Legality
Codeine legal status by country
Countries where the legal status of Codeine has been confirmed against a primary source. Legal information, not legal advice; drug laws change, so confirm with the destination’s embassy or drug authority before you travel.
Confirmed legal status
Each row links to the full detail for Codeine in that country, including consequences and the primary source.
- Aceh (Indonesia)Codeine is governed in Aceh by national law as a Narkotika Golongan III substance (Law No. 35/2009); it sits...
- AustraliaCodeine is prescription-only (Schedule 4) for ALL products since the up-scheduling of 1 February 2018, which...
- BahrainCodeine is a controlled narcotic under Decree-Law No. 15 of 2007; low-dose codeine is below the capital tier...
- BangladeshCodeine (widely misused as Phensedyl cough syrup) is a lower-category controlled substance under the...
- BrazilCodeine is a controlled narcotic on List A2 of Portaria SVS/MS 344/1998; low-dose combinations (up to 100...
- BruneiCodeine is a Class B controlled drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act (Cap. 27); it carries no capital threshold...
- CambodiaCodeine is a controlled drug - use or possession outside a medical prescription is prohibited under the Law...
- CanadaLow-dose 'exempted' codeine combinations (up to 8 mg/tablet or 20 mg/30 mL with at least two non-narcotic...
- ChinaCodeine is a scheduled narcotic in China; low-dose codeine sits below the large-quantity capital tier of...
- CubaCodeine is a controlled substance under Cuba's Penal Code (Law 151/2022) and Ministry of Public Health rules;...
- EgyptCodeine is a narcotic-table substance under Anti-Narcotics Law No. 182 of 1960 (with Law 122/1989); low-dose...
- FranceCodeine is prescription-only for all products since the arrete of 12 July 2017 (in force 17 July 2017), which...
- GermanyCodeine is prescription-only (verschreibungspflichtig) for most products under the...
- GreeceCodeine is prescription-only and a controlled substance in Greece (narcotics Law 4139/2013 / Law 3459/2006);...
- IndiaCodeine is prescription-only: codeine cough syrups are Schedule H1 and, after a 2023 rule change, were...
- IndonesiaCodeine is a Narkotika Golongan III substance under Law No. 35/2009 (the lowest narcotic tier); Golongan III...
- IranCodeine (methylmorphine) is a controlled substance under Iran's psychotropic/narcotics medicine regime....
- IraqCodeine is a controlled narcotic under Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances Law No. 50 of 2017; low-dose...
- IrelandCodeine is available behind the pharmacy counter under personal pharmacist supervision for low-dose...
- ItalyCodeine is prescription-only in Italy; analgesic and antitussive codeine products are dispensed on medical...
- JapanCodeine is import-controlled for travellers: bringing codeine into Japan requires an advance Yunyu...
- JordanCodeine is a controlled narcotic, medically dispensed, under Jordan's Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic...
- KuwaitCodeine is a controlled narcotic under Law No. 74 of 1983 (as amended); low-dose codeine is below the capital...
- LaosCodeine is a scheduled controlled substance under Laos's narcotics law (Law on Narcotics / Penal Code Art....
- LibyaCodeine is a controlled narcotic under Law No. 7 of 1990 on narcotics and psychotropics; supply is disrupted...
- MalaysiaCodeine is a controlled lower-schedule drug under Malaysia's drug laws; it sits below the capital tier (the...
- MaldivesCodeine is a controlled/registered prescription medicine under the Drug Act (Law No. 17/2011); low-dose...
- MexicoCodeine is a controlled narcotic requiring a prescription under the General Health Law (Ley General de Salud,...
- MyanmarCodeine is a scheduled controlled substance under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Law 1993; it...
- NetherlandsLow-dose codeine can be sold over the counter (pharmacy/drogist), though such sales are declining;...
- New ZealandCodeine is prescription-only for all formulations since 5 November 2020 (Medsafe reclassification), ending...
- NigeriaCodeine is a controlled narcotic under the NDLEA Act (Cap. N30), tightened after the 2018 crackdown on...
- OmanCodeine is a controlled narcotic under Royal Decree 17/99 (Law on Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances);...
- PakistanCodeine is a controlled substance under the Control of Narcotic Substances Act 1997; it sits below the...
- PhilippinesCodeine is a controlled dangerous drug under RA 9165 (Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act 2002). The death...
- PolandLow-dose codeine combination products (e.g. Thiocodin, Antidol 15) are sold OTC (bez recepty) but capped at...
- PortugalCodeine is prescription-only in practice and a controlled drug under Decreto-Lei 15/93; travellers carrying...
- QatarCodeine is a controlled narcotic under Law No. 9 of 1987 (Narcotic Drugs and Dangerous Psychotropic...
- Saudi ArabiaCodeine is a controlled narcotic under the Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances Law (Royal Decree M/39,...
- SingaporeCodeine is a Class B controlled drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1973; it carries no capital threshold and...
- South KoreaCodeine is a prescription narcotic under the Narcotics Control Act; MFDS advance import approval has been...
