Is Etizolam legal in Saudi Arabia?

Legal status

Etizolam is a controlled psychotropic substance in Saudi Arabia, placed at Schedule II Category D of the schedules attached to the Law of Combating Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances, Royal Decree M/39 of 1426 AH, in the version of those schedules issued on 4 September 2026. The schedule prints «ايتيزولام» under the heading «فئة (د):... المؤثرات العقلية», Category D psychotropic substances. Etizolam is a thienodiazepine rather than a true benzodiazepine, and in several jurisdictions that structural difference has been the gap through which it was sold; the Kingdom has closed it by naming the compound, so this row does not depend on reading etizolam into a benzodiazepine class term. It is a prescription medicine in some countries and an unscheduled research chemical in others, and neither of those positions has any bearing here. M/39 Articles 1 and 70 to 71 are cited for identification and for keeping the attached schedules current.

Consequences if caught

Article 37(I) reaches a Schedule II Category D substance, and it states no quantity at all. There is no weight threshold in it: the conduct named is smuggling, receipt from a smuggler, and import, export, manufacture, production, extraction or cultivation with intent to promote, together with the repeat promotion histories the article sets out. Death under Article 37(I) is a statutory ta'zir penalty and it is not mandatory, because Article 37(II) gives the court the power to reduce it; where the court does reduce, the substitute is a prison term of not less than fifteen years with the lashes and the fine the article states. No express life imprisonment wording was found anywhere in M/39. Articles 38 to 41 are cited as the tiers below Article 37 for this placement. Etizolam is frequently pressed into tablets sold as alprazolam, which is also Schedule II Category D, so a misidentified tablet does not change the category it falls into.

If prescribed or medical

The Saudi traveller rule is a permit rule rather than a prescription rule. A controlled medicine may be brought in only under a clearance obtained from the SFDA before travel through its Controlled Drugs System, and that advance electronic clearance is required rather than optional. Etizolam sits inside that regime as a Schedule II Category D substance. A prescription written in a country where etizolam is licensed is not a Saudi clearance, and material bought online as a research chemical has no prescription at all and therefore nothing on which a clearance could be sought.

Documentation

Apply through the SFDA Controlled Drugs System before travelling rather than on arrival, and carry the clearance itself and not the prescription alone. Bring any prescribed etizolam in its original dispensing packaging with the prescription and a medical report naming the patient, the active ingredient, the dose and the treatment period, translated into Arabic and dated less than six months before travel, keep the quantity to a one month supply or the length of the stay, whichever is shorter, and declare it at customs; advance electronic clearance has been required since 1 November 2025. The permit mechanics stated here are the SFDA traveller rules recorded on the current live cell and were not re-derived from the instrument in this pass. The Schedule II Category D placement was read in the 4 September 2026 schedules on 17 September 2026.

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.