Is it legal in Cyprus? Drug law, penalties and sources

One law, three classes, and a penalty that follows the class

The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Law of 1977 (Law 29/1977, as amended) sorts controlled drugs into Class A, B or C in its First Schedule, as substituted by the Controlled Drugs Order Κ.Δ.Π. 367/2025, and the Third Schedule sets a separate maximum sentence for each class.

Section 6(2) makes simple possession of a controlled drug an offence carrying up to 12 years' imprisonment for a Class A drug, 8 years for Class B and 4 years for Class C, or a fine, or both.

Possessing a controlled drug with intent to supply it, under section 6(3), producing or supplying it under section 5(2), and importing or exporting it under section 4(1), each carry up to life imprisonment for a Class A or Class B drug and up to 8 years for a Class C drug, or a fine, or both.

Section 10(δ) separately makes it an offence to take any controlled drug in any way, and the Third Schedule's general column sets up to life imprisonment or a fine, or both, for that offence whatever the drug's class.

These offences carry limits. Section 32 of the Law gives a defence that the accused must prove, that they had no knowledge or suspicion, and no reason to suspect, a fact the prosecution alleges. It is subject to section 32(3): not knowing which particular controlled drug it was is not enough on its own. The accused must prove that they did not know, suspect or have reason to suspect that it was any controlled drug, or that they believed it was a drug of a kind that would not have made their act an offence. It applies to the offences in sections 5(2) and (3), 6(2) and (3), 7(2) and 10, and not to section 4(1). Section 6(4) gives a defence to the section 6(2) possession offence for a person who took the drug to stop another person committing an offence with it, or to hand it to someone lawfully entitled to keep it, and who took all reasonable steps as soon as possible to destroy it or hand it over. Section 4(2) excepts an import or export that Regulations under section 8 exempt or that the Minister licenses, and the prohibition in section 6(1) is subject to Regulations under section 8.

Regulation 9(2) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Regulations of 1979 lets any person possess a drug in the Second or Third Schedule to those Regulations for administration for medical, dental or veterinary purposes in accordance with the directions of a doctor, dentist or veterinary surgeon, and regulation 2 defines a doctor as a person registered under the Registration of Doctors Law. The proviso to regulation 9(2) withdraws that lift from a person supplied on a doctor's prescription who was at the same time being supplied a controlled drug by another doctor, or on that doctor's prescription, and did not disclose it to the first before the supply or prescription, or where that person or anyone on his behalf made a declaration or statement, false in any particular, to obtain the supply or prescription.

A two year prison cap for a young first offender, and a presumption above a threshold

The proviso to section 30(2) limits the court to at most 2 years' imprisonment for a person convicted of using, possessing or transporting a controlled drug for personal use, where that person was under 25 when the offence was committed and has no previous conviction under the Law or its Regulations.

Section 30A works the other way: it presumes, unless the accused satisfies the court otherwise, that possession or transport was for supply once the quantity reaches 30 grams of cannabis or its derivatives, 10 grams of prepared opium or prepared cocaine or their derivatives, or 20 grams in solid form or 20 cubic centimetres in liquid form of any other controlled drug, and that cultivation was for supply at three or more cannabis plants, twenty or more opium poppy plants, or five or more coca plants.

What each provision carries, by class

Every substance confirmed against a primary source

53 substances have a status for Cyprus verified against a named statute. Each row links to the full entry, with the consequences, the prescription position and the source.

Not separately listed

Sources

• Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Law of 1977 (Law 29/1977), ss. 4(1), 5(2), 6(2), 6(3), 10(δ), 30 and 30A, and the Third Schedule CyLaw consolidation to Law 159(I)/2020. The First Schedule printed in the consolidation is the 1977 text. The list in force is the First Schedule substituted by Κ.Δ.Π. 367/2025, published in the Official Gazette (No. 5985) on 5 December 2025.

Statute text on this page is quoted from the copies linked above. Last verified October 5, 2026.