Is Codeine legal in Hong Kong?

Legal status

A dangerous drug in Hong Kong. Part I of the First Schedule to the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Cap. 134), in the version in force from 18 July 2025 (last amended by L.N. 172 of 2025) as read in the Department of Justice consolidation dated 12 June 2026, paragraph 1(a), prints «Codeine (可待因)», and section 2 defines a dangerous drug as «any of the drugs or substances specified in Part I of the First Schedule».

Consequences if caught

Codeine is a dangerous drug because paragraph 1(a) of Part I names it. Codeine is also printed in paragraph 19 of Part III, headed «Dangerous Drugs to which Ordinance Applies with Other Modifications», and section 4(4)(a) provides that the trafficking section «does not apply to» «a preparation specified in Part II of the First Schedule». Part II, paragraph 13, covers a preparation of a paragraph 19 substance when it is both «(a) compounded with one or more other ingredients in such a way that the preparation has no, or a negligible, risk of abuse and that the substance cannot be recovered by readily applicable means or in a yield which would constitute a risk to health; and» «(b) containing not more than 100 milligrams of the substance per dosage unit and with a concentration of not more than 0.5% in undivided preparations». That is a description of a medicine, not an amount a person may carry, and only a preparation meeting both limbs is in Part II. Trafficking: section 4(1)(a) forbids any person to «traffic in a dangerous drug» except under the Ordinance or a licence, and section 2 says trafficking «includes importing into Hong Kong, exporting from Hong Kong, procuring, supplying or otherwise dealing in or with the dangerous drug, or possessing the dangerous drug for the purpose of trafficking», so bringing codeine that is not in a Part II preparation into Hong Kong falls within trafficking, whatever the amount. Section 4(3) sets the maximum «on conviction on indictment, to a fine of $5,000,000 and to imprisonment for life», and «on summary conviction, to a fine of $500,000 and to imprisonment for 3 years». Manufacture: section 6(2), «liable on conviction on indictment to a fine of $5,000,000 and to imprisonment for life». Supply to a person not authorised to possess it: section 5(2), on indictment «to a fine at level 6 and to imprisonment for 15 years». Possession and consumption are each an offence under section 8: section 8(1) forbids a person to «have in his possession» or to «smoke, inhale, ingest or inject» a dangerous drug, and section 8(2) sets «on conviction upon indictment to a fine of $1,000,000 and, subject to section 54A, to imprisonment for 7 years», or «on summary conviction to a fine at level 6 and, subject to section 54A, to imprisonment for 3 years»; level 6 is $100,000. Section 54A requires the court to consider a report of the Commissioner of Correctional Services before passing a custodial sentence for possession, except where section 54A(1A) applies: the person is in the same proceedings sentenced for another offence to imprisonment for more than 9 months, or is already serving a term of more than 9 months. Each of these provisions joins the fine and the imprisonment with the word and, so both may be imposed; the figures are maxima. Imprisonment for life is the highest penalty the Ordinance states. The Ordinance sets no quantity below which possession is lawful, and section 47 is not a quantity rule: a person proved to have had in physical possession «anything containing or supporting a dangerous drug», or the keys of a container holding one, «shall, until the contrary is proved, be presumed to have had such drug in his possession», and is presumed to have known its nature. This is stated as at the consolidations named in this cell, and for the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance as at the consolidation dated 12 June 2026. Section 50(1) provides that «The Chief Executive may by order published in the Gazette amend the First and Third Schedules», so this does not rule out a later amendment. The Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Amendment of First Schedule) Order 2026, made by the Chief Executive on 24 September 2026 under section 50(1) and scheduled for gazettal on 2 October 2026, adds N-pyrrolidino isotonitazene, N-desethyl etonitazene and MDMB-FUBINACA to Part I, and its section 1 reads «This Order comes into operation on 27 November 2026.» Those three additions are therefore not in force on 2 October 2026.

If prescribed or medical

Section 25(1) authorises a person to possess a dangerous drug «lawfully supplied by a registered medical practitioner» or «lawfully supplied on a prescription lawfully given by a registered medical practitioner or a registered dentist or a registered veterinary surgeon», section 22 gives practitioners and pharmacists their own authority, and section 31 sets the conditions on which a dangerous drug may be supplied on a prescription. Section 2 of Cap. 134 defines a registered dentist and a registered veterinary surgeon by Hong Kong's own registration Ordinances (Cap. 156, Cap. 529), so a prescription from a dentist or vet not registered in Hong Kong is not a prescription under section 25(1)(b); registered medical practitioner is not defined in Cap. 134 and its definition for that Ordinance is not in the text read, nothing in the text read says a prescription from a doctor not registered in Hong Kong qualifies, and section 25 authorises possession, not import. Codeine is in Part III, and section 25(1)(c) also authorises possession where «a dangerous drug specified in Part III of the First Schedule is lawfully supplied by an authorized seller of poisons».

Documentation

For codeine itself, and for any codeine preparation not specified in Part II of the First Schedule, section 4 makes import part of trafficking unless done «under and in accordance with this Ordinance or a licence granted by the Director», and section 10(1) provides for an import licence from the Director of Health. For a preparation that meets both limbs of paragraph 13 and so is specified in Part II, section 4(4)(a) provides that section 4 «does not apply to» it, so importing it is not trafficking. Section 8, possession, has no Part II exception in the text read, so possessing even a Part II preparation is lawful only within section 25 or another authority in the Ordinance. Regulation 6(1)(c)(i) of the Import and Export (General) Regulations (Cap. 60A, consolidated at 14 May 2026) lifts only the Import and Export Ordinance licensing requirement for medicines in a traveller's accompanied personal baggage; it does not authorise anything under the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance. Section 2 of Cap. 134 defines a registered dentist and a registered veterinary surgeon by Hong Kong's own registration Ordinances (Cap. 156, Cap. 529), so a prescription from a dentist or vet not registered in Hong Kong is not one within section 25, and nothing in the text read says a prescription from a doctor not registered in Hong Kong is one. Ask the Department of Health about an import licence under section 10(1) before travelling with a codeine medicine.

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