Is Cocaine legal in United States?
- Legal status
- Schedule II controlled substance under federal law
- Consequences if caught
- Federal: Schedule II. Cocaine is listed at 21 CFR 1308.12(b) within the coca-leaves entry — DEA code 9041 for cocaine, 9040 for coca leaves, 9180 for ecgonine — and named in the statute at 21 USC 812 Schedule II(a)(4). Schedule II substances have an accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse; manufacture, distribution and possession without authorisation are federal offences.
- If prescribed or medical
- Available on prescription in limited medical use, principally as a topical anaesthetic. Schedule II prescriptions carry federal handling, recordkeeping and refill restrictions.
- Documentation
- Federal scheduling is uniform across the United States. STATE LAW IS NOT, and the federal schedule is not the whole answer for any substance: states set their own offences, thresholds and penalties, and these differ substantially. This states the federal position only.
- ecfr.gov
- 21 USC 812 Schedule II(a)(4)
Real cases
Prosecutions recorded in United States, each checked against the official document cited below it. Individuals are never named, and these are examples of what has happened, not a prediction of what will. How we verify a court case.
Investigators searched a 37-year-old man's home in Iowa in April 2025 and found around 101.56 grams of a mixture containing cocaine, together with about 6.14 pounds of marijuana, in a basement bathroom. He pleaded guilty to possessing a controlled substance with intent to distribute it. He was sentenced to 18 months' imprisonment, fined 5,500 dollars, and ordered to serve three years of supervised release afterwards.
2025a man, 37convicted on a guilty plea, 18 months' imprisonment, a $5,500 fine and three years of supervised release
Substances recorded cocaine
A 36-year-old man drove towards a Border Patrol checkpoint in Texas in October 2024 with 28.6 kilograms of cocaine hidden in the speaker boxes in his boot. A detection dog alerted and officers found the bundles. He admitted that a former colleague had recruited him to transport the cocaine to Houston for six thousand dollars. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 126 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release.
2024a man, 36convicted on a guilty plea, 126 months' imprisonment and five years of supervised release
Substances recorded cocaine
Drug laws and enforcement change and vary within a country. This is not legal advice. Always confirm with United States’s embassy or official drug authority before traveling; penalties can be severe, including imprisonment.
Before you travel
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If you’re detained or arrested abroad
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