- South SudanCodeine is controlled as a medicine under South Sudan's Drug and Food Control Authority Act 2012; it is...
- SpainLow-dose codeine combination analgesics remain available OTC through pharmacist sale in Spanish pharmacies;...
- Sri LankaCodeine is a controlled prescription substance under Sri Lanka's drugs regime; it is not among the drugs...
- State of PalestineCodeine is a controlled narcotic - medically dispensed in the West Bank under Palestinian Authority...
- SudanCodeine is a controlled narcotic under the Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances Act 1994; supply is...
- SwedenCodeine is prescription-only (receptbelagd) in Sweden; combination analgesics are classed as scheduled...
- SwitzerlandCodeine is prescription-only (dispensing category B): codeine and dihydrocodeine cough medicines were...
- SyriaCodeine is a controlled narcotic under Narcotics Law No. 2 of 1993; low-dose codeine sits below the...
- TaiwanCodeine is a lower-category controlled drug under the Narcotics Hazard Prevention Act; it sits below the...
- ThailandCodeine is a Category 2 narcotic under the Narcotics Code B.E. 2564 (2021), prescription-controlled;...
- TurkeyCodeine is prescription-only in Turkey; foreign OTC codeine products (painkillers, cough syrups) are illegal...
- United Arab EmiratesCodeine is explicitly enumerated as a controlled substance (Table 2) under Federal Decree-Law 30/2021;...
- United KingdomCodeine is a Class B controlled drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971; low-dose combination products (e.g....
- VietnamCodeine is a controlled narcotic under Vietnam's special-control medicine regime (Decree 57/2022/ND-CP and...
- YemenCodeine is a controlled narcotic under Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances Law No. 3 of 1993; supply chains...
Not individually verified
For these 168 countries the governing national drug law is known and cited, but we have not verified that Codeine specifically is scheduled under it. These are not legal answers and are deliberately not published as their own pages. Confirm with the country’s drug authority or your embassy.
- Afghanistan
- Albania
- Algeria
- American Samoa (US)
- Andorra
- Angola
- Anguilla (UK)
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Argentina
- Armenia
- Aruba (Netherlands)
- Austria
- Azerbaijan
- Bahamas
- Barbados
- Belarus
- Belgium
- Belize
- Benin
- Bermuda (UK)
- Bhutan
- Bolivia
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Botswana
- British Virgin Islands (UK)
- Bulgaria
- Burkina Faso
- Burundi
- Cabo Verde
- Cameroon
- Caribbean Netherlands (BES)
- Cayman Islands (UK)
- Central African Republic
- Chad
- Chile
- Colombia
- Comoros
- Congo
- Cook Islands
- Costa Rica
- Côte d'Ivoire
- Croatia
- Curaçao (Netherlands)
- Cyprus
- Czechia
- Denmark
- Djibouti
- Dominica
- Dominican Republic
- DR Congo
- Ecuador
- El Salvador
- Equatorial Guinea
- Eritrea
- Estonia
- Eswatini
- Ethiopia
- Falkland Islands (UK)
- Faroe Islands (Denmark)
- Fiji
- Finland
- French Polynesia (France)
- Gabon
- Gambia
- Georgia
- Ghana
- Gibraltar (UK)
- Grenada
- Guam (US)
- Guatemala
- Guernsey (UK Crown Dependency)
- Guinea
- Guinea-Bissau
- Guyana
- Haiti
- Holy See
- Honduras
- Hong Kong
- Hungary
- Iceland
- Isle of Man (UK Crown Dependency)
- Israel
- Jamaica
- Jersey (UK Crown Dependency)
- Kazakhstan
- Kenya
- Kiribati
- Kosovo
- Kyrgyzstan
- Latvia
- Lebanon
- Lesotho
- Liberia
- Liechtenstein
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Macau
- Madagascar
- Malawi
- Mali
- Malta
- Marshall Islands
- Mauritania
- Mauritius
- Micronesia
- Moldova
- Monaco
- Mongolia
- Montenegro
- Montserrat (UK)
- Morocco
- Mozambique
- Namibia
- Nauru
- Nepal
- New Caledonia (France)
- Nicaragua
- Niger
- North Korea
- North Macedonia
- Northern Mariana Islands (US)
- Norway
- Palau
- Panama
- Papua New Guinea
- Paraguay
- Peru
- Puerto Rico (US)
- Romania
- Russia
- Rwanda
- Saint Helena (UK)
- Saint Kitts and Nevis
- Saint Lucia
- Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
- Samoa
- San Marino
- Sao Tome and Principe
- Senegal
- Serbia
- Seychelles
- Sierra Leone
- Sint Maarten (Netherlands)
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Solomon Islands
- Somalia
- South Africa
- Suriname
- Tajikistan
- Tanzania
- Timor-Leste
- Togo
- Tonga
- Trinidad and Tobago
- Tunisia
- Turkmenistan
- Turks and Caicos Islands (UK)
- Tuvalu
- U.S. Virgin Islands (US)
- Uganda
- Ukraine
- Uruguay
- Uzbekistan
- Vanuatu
- Venezuela
- Zambia
- Zimbabwe