Is Codeine legal in Indonesia?

Legal status

Narkotika Golongan III under Indonesia's Undang-Undang Nomor 35 Tahun 2009 tentang Narkotika: Narkotika Golongan III of the Lampiran to Permenkes No. 15 Tahun 2025, item 5 「KODEINA: 3-metilmorfina」. Codeine is item 5 of Golongan III with the designation 3-metilmorfina. NIKODIKODINA is item 6 and several other codeine derivatives sit in the same short list, which has fifteen entries in all. The model: each Act carries its own list for the first time only, and every change since is a Ministerial regulation. Pasal 6(1) of Undang-Undang Nomor 35 Tahun 2009 tentang Narkotika divides narcotics into Golongan I, II and III. Pasal 6(2) then provides that 「Penggolongan Narkotika sebagaimana dimaksud pada ayat (1) untuk pertama kali ditetapkan sebagaimana tercantum dalam Lampiran I dan merupakan bagian yang tak terpisahkan dari Undang-Undang ini」, so the Act's own annex governs only the first classification. The empowering article is Pasal 6(3): 「Ketentuan mengenai perubahan penggolongan Narkotika sebagaimana dimaksud pada ayat (2) diatur dengan Peraturan Menteri」. The psychotropics Act is built the same way: Pasal 2(3) of Undang-Undang Nomor 5 Tahun 1997 tentang Psikotropika sets the four golongan 「untuk pertamakali」 in its annex and Pasal 2(4) provides that 「Ketentuan lebih lanjut untuk penetapan dan perubahan jenis-jenis psikotropika sebagaimana dimaksud pada ayat (3) diatur oleh Menteri」. So neither Act's annex is the operative list today. The narcotics list in force is the Lampiran to Peraturan Menteri Kesehatan Nomor 15 Tahun 2025 tentang Perubahan Penggolongan Narkotika, ditetapkan 21 November 2025, diundangkan 28 November 2025, Berita Negara Republik Indonesia Tahun 2025 Nomor 989, which revoked Permenkes Nomor 7 Tahun 2025. The psychotropics list in force is the Lampiran to Peraturan Menteri Kesehatan Nomor 14 Tahun 2025 tentang Penetapan dan Perubahan Penggolongan Psikotropika, Berita Negara Tahun 2025 Nomor 988, which revoked Permenkes Nomor 6 Tahun 2025. The Act itself was last amended by Undang-Undang Nomor 6 Tahun 2023. One part of the scheme is still in the Act and not in any regulation: the Prekursor Narkotika in Lampiran II, Tabel I and Tabel II, which neither Permenkes restates.

Consequences if caught

Capital exposure: none. [Certain] Re-derived in this pass: this substance is placed in Narkotika Golongan III. The entry read is «5. KODEINA: 3-metilmorfina». The KUHP Pasal 610 ayat (2) huruf a capital limb reaches a Golongan I narcotic only, and this row is not one. Capital exposure: none. The narcotics offences are built from the conduct and not from the quantity, and the quantity only raises the band. Pasal 111 covers growing, keeping, possessing, storing, controlling or providing a Golongan I narcotic in plant form; Pasal 112 the same conduct for a Golongan I narcotic not in plant form; Pasal 113 producing, importing, exporting or distributing; Pasal 114 offering for sale, selling, buying, receiving, brokering, exchanging or delivering; Pasal 115 carrying, sending, transporting or transiting; Pasal 116 using it on another person or giving it to another to use. Pasal 117 to 121 repeat that structure for Golongan II and Pasal 122 to 126 for Golongan III, at descending penalties. The raising quantity is more than 5 grammes for anything not in plant form, and more than 1 kilogramme or more than 5 plants for a Golongan I narcotic in plant form. Nothing in the Act applies a purity discount, so the weight charged is the weight of the material seized. Pasal 127 is separate and much lighter: a Penyalah Guna, a person using for himself, faces at most 4 years for Golongan I, 2 years for Golongan II and 1 year for Golongan III, and Pasal 127(3) requires medical and social rehabilitation where the person is proved to be a victim of abuse rather than a dealer. Codeine is therefore the common travelling medicine that sits lowest in the Indonesian narcotics scheme, and the practical consequence is about paperwork rather than about sentence length. A codeine linctus bought over the counter in another country is a narcotic here, and the risk is being unable to show authority for it rather than facing a severe penalty. Neither reaches this substance, at any quantity and on any conduct, and the reason is structural rather than a matter of degree. Golongan III has its own five articles, Pasal 122 to 126, and the words 「pidana mati」 appear in none of them, nor do the words 「seumur hidup」. Each was read in full for this cell. The equivalent Golongan I and Golongan II articles do carry both, which is what makes the omission deliberate. The maximum anywhere in Golongan III is the 5 to 15 years in Pasal 123(2) for production, import, export or distribution above 5 grammes. Being a narcotic under this Act is not the same as being capital eligible under it, and Golongan III is where that difference lives.

If prescribed or medical

Codeine is registered in Indonesia in antitussive and analgesic preparations and is dispensed on prescription. Combination products containing codeine are controlled rather than freely available.

Documentation

Carry a prescribed codeine product in its dispensed packaging with the prescription. It is a narcotic here even in a cough preparation, so it should be declared rather than treated as an ordinary medicine.

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