Is Ephedrine legal in Indonesia?

Legal status

Prekursor Narkotika under Indonesia's Undang-Undang Nomor 35 Tahun 2009 tentang Narkotika: Lampiran II Tabel I of Undang-Undang No. 35 Tahun 2009, item 3 「Ephedrine」, with 「Norephedrine」 at item 9 and 「Pseudoephedrine」 at item 13. Ephedrine is not a narkotika and not a psikotropika, and it is not unregulated either. It is a Prekursor Narkotika in Lampiran II Tabel I of the Act, item 3, alongside pseudoephedrine at item 13 and norephedrine at item 9. The (+)-norpseudoephedrine entry in Psikotropika Golongan III is cathine, a different substance. Lampiran II is not restated in either Permenkes, so a search of the current lists alone returns nothing and the answer looks like no regulation. The model: each Act carries its own list for the first time only, and every change since is a Ministerial regulation. Pasal 6(1) of Undang-Undang Nomor 35 Tahun 2009 tentang Narkotika divides narcotics into Golongan I, II and III. Pasal 6(2) then provides that 「Penggolongan Narkotika sebagaimana dimaksud pada ayat (1) untuk pertama kali ditetapkan sebagaimana tercantum dalam Lampiran I dan merupakan bagian yang tak terpisahkan dari Undang-Undang ini」, so the Act's own annex governs only the first classification. The empowering article is Pasal 6(3): 「Ketentuan mengenai perubahan penggolongan Narkotika sebagaimana dimaksud pada ayat (2) diatur dengan Peraturan Menteri」. The psychotropics Act is built the same way: Pasal 2(3) of Undang-Undang Nomor 5 Tahun 1997 tentang Psikotropika sets the four golongan 「untuk pertamakali」 in its annex and Pasal 2(4) provides that 「Ketentuan lebih lanjut untuk penetapan dan perubahan jenis-jenis psikotropika sebagaimana dimaksud pada ayat (3) diatur oleh Menteri」. So neither Act's annex is the operative list today. The narcotics list in force is the Lampiran to Peraturan Menteri Kesehatan Nomor 15 Tahun 2025 tentang Perubahan Penggolongan Narkotika, ditetapkan 21 November 2025, diundangkan 28 November 2025, Berita Negara Republik Indonesia Tahun 2025 Nomor 989, which revoked Permenkes Nomor 7 Tahun 2025. The psychotropics list in force is the Lampiran to Peraturan Menteri Kesehatan Nomor 14 Tahun 2025 tentang Penetapan dan Perubahan Penggolongan Psikotropika, Berita Negara Tahun 2025 Nomor 988, which revoked Permenkes Nomor 6 Tahun 2025. The Act itself was last amended by Undang-Undang Nomor 6 Tahun 2023. One part of the scheme is still in the Act and not in any regulation: the Prekursor Narkotika in Lampiran II, Tabel I and Tabel II, which neither Permenkes restates.

Consequences if caught

Capital exposure: none. The precursor offence is Pasal 129 of the narcotics Act. It punishes possessing, storing, controlling or providing, producing, importing, exporting or distributing, selling, buying, brokering, exchanging or delivering, and carrying, sending, transporting or transiting a Prekursor Narkotika 「untuk pembuatan Narkotika」, for the manufacture of narcotics, with 4 to 20 years and a fine up to five billion rupiah. The purpose element is part of the offence and not an afterthought. The precursor offence is Pasal 129, which punishes possessing, storing, controlling, supplying, producing, importing, exporting, distributing, selling, brokering, carrying or transiting a precursor 「untuk pembuatan Narkotika」, for the manufacture of narcotics, with four to twenty years and a fine up to five billion rupiah. The purpose element is part of the offence, so ordinary possession of a decongestant is not within it. There is no death penalty in Pasal 129. Neither reaches this substance. Pasal 129 is the whole of the precursor offence and its penalty is 4 to 20 years with a fine of up to five billion rupiah. It contains no death penalty and no life sentence, and it has no quantity ladder. The capital provisions of the narcotics Act, Pasal 113(2), 114(2), 116(2), 118(2), 119(2) and 121(2), all operate on a narcotic in a Golongan of the Third Schedule of that Act and this substance is in none of them. Pasal 132 can attach the penalty for a completed narcotics offence to an attempt or a permufakatan jahat, a criminal conspiracy, but that turns on the narcotics offence conspired at and not on the precursor listing. [Certain] Re-derived in this pass: Permenkes 15/2025 and 14/2025 were read and no entry for this substance was located under the names searched. That is an unresolved search and not a finding of absence: the lists print chemical names and a name not searched for is a name not found.

If prescribed or medical

Ephedrine and pseudoephedrine are registered medicines in Indonesia and pseudoephedrine decongestants are sold through pharmacies, with quantity controls at the point of sale.

Documentation

Keep a pseudoephedrine decongestant in its retail packaging and in a personal quantity. Bulk quantities are what the precursor regime is aimed at.

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