Is Crack Cocaine legal in Ecuador?
- Legal status
- Crack is the freebase (base) form of cocaine and has no separate legal identity in Ecuador: it is controlled AS cocaine under Codigo Organico Integral Penal (COIP) art. 220; quantity tables set by Resolucion 002-CONSEP-CD-2014 of 9 July 2014; Corte Nacional de Justicia Resolucion 14-2023 clarifying arts. 220 and 228, whose scheduling of cocaine reaches its salts, preparations and therefore the base/freebase form. Crack is prohibited identically to cocaine.
- Consequences if caught
- Article 220 grades illicit trafficking of scheduled substances by scale against the CONSEP quantity tables: minima escala one to three years, mediana escala three to five years, alta escala five to seven years, and gran escala ten to thirteen years.
- If prescribed or medical
- Cocaine has at most narrow controlled medical use; the crack/freebase base has no medicinal preparation and cannot be prescribed. Scheduled substances circulate only under the fiscalisation regime the COIP references; a prohibited street drug has no prescribable form.
- Documentation
- No prescription documentation exists for this substance. Carry prescribed medicines in original packaging with the prescription; scheduled substances require authorisation under the fiscalisation regime.
Drug laws and enforcement change and vary within a country. This is not legal advice. Always confirm with Ecuador’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 →