Is Cocaine legal in Poland?

Also known as: coke, blow

Legal status

Controlled. Poland names this substance in its own national list. «KOKAINA» is entry lp. 112 in group I-N of Załącznik nr 2, the narcotic annex, with the designation opening as the methyl ester of benzoylecgonine. Article 33(1) of the 2005 Act allows group I-N to be used for medical, industrial or research purposes. The closing words of group I-N extend it to the isomers, esters, ethers and salts of every substance in the group.

Consequences if caught

Capital exposure: none. Poland has no death penalty, and the heaviest band the 2005 Act reaches for any conduct with this substance is a term of years. Possession is an offence under article 62(1) of the 2005 Act and the band there is up to three years. Where the quantity is considerable, article 62(2) sets a band of one year to ten years. In a case of lesser gravity article 62(3) provides instead for a fine, a restriction of liberty or up to one year. Article 62a lets proceedings be discontinued, even before the decision to open an investigation, where the quantity is insignificant and intended for the holder's own use and a penalty would be inexpedient. That is a power of the prosecutor and not an entitlement of the holder, so it is not decriminalisation. Article 63(2) adds a separate offence for gathering coca leaf, and article 63(1) for cultivating the coca shrub. Supply offences sit apart from possession. Article 56 punishes putting such a substance on the market with a fine and six months to eight years, and article 56(3) raises that to a fine and two years to twelve years where the quantity is considerable. Article 59(1) punishes supply for gain with one year to ten years. The published Poland entry records that about 24 per cent of possession cases were discontinued under article 62a in 2023, and gives 25 g in Germany as its cross-border example of a quantity that becomes an offence on entry to Poland. Those figures are carried forward from the published Poland entry and were not re-derived in this pass.

If prescribed or medical

Cocaine has a narrow controlled medical use as a topical anaesthetic. It is not a traveller's medicine in this form.

Documentation

No personal import route exists for the street substance. A medical preparation moves under the licensing chapter of the 2005 Act.

Drug laws and enforcement change and vary within a country. This is not legal advice. Always confirm with Poland’s embassy or official drug authority before traveling; penalties can be severe, including imprisonment.