Is Heroin legal in Netherlands?
Also known as: diacetylmorphine, smack
- Legal status
- Controlled as a hard drug. Heroin is named in lijst I of the Opiumwet, the hard drug list, and the row prints «heroïne, diamorfine | 4,5-epoxy-17-methylmorfinan-3,6-diyl-diacetaat». Lijst I placement decides the regime, because article 2 supplies the prohibitions and article 10 the ceilings.
- Consequences if caught
- Prescription is governed not by bijlage 1 but by bijlage 2 to the Opiumwetbesluit, which names «heroïne, diamorfine» and its preparations and nothing else. Article 2, third and fourth limbs, of that decree allow it to be prescribed only by a doctor working for a behandeleenheid and only for that unit's patients. Use is not itself made an offence by the Opiumwet, which is why the Dutch position is often misread: article 2 and article 3 reach import, export, cultivation, preparation, sale, supply, transport, manufacture and presence, and presence is what a traveller carrying the substance has. Article 1, second limb, equates the salts of a substance with the substance itself. Article 10 carries the penalties for lijst I. Intentionally having the substance present, the limb at article 2 under C, carries imprisonment of up to 6 years. Intentionally cultivating, preparing, processing, selling, delivering, supplying, transporting or manufacturing it, article 2 under B and D, carries up to 8 years. Intentionally bringing it into or out of Netherlands territory, article 2 under A, carries up to 12 years, so the trafficking and import limbs run from 8 to 12 years. Where the presence, or the bringing into or out of the territory, concerns a small quantity intended for own use, article 10, sixth limb, lowers the ceiling to 1 year or a fine of the third category; it does not reach the article 2 under B and D acts. The fine on the serious limbs is the fifth category, which the Criminal Code prints at 67.000 euro with an editorial note recording 110.000 euro from 1 January 2026. They describe the offences that this row's placement brings into play. The Aanwijzing Opiumwet of the Openbaar Ministerie is prosecution policy and not a statute. For lijst I it treats as a small quantity for own use one bolletje, one ampul, one wikkel or one pill or tablet, in any event a quantity of at most 0,5 gram, and for GHB one consumption unit of 5 ml, with no targeted investigation and prosecution only in support of care. A tolerated quantity is not a lawful one.
- If prescribed or medical
- Article 2, first limb, of the Opiumwetbesluit forbids prescribing an Opiumwet substance that the bijlagen to that decree do not name, research under the Wet medisch-wetenschappelijk onderzoek met mensen aside. Bijlage 2 names «heroïne, diamorfine» and its preparations, and article 2, third and fourth limbs, allow it to be prescribed only by a doctor working for a behandeleenheid and only for that unit's patients. Article 16, under f, of that decree lifts the prohibitions on having, supplying and transporting Opiumwet substances for behandeleenheden. Outside heroin assisted treatment in a behandeleenheid there is no lawful prescription route.
- Documentation
- Article 2 under A of the Opiumwet prohibits bringing a lijst I substance into or out of the territory. The Opiumwetbesluit does not mention the article 75 Schengen certificate, and whether one can cover heroin prescribed abroad was not established here, so do not rely on one. The live cell's general guidance for a prescribed Opiumwet medicine, a Schengen certificate issued via the CAK valid 30 days for up to 4 Schengen countries and a legalised English-language medical certificate valid 1 year beyond Schengen, is carried forward from it and not verified here, and it was not established to apply to heroin.
- Opiumwet, artt. 1, 2, 2a, 3, 3a, 3aa, 10, 10b, 10c and 11, and lijsten I, Ia and II
- wetten.overheid.nl
- geldend van 17-09-2026, read 22 September 2026
- Opiumwetbesluit
- wetten.overheid.nl
- geldend van 01-01-2023
- Aanwijzing Opiumwet, prosecution policy of the Openbaar Ministerie
- wetten.overheid.nl
- geldend van 01-03-2015
- Wetboek van Strafrecht art. 23, fine categories
- wetten.overheid.nl
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What sentences have courts imposed for Heroin in Netherlands?
