (Alprazolam)

Legal status: Alprazolam is a Schedule IV controlled substance (Controlled Drugs and Substances Act) and a 'targeted substance' under the Benzodiazepines and Other Targeted Substances Regulations (SOR/2000-217).
Consequences if caught: Unauthorised possession is an offence; trafficking up to 3 years on indictment.
If prescribed / medical: Prescribed as a Schedule IV targeted benzodiazepine medicine.
Documentation: Import/export the lesser of a single course of treatment or a 90-day supply; declare it and keep it in the original labelled container with your prescription (s.56 exemption).

Source · Updated 2026-07-13

Xylazine

Legal status: Xylazine is regulated in Canada as a prescription veterinary drug under the Food and Drugs Act and its regulations, not as a controlled substance: Health Canada confirms xylazine is approved only for veterinary use and is not listed on any schedule of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.
Consequences if caught: Diversion or unauthorised sale of xylazine is a Food and Drugs Act / prescription-drug matter rather than a CDSA trafficking offence; Health Canada tracks its emergence as an adulterant in the illegal opioid supply, but it remains outside the controlled-substances regime.
If prescribed / medical: Dispensed only on a veterinarian's prescription for sedation/analgesia in animals (brands include Xylased and Xylamax); xylazine has no approved human indication.
Documentation: Xylazine veterinary injectables are listed in Health Canada's Drug Product Database as prescription drugs for animal use.

Source · Updated 2026-07-14

Zolpidem

Legal status: Zolpidem is a controlled targeted substance in Canada, listed as a Class 1 targeted substance under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act and the Benzodiazepines and Other Targeted Substances Regulations, consistent with its 1971 Convention Schedule IV status.
Consequences if caught: Unauthorised trafficking, export or production of this targeted-substance hypnotic is an offence under the CDSA; possession of a lawfully prescribed personal supply is permitted.
If prescribed / medical: Zolpidem is prescribed short-term for insomnia as a targeted substance subject to pharmacy record-keeping controls.
Documentation: A resident or visitor may carry up to a 90-day supply of prescribed zolpidem when travelling into Canada with a prescription or covering label.

Source · Updated 2026-07-14

Drug laws and enforcement change and vary by country. This is not legal advice. Always confirm with the destination’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 authorityand 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 consulatein the destination immediately — notthe 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 →

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