Is Cathinone legal in Malaysia?
- Legal status
- Controlled — cathinone (khat's natural principal alkaloid) is a 1971 Convention SCHEDULE I psychotropic and is a dangerous drug in the First Schedule of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952. Mechanism: 1971 Sch-I transposition, named. As the parent compound it is DISTINCT from the khat PLANT (Catha edulis leaf, caught via its cathinone content) and from the synthetic cathinones (mephedrone and dozens of gazetted NPS cathinones) that derive from it; cathinone is the named dangerous-drug alkaloid, cathine the milder metabolite (1971 Schedule III). It sits BELOW the enumerated capital tier: s.39B mandatory-death trafficking is keyed to Second Schedule per-substance weights and cathinone lacks a specific capital weight — capital exposure not established.
- Consequences if caught
- Dangerous drug: heavy custodial penalties and whipping for the alkaloid; s.39B mandatory-death risk is not established for cathinone (no capital weight threshold).
- If prescribed or medical
- 1971 Schedule I / dangerous drug with no accepted medical use and no lawful prescription route for the isolated alkaloid.
- Documentation
- No licit personal-import route for a dangerous drug.
Drug laws and enforcement change and vary within a country. This is not legal advice. Always confirm with Malaysia’s embassy or official drug authority before traveling; penalties can be severe, including imprisonment.
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