Is Crack Cocaine legal in United Arab Emirates?
- Legal status
- Crack is the freebase (base) form of cocaine and has no separate legal identity in the UAE: it is controlled AS cocaine, a Table No. 1 narcotic under Federal Decree-Law No. 30 of 2021, whose schedule covers cocaine, its salts and preparations and thus reaches the base/freebase form. Crack is prohibited identically to cocaine, with severe penalties for trafficking (capital-eligible for aggravated cases) carrying over whether powder or base.
- Consequences if caught
- Possession and use of crack (as cocaine) draw imprisonment and deportation for non-citizens; trafficking carries long imprisonment up to the death penalty in aggravated cases under the Federal Decree-Law.
- If prescribed or medical
- Cocaine has no recognised therapeutic use in the UAE; 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 United Arab Emirates’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 →