Is Cathinone legal in Mexico?
- Legal status
- Controlled — cathinone (khat's natural principal alkaloid) is a 1971 Convention SCHEDULE I psychotropic and is listed in the Group I psychotropics of the Ley General de Salud (Art. 245), the most-restricted class. Mechanism: 1971 Sch-I transposition, named. As the parent compound it is DISTINCT from the khat PLANT (Catha edulis leaf, not individually named) and from the synthetic cathinones (mephedrone etc., separately controlled) that derive from it; cathinone is the named Group-I alkaloid, cathine the milder lower-group / Schedule-III metabolite. Mexico has no death penalty.
- Consequences if caught
- Group I psychotropic: possession above personal thresholds and trafficking of the alkaloid are crimes under the LGS and federal penal law; custodial, not capital.
- If prescribed or medical
- 1971 Schedule I / Group-I substance with no accepted medical use and no lawful prescription route for the isolated alkaloid.
- Documentation
- No licit personal-import route for a Group-I psychotropic.
Drug laws and enforcement change and vary within a country. This is not legal advice. Always confirm with Mexico’s embassy or official drug authority before traveling; penalties can be severe, including imprisonment.
Before you travel
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