Is Ephedrine legal in Hungary?

Legal status

Not listed. Ephedrine is not a named entry of the K1 or K2 jegyzék in the 1. melléklet, of the P1, P2, P3 or P4 jegyzék in the 2. melléklet, or of the új pszichoaktív anyagok jegyzéke in the 3. melléklet to 78/2022. (XII. 28.) BM rendelet az ellenőrzött anyagokról, and it is not named in any of the five structural descriptions at points 1 to 5 of that 3. melléklet either. Those five points and the numbered table at point 6 are the whole of the listing content of that melléklet: point 7 is a reading rule and not a further group, «A jegyzékbe sorolás szempontjából a 6.1. pontban foglalt táblázat A és B oszlopában található adatok irányadóak, a C és D oszlop adatai a vegyületek számítógépes kereshetőségét biztosítják.». The forms searched were efedrin, ephedrine, pszeudoefedrin, pseudoephedrine, in Hungarian orthography, with the accents stripped, and again over the text with every whitespace character removed so that a name broken across a line or a table cell could not read as an absence. The Hungarian form efedrin returns nothing at all. The Latin string ephedrin returns four rows and none of them is this molecule: «Cathine (katin)» at row 4 of the P3 jegyzék carries «(+)-norpseudoephedrine» in column B, and «4-Fluoroephedrine», «alpha-methylephedrine» and «N-methylephedrine» are three rows of the 3. melléklet. Whether Hungary controls this substance as a drug precursor under some other instrument was not read here, and it is a separate question from the jegyzékek. This is silence and not an express exclusion: the decree says nothing about the substance at all. Hungary carries the list outside the Act: the Criminal Code names no substance and the delegated rendelet carries the jegyzékek, which is the outward reference model and the second of the three. Section 459(1a) of the Criminal Code, 2012. évi C. törvény, inserted by section 26 of 2025. évi XIX. törvény, reads «E törvény alkalmazásában kábítószer a 78/2022. (XII. 28.) BM rendelet 1. mellékletében a kábítószerek 1. vagy 2. jegyzékén szereplő anyag, 2. mellékletében a pszichotróp anyagok 1. vagy 2. jegyzékén szereplő anyag, valamint 3. mellékletében meghatározott anyag.», so the K1 and K2 jegyzékek of the 1. melléklet, the P1 and P2 jegyzékek of the 2. melléklet and the whole of the 3. melléklet are inside the Criminal Code definition and the P3 and P4 jegyzékek are not. The P3 and P4 jegyzékek remain controlled schedules of the rendelet, and an entry there alone does not place a substance in the ordinary section 176 trafficking lane. An absence is a statement about a list at a moment. This one is stated as those lists stand after the amendment made by 1/2026. (VI. 19.) EÜM rendelet, in the consolidated text as in force on 29 June 2026, which is the last amendment reflected in the text that was read, and no later.

