Is Cocaine legal in Turkey?

Also known as: coke, blow

Legal status

Cocaine is a controlled substance in Turkey and the dossier carries it under the schedule name «kokain». It is one of the few substances named in the primary statute of 1933 rather than added by decision: article 1 of Law No. 2313 on the Control of Narcotic Substances subjects to ministerial control «koka yaprağı, ham kokain ve kokain ekgonin ve tropokokain ile bütün milhlerinin», the coca leaf, raw cocaine, cocaine, ecgonine and tropacocaine together with all their salts, and it extends that control to all preparations containing «yüzde 0,10 gramdan fazla kokain ve milhlerini», more than 0.10 gram per cent of cocaine and its salts. That figure is a concentration test for what counts as a controlled preparation and it is not a sentencing threshold; the dossier's finding that the cited instruments give no per-substance numeric quantity threshold stands unchanged. Penal Code No. 5237 names «kokain» again in article 188(4)(a). The dossier's outcome for this row is VERIFIED on the schedule name alone; the article 1 wording was read from the consolidated statute on 20 September 2026 and is not in the dossier.

Consequences if caught

Capital exposure: none. The cited instruments give no per-substance numeric quantity threshold; purpose and circumstances are assessed case by case, and the ceiling is 30 years under article 188(1) of Penal Code No. 5237, «yirmi yıldan otuz yıla kadar hapis ve ikibin günden yirmibin güne kadar adlî para cezası», for unlicensed manufacture, import or export. Cocaine is named in the article 188(4)(a) uplift list, so the sentence for any of the paragraphs above it «yarı oranında artırılır», is increased by one half, and that uplift attaches to the identity of the substance rather than to the weight seized. The domestic conduct floor in article 188(3) is not less than ten years for sale, offer for sale, supply, dispatch, transport, storage, purchase, acceptance and possession. On the user side article 191(1) sets two to five years, and article 191(2) requires the prosecution to be deferred for five years without the conditions of article 171 of the Criminal Procedure Code No. 5271 being sought, ending under 191(7) in a decision of no grounds for prosecution where the supervision conditions were kept. The line between personal use and trafficking is drawn by the Court of Cassation on the circumstances, not by a gram figure in either statute.

If prescribed or medical

Cocaine has a narrow controlled medical role and no traveller prescription route. Article 1 of Law No. 2313 places the import, export and domestic sale of cocaine and its preparations under ministerial control rather than prohibiting them outright, which is what leaves room for authorised medical supply, and article 24 of the same Law punishes a pharmacy that sells a narcotic substance «tabip reçetesi olmadan», without a physician's prescription, under the relevant articles of the Penal Code. The dossier recorded no prescription instrument for this row, so no per-substance medical route is asserted here and the classification of any particular preparation is for the TİTCK to state. A foreign prescription is not a Turkish authorisation.

Documentation

No document makes recreational cocaine lawful, and the 0.10 gram per cent figure in article 1 of Law No. 2313 describes when a preparation is controlled rather than when a quantity is tolerated. A traveller carrying a medicine that contains a cocaine derivative should bring the original dispensing packaging, the prescription and a prescriber's letter naming the patient, the active ingredient, the dose and the treatment period, and should confirm the product with the TİTCK before travelling. The schedule name «kokain» was read in the dossier on 18 September 2026 and articles 1 and 188(4)(a) were read from the consolidated texts on 20 September 2026.

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