Is Crack Cocaine legal in Saudi Arabia?
- Legal status
- Crack is the freebase (base) form of cocaine and has no separate legal identity in Saudi Arabia: it is controlled AS cocaine, a scheduled narcotic named for enhanced penalties under the Anti-Narcotics Law (Royal Decree, 1426H/2005 as amended), whose scheduling covers cocaine, its salts and preparations and thus reaches the base/freebase form. Cocaine is expressly among the substances drawing the death penalty for trafficking, and this carries over to crack whether powder or base.
- Consequences if caught
- Trafficking, smuggling or dealing in crack (as cocaine) carries the death penalty (Art 37), reducible to no less than 15 years plus lashes and heavy fines; use and possession draw imprisonment.
- If prescribed or medical
- Cocaine has no recognised therapeutic use in Saudi Arabia; 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 Saudi Arabia’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 →