Is Codeine legal in Vietnam?
- Legal status
- Codeine is a controlled narcotic under Vietnam's special-control medicine regime (Decree 57/2022/ND-CP and successors). Vietnam abolished the death penalty for all drug offences effective 1 July 2025 (existing sentences commuted to life), so codeine is not death-eligible; the ceiling is life imprisonment.
- Consequences if caught
- Unlawful possession or trafficking is punished by quantity under Penal Code Articles 249-252, the ceiling now life imprisonment; codeine is not death-eligible.
- If prescribed or medical
- Dispensed on a special-control prescription as a controlled medicine.
- Documentation
- Declare controlled medicines and carry a prescription in original packaging.
Drug laws and enforcement change and vary within a country. This is not legal advice. Always confirm with Vietnam’s embassy or official drug authority before traveling; penalties can be severe, including imprisonment.
Before you travel
Verify current rules with the destination country’s official drug authority and your own country’s embassy before traveling. Find the destination’s U.S. embassy & official country guidance →
Non-U.S. travelers: check your own government’s travel advisory and embassy.
If you’re detained or arrested abroad
Contact your own country’s embassy or consulate in the destination immediately — not the destination’s authorities. U.S. citizens: contact the nearest U.S. embassy/consulate and the U.S. State Department at +1-202-501-4444 (from abroad). If a U.S. citizen is arrested or detained abroad →