Is GHB legal in Kazakhstan?

Legal status

GHB is named in Kazakhstan's controlled list. The first of the three documents Government Resolution No. 470 of 3 July 2019 approves, the Список наркотических средств, психотропных веществ и прекурсоров, подлежащих контролю в Республике Казахстан, carries the entry Гамма-оксимасляная кислота (ГОМК) at item 16 of section В of Таблица II of the Список, the schedule of substances used for medical purposes and held under strict control. The second document, the Сводная таблица of small, large and particularly large sizes, then carries the row ГОМК - гамма - оксимасляная кислота and sets небольшой размер at 0-0,6 grams, крупный размер at 0,6-30,0 grams and особо крупный размер above 30,0 grams. The two documents print the name in opposite orders, the Список leading with the full Russian name and the Сводная таблица leading with the abbreviation, so both spellings had to be checked to match the rows. The precursor route matters here too: gamma-butyrolactone and 1,4-butanediol are both in the precursor schedule, so the lactone and the diol are reached even where the acid is not. The copy read carries the amendment of 24 February 2026 made by Government Resolution No. 111, and the Сводная таблица is wholly in that redaction, so every size quoted here is the 24 February 2026 text, not an earlier one. [Certain] on the placement and the figures, both re-derived from the instrument in this pass.

Consequences if caught

Capital exposure: none. Kazakhstan has abolished the death penalty. No capital punishment remains available anywhere in its Criminal Code, because the law of 29 December 2021 numbered 89-VII on abolition replaced the words carrying it in Article 11 with life imprisonment, and Article 46 now names life imprisonment as the heaviest penalty the Code holds. Those sizes decide the charge. Under Criminal Code Article 296 a quantity below крупный draws a fine of up to 160 monthly calculation indices or arrest of up to 40 days, a крупный quantity up to 200 indices or 50 days, and only an особо крупный quantity carries prison, three to seven years under part 4. Article 296 part 1 is the separate offence of non-medical consumption in a public place. Anything done with intent to supply moves to Article 297, five to eight years with confiscation at part 1 and fifteen to twenty years at part 4, while Article 297-1, which the law of 2 January 2025 No. 150-VIII inserted, punishes manufacture and processing for supply and reaches life imprisonment. The row that carries those figures is ГОМК - гамма - оксимасляная кислота, and for GHB the custodial rung therefore opens above 30,0 grams. Article 296 also carries a note releasing from liability under that article a person who voluntarily hands the substance over, seeks medical help or actively assists in uncovering a related offence. [Likely] The Criminal Code articles and their year ranges in this cell were read from secondary consolidations rather than from an official publisher in this pass. Two independent consolidations agree on them, and the Code's own article text was not reached: the state portal served only its contents list. The abolition of the death penalty, by contrast, was confirmed against the Code itself and is tagged [Certain] where it appears. [Likely] Carried from the entry published before this batch and not re-derived in this pass: the two middle rungs of that ladder are six to ten years for part 2 and seven to twelve years for part 3.

If prescribed or medical

Таблица II of the Список is headed as the schedule of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances used for medical purposes and held under strict control, so GHB does have a domestic medical route and it is the tightest one the Список operates. That is a statement about the schedule and not about what any individual pharmacy will dispense to a visitor, and the Resolution does not set import rules for a traveller's own supply.

Documentation

Provenance. The placement and the grams on this row were read from the consolidated text of Government Resolution of the Republic of Kazakhstan No. 470 of 3 July 2019 approving the Список наркотических средств, психотропных веществ и прекурсоров, подлежащих контролю в Республике Казахстан and the Сводная таблица of small, large and particularly large sizes at https://zakon.uchet.kz/rus/docs/P1900000470, which is the state legal information system's copy, on 2026-09-21. The tables were parsed by column position rather than by reading them as a stream of lines, which matters because a blank небольшой размер cell is a real feature of this table and a line reader silently shifts the remaining figures one column left. The copy read carries the amendment of 24 February 2026 made by Government Resolution No. 111, and the Сводная таблица is wholly in that redaction, so every size quoted here is the 24 February 2026 text. Russian names are quoted as the instrument prints them, except that the list prints the Список entries in capitals and they are given here in ordinary case.

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