Consequences if caught

Capital exposure: none. Hungary has no death penalty. It does have life imprisonment for a drug offence, and that is the ceiling here. None of the drug penalties below reaches Ephedrine through the jegyzékek, because they attach to the substances those jegyzékek name and this substance is not among them. Criminal Code section 176(1) makes offering, handing over, putting into circulation or trading in a drug a bűntett punishable by two to eight years, «Aki kábítószert kínál, átad, forgalomba hoz, vagy azzal kereskedik, bűntett miatt két évtől nyolc évig terjedő szabadságvesztéssel büntetendő.». Section 176(3) raises that to five years to twenty years or life imprisonment where the offence is committed in respect of a significant quantity, «A büntetés öt évtől húsz évig terjedő vagy életfogytig tartó szabadságvesztés, ha a bűncselekményt jelentős mennyiségű kábítószerre követik el.». The live Hungary cell recorded the life ceiling under section 176(3) and this pass re-derived the same provision from the Act and adds the five to twenty year band printed beside it. Section 178(6) makes consuming a drug, and acquiring, holding or ordering for import a small quantity for consumption, a vétség punishable by up to two years, «Aki kábítószert fogyaszt, illetve csekély mennyiségű kábítószert fogyasztás céljából megszerez, tart vagy az ország területére történő behozatal céljából megrendel, ha súlyosabb bűncselekmény nem valósul meg, vétség miatt két évig terjedő szabadságvesztéssel büntetendő.». Section 180(1) is a conditional non punishment route and not a numerical decriminalisation rule: it requires the offender to admit the offence, «a bűncselekmény elkövetését beismeri,», to prove by document before the first instance decision at least six months of continuous treatment for dependence, other care for drug use or a preventive and informative service, «az elsőfokú ügydöntő határozat meghozataláig okirattal igazolja, hogy legalább hat hónapig folyamatos, kábítószer-függőséget gyógyító kezelésben, kábítószer-használatot kezelő más ellátásban részesült, vagy megelőző-felvilágosító szolgáltatáson vett részt, és», and to disclose the circumstances and enable the seller to be identified before the indictment, «a vádemelésig az elkövetés körülményeit feltárja, illetve lehetővé teszi a kábítószert értékesítő személy kilétének a megállapítását.». The live Hungary cell recorded those three conditions and this pass re-derived them from the Act. Section 180(2) closes that route where within the preceding two years the proceedings were suspended on that ground or the offender was held liable for drug trafficking or drug possession, and section 180(2a) closes it where the offender has already taken it twice, «Az (1) bekezdés nem alkalmazható akkor sem, ha az elkövető az (1) bekezdés b) pontja szerinti lehetőséget már két alkalommal igénybe vette.». Section 461 supplies the quantity definitions that grade the offence, so a quantity figure in Hungary selects the band rather than creating a lawful allowance. No section 461 quantity value is stated for this row, because section 461 grades a quantity of kábítószer as section 459(1a) defines it, and this substance is not one of the entries that definition reaches. No fine figure attaches to any of those provisions in the text read: the Criminal Code states them as custodial bands and the rendelet states no penalty of its own. Those are Criminal Code provisions rather than rendelet provisions, and this row is placed outside that regime, so they are recorded as Hungary's published drug penalties and not as this substance's exposure.

If prescribed or medical

There is no controlled drug prescription question for Ephedrine in Hungary under these jegyzékek, because none of the six carries it. Whether Ephedrine is available on prescription, over the counter or on general sale is a question for the Hungarian medicines and pharmacy regime, which this row did not audit. The Hungarian National Institute of Pharmacy and Nutrition is the body that states them, and the reporting and licensing forms in the mellékletek to 66/2012. (IV. 2.) Korm. rendelet are headed with its Hungarian abbreviation, NNGYK. It appears in Hungarian pharmacy as a decongestant and as a parenteral vasopressor, and it is also a scheduled drug precursor under the European Union precursor regime, which is a different instrument from the one this row reads. Treat the supply route as unread rather than as open. Carry any controlled medicine with its prescription and confirm requirements with your embassy before travel.

Documentation

Carry Ephedrine as the Hungarian medicines and consumer regimes allow and do not read this row as a carriage permission, because a substance off the jegyzékek is not thereby free to cross a border. That is the carriage answer for this row and it is deliberately narrow. No traveller permit scheme, declaration form or carriage allowance for this substance appears in what was read here. No row is relied on for this cell, because none was found. Provenance follows. The controlling text is 78/2022. (XII. 28.) BM rendelet az ellenőrzött anyagokról, read at https://njt.jog.gov.hu/jogszabaly/2022-78-20-0A on 21 September 2026 in the consolidated text as in force on 29 June 2026. Its section 1 puts the kábítószer jegyzékek in the 1. melléklet, the pszichotróp anyag jegyzékek in the 2. melléklet, «A 2. melléklet tartalmazza a pszichotróp anyagnak minősülő anyagok jegyzékeit.», and the új pszichoaktív anyag jegyzék in the 3. melléklet. The Criminal Code was read at https://njt.jog.gov.hu/jogszabaly/2012-100-00-00 on 21 September 2026 in the consolidated text as in force on 26 August 2026, and that rendering stops at section 339, so sections 459(1a) and 461 were read instead in the Act that enacted them, 2025. évi XIX. törvény sections 26 and 27, at https://njt.jog.gov.hu/jogszabaly/2025-19-00-00.0. The Criminal Code page carries a footnote recording that section 461 is the text established by section 27 of that Act, so the two readings agree. On the instrument itself: the schedules are not in 66/2012. (IV. 2.) Korm. rendelet. That decree survives as the activities, licensing and definitions instrument, its 1. melléklet was repealed by section 11 h) of 607/2022. (XII. 28.) Korm. rendelet, and 78/2022 has carried the jegyzékek since 1 January 2023.

Drug laws and enforcement change and vary within a country. This is not legal advice. Always confirm with Hungary’s embassy or official drug authority before traveling; penalties can be severe, including imprisonment.