Is Crack Cocaine legal in Mexico?
- Legal status
- Crack is the freebase (base) form of cocaine and has no separate legal identity in Mexico: it is controlled AS cocaine under the Ley General de Salud, whose scheduling covers cocaine, its salts and preparations and so reaches the base/freebase form. Crack is treated identically to cocaine, including the narcomenudeo personal-use threshold framework.
- Consequences if caught
- Possession of crack (as cocaine) above the Art 479 personal-use threshold is criminal; trafficking is prosecuted under Art 195 bis of the Federal Penal Code and the Ley General de Salud.
- If prescribed or medical
- Cocaine has only narrow controlled medical use; the crack/freebase base has no medicinal preparation and cannot be prescribed.
- Documentation
- No prescription documentation exists for crack/freebase cocaine.
Drug laws and enforcement change and vary within a country. This is not legal advice. Always confirm with Mexico’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 →