Is Codeine legal in Jordan?

Legal status

Codeine is a narcotic drug under Law No. 23 of 2016, the Jordanian narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances law, and that is a defined term rather than a description. Article 2 provides «المادة المخدرة: كل مادة طبيعية أو تركيبية من المواد المدرجة في الجداول ذوات الارقام (1) و(2) و(3) و(4) الملحقة بهذا القانون.», a narcotic drug being every natural or synthetic substance listed in Schedules 1 to 4 attached to this Law. Codeine is expressly scheduled at Schedule 2, printed «الجدول رقم (2): كودايين», and it also appears in the Schedule 10 preparation provisions, which is what makes the finished product strength the operative question on this row rather than the ingredient name. A low-content combination sold across a pharmacy counter and a high-strength tablet are not necessarily treated alike, so the product has to be read before the schedule treatment is assigned. Schedules are not frozen in the enacted text. Article 37 provides «لمجلس الوزراء بناء على تنسيب الوزير إجراء تعديل على أي من الجداول الملحقة بهذا القانون بحذف أي مادة منه أو إضافة أي مادة أخرى اليه أو تعديل النسب أو المواصفات أو الشروط الخاصة والمتعلقة بأي منها على ان يتم نشر ذلك في الجريدة الرسمية.», and the power to change the stated percentages is exactly the power that can move a preparation across a Schedule 10 line.

Consequences if caught

A Schedule 2 substance is a narcotic drug for this Law in the same sense as a Schedule 1 one, so codeine sits inside articles 19 and 20 and article 20 states the ceiling in the words «يعاقب بالإعدام», death. Three articles stack. Article 19(a) is the trafficking provision and its opening words are «يعاقب بالأشغال الشاقة المؤقتة مدة لا تقل عن خمس عشرة سنة وبغرامة لا تقل عن عشرة آلاف دينار ولا تزيد على عشرين ألف دينار كل من أقدم على أي فعل من الافعال التالية بقصد الاتجار», temporary hard labour of not less than fifteen years and a fine of ten thousand to twenty thousand Jordanian dinars for the listed dealing conduct committed with intent to traffic. Article 19(b) then provides «تكون العقوبة الأشغال الشاقة المؤبدة», and the indicative verb makes life imprisonment mandatory once a listed aggravator is proved: repeat offending, the status of a specified drug control or supervisory official, or committing the offence with or through a minor. Death under article 20 is mandatory in the same way, but only where an article 19 offence carries the specified international drug gang connection or the listed international criminal activity circumstances. Quantity is not the trigger anywhere in this structure, since neither article states a weight threshold, and the reason this matters for codeine in particular is that it is the most casually carried controlled drug in the table: cough syrup and combination painkillers are bought without much thought and are still scheduled here.

If prescribed or medical

Codeine is an everyday medicine in most countries and a scheduled narcotic drug in Jordan, and that mismatch is the whole practical content of this row. A supply lawfully dispensed to a patient is not trafficking, because article 19(a) defines that offence by the words «بقصد الاتجار», with intent to traffic, and that is a point about how the offence is framed rather than a permission. The Schedule 10 preparation provisions matter here more than for most substances, because codeine reaches patients mainly in low-content combinations, and whether a particular product falls under the preparation treatment depends on its printed strength. What Law No. 23 of 2016 fixes is the control status, and what it does not fix is the prescribing and dispensing conditions; Jordan's separate medicines and pharmacy regimes were not audited for this table, so a route there is treated as unread rather than as absent.

Documentation

Carry the prescription and the original dispensing packaging, keep the quantity to what the prescription covers, and keep the prescriber's details legible. Do not assume that a product bought without a prescription at home needs no paperwork here, and do not decant syrup into an unlabelled bottle. Get the Jordan Food and Drug Administration's position in writing before you fly rather than at the airport, and state the strength as well as the name when you ask. No traveller permit scheme, declaration form or carriage allowance appears anywhere in the text of Law No. 23 of 2016 as read for this row, and an absence in what was read is not proof that no scheme exists; Jordan does furnish the International Narcotics Control Board a traveller regulation sheet. The Schedule 2 placement and the Schedule 10 preparation rules were read on 17 September 2026.

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