Is GBL legal in Ukraine?

Legal status

Controlled in Ukraine by its own name as a psychotropic substance whose circulation is restricted, with one printed exclusion. The list prints «Гама-бутиролактон» in Таблиця III, Список № 2, headed «Психотропні речовини, обіг яких обмежено і стосовно яких допускаються виключення деяких заходів контролю», the same list that carries «GHB». The position was suspended three times between 2011 and 2012, the last suspension running «до 1 червня 2012 р.», so it has been in force since then. The note to the list says «До цього списку не включається гама-бутиролактон, який у кількості, що не перевищує 15 відсотків, входить до складу засобів захисту рослин, на які Міндовкіллям видано посвідчення про державну реєстрацію.», so only a registered plant protection product containing no more than 15 percent is outside it. The list was read at https://web.archive.org/web/20260112104514/https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/770-2000-%D0%BF/print on 3 October 2026, the publisher's own print view of Постанова Кабінету Міністрів України № 770 від 6 травня 2000 року in the redaction of 13 September 2025, basis 692-2025-п, as captured by the Internet Archive with the publisher's currency line of 12 January 2026. The one later amending act, Постанова № 146 of 5 February 2026, was read in full at https://web.archive.org/web/20260212034633/https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/146-2026-%D0%BF/print on 3 October 2026. It adds two synthetic cannabinoid entries, rewrites the tetrahydrocannabinol entry of Таблиця II, Список № 2, and moves piperonal and red phosphorus within Таблиця IV, and it touches no entry quoted in this cell. The publisher's card captured on 16 August 2026 at https://web.archive.org/web/20260816050801/https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/770-2000-%D0%BF names the current redaction as 7 June 2026 on the basis of 146-2026-п. This does not rule out a later amendment made after 16 August 2026. The publisher host itself refused every connection from here on 3 October 2026.

Consequences if caught

Capital exposure: none. Article 51 of the Criminal Code lists every punishment a Ukrainian court may impose and ends at «довічне позбавлення волі»; it lists no death penalty, and none of articles 305 to 318 provides a life term. This row is in Таблиця III, Список № 2, a restricted rather than prohibited list, so article 307 starts at part 1 and the especially dangerous limb does not apply. Sale, or production, acquisition, storage or transport for sale, under article 307 is four to eight years under part 1 with no confiscation, six to ten years with confiscation of property under part 2 for repetition, a group, a large size or sale in a place of mass gathering, and nine to twelve years with confiscation under part 3 for an organised group, an especially large size or the involvement of a child. Smuggling under article 305 is five to eight years under part 1, eight to ten years with confiscation of property under part 2 for repetition, a group or a large size, and ten to twelve years with confiscation under part 3 for an organised group or an especially large size. Possession, acquisition, storage or transport without intent to sell under article 309 is a fine of 1,000 to 3,000 tax free minimum incomes, correctional labour of up to two years, or probation supervision or restriction of liberty of up to five years under part 1; a fine of 2,000 to 5,000 tax free minimum incomes or imprisonment of up to three years under part 2 for a group, a repeat within a year or a large size; and five to eight years under part 3 for an especially large size or the involvement of a minor. Part 4 releases from liability a person who voluntarily seeks treatment for addiction. Trafficking or sale under article 307 thus spans four to twelve years across its three parts, with confiscation of property attached only in parts 2 and 3. Article 316, the public use offence, names only «наркотичних засобів» and not psychotropic substances, so its text does not reach this row; use in private is not itself an offence in the articles read either. Article 310 penalises growing only opium poppy and cannabis, so it does not reach this row. Below the criminal threshold, article 44 of the Code of Administrative Offenses punishes production, acquisition, storage, transport or sending of a small amount of a narcotic drug or psychotropic substance without intent to sell by a fine of 25 to 50 tax free minimum incomes, 20 to 60 hours of community service, or administrative arrest of up to 15 days, and releases a person who surrenders the substance voluntarily. That article was read on 3 October 2026 only on the secondary publisher https://urst.com.ua/kupap/st-44, whose own currency line gives a redaction of 11 February 2022, because the official host refused the connection. The small, large and especially large sizes that move a case between article 44 and the parts of articles 309 and 307 are set by Ministry of Health Order No. 188 (наказ МОЗ № 188 від 01.08.2000). Its Table 1 covers narcotic drugs only, and its separate table for psychotropic substances was not in the text read in this run, so no gram figure is stated for this row. Every figure in this paragraph is a penalty range or a fine taken from Кримінальний кодекс України in the redaction of 18 September 2026, basis 4986-IX, read at https://web.archive.org/web/20261001134802/https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/2341-14/print on 3 October 2026 with the publisher's currency line of 1 October 2026, and none of them is a quantity threshold.

If prescribed or medical

This compound has no medical use a traveller can rely on, and the only printed exclusion is for registered plant protection products. Cleaning, solvent or wheel cleaner products containing it are not excluded by the list, and no licensing law was read in this run.

Documentation

VERIFIED against the instrument. Instrument: Постанова Кабінету Міністрів України № 770, перелік наркотичних засобів, психотропних речовин і прекурсорів. Sections: Таблиця III, Список № 2, named row, its three suspension notes and the note to that list. Searched this run against the full list: «бутиролактон» matched the named row and the exclusion in the note; «GBL» in Latin found no entry; «1,4-бутандіол» matched a precursor in Таблиця IV, Список № 2, a related solvent read and set aside. The penalty statements were written from articles 51, 305, 307, 309, 310 and 316 of Кримінальний кодекс України in the redaction of 18 September 2026, basis 4986-IX, read at https://web.archive.org/web/20261001134802/https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/2341-14/print on 3 October 2026 with the publisher's currency line of 1 October 2026, all read in full in this run before the capital statement was written. A traveller should carry nothing in reliance on this row, and anyone carrying a prescribed medicine should carry the original dispensing pack, the pharmacy label in the patient's name, the prescription and a prescriber's letter naming the active ingredient, strength and dose.

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