Prosecutions recorded in Netherlands, each checked against the official document cited below it. Individuals are never named, and these are examples of what has happened, not a prediction of what will. How we verify a court case.
Across 5 verified cases, sentences ranged from 8 months to 18 months. 3 cases state no single comparable term. In 3 of these 5 the court ordered no immediate custody: community service, or a term of imprisonment suspended in full. The range above is drawn from the 2 that state a term in days, months or years.
A Rotterdam court found that between 18 and 23 April 2026 the accused sold user quantities of cocaine and heroin from his flat, and that on 23 April he also held 39.38 grams of cannabis and 3,572.44 grams of cannabis tops and waste, together with a 7.65 mm pistol and seven rounds. He admitted selling the hard drugs for about a week before his arrest, and the court found the whole charged period proved. Weighing a mild intellectual disability and a probation report calling for supervision, the court imposed 8 months with 5 suspended on a three year operational period, and declared 630 euro forfeit.
2026sale of cocaine and heroin from home; 3.6 kg cannabis and a pistol heldCitation Charge or suit number 10/122039-26
convicted of selling cocaine and heroin and of possessing cannabis and a firearm; 8 months' imprisonment, 5 months suspended
Substances recorded cocaine, heroin, cannabis
A Gelderland court found that in 2025 the accused took part in a criminal organisation and dealt in and held cocaine, heroin and MDMA. All the counts put to the court were proved. The sentence was four months' imprisonment wholly suspended on a three-year operational period, with special conditions attached to the suspended part, together with 240 hours of community service, so no immediate custody was ordered.
2025criminal-organisation participation, dealing and possessionCitation Charge or suit number 05/036669-25
convicted of criminal-organisation participation, joint dealing and possession; four months' imprisonment wholly suspended, plus 240 hours community service
Substances recorded cocaine, heroin, mdma
A Zeeland-West-Brabant court found that on 15 April 2025 at Hazeldonk-West near Breda the accused took about 1,900 grams of heroin out of the Netherlands. He admitted the offence and no acquittal was argued. The national reference points set 12 to 24 months of immediate imprisonment for exporting 1,500 to 2,000 grams of heroin, and the prosecutor sought 24 months. The court imposed 18 months with 6 suspended, attaching probation supervision, outpatient treatment and debt disclosure as conditions, and declared a phone and a car forfeit.
2025extended export of about 1,900 g heroin at the Hazeldonk-West border postCitation Charge or suit number 02-043439-26
convicted of the extended export of about 1,900 grams of heroin; 18 months' imprisonment, 6 months suspended on a two year operational period
Substances recorded heroin
An Amsterdam court found that on 14 September 2025 at Beverwijk the accused carried 3.59 grams of heroin and three packages of cocaine weighing 61.97 grams in total, together with dealer-style packaging and phones held to prepare for trading in them. The defence argued the stop and search was unlawful, but the court held that a preventive search order was in force and refused to exclude the evidence. He was partly acquitted on the limb alleging that cash found on him was held for preparation, the court holding the money was proceeds rather than preparation. The sentence was 120 hours of community service, wholly met by 65 days already spent in pre-trial detention, and a fine of 875 euro.
2025possession of 61.97 g cocaine and 3.59 g heroin, plus preparation for dealingCitation Charge or suit number 13/243017-25
convicted of possessing cocaine and heroin and of preparing to deal; 120 hours community service, met by pre-trial detention, plus a 875 euro fine
Substances recorded cocaine, heroin
A Rotterdam court found that in 2023 the accused held 13.6 grams of cocaine and 18.8 grams of heroin, quantities the court treated as consistent with dealing rather than personal use. A separate count alleging preparatory acts for a serious Opiumwet offence was not proved and the accused was acquitted of it. The court imposed community service of 80 hours rather than immediate custody, and credited time already spent in pre-trial detention against that total, leaving 72 hours to serve.
2023possession of 13.6 g cocaine and 18.8 g heroin; preparation count acquittedCitation Charge or suit number 10/266324-23
convicted of possessing cocaine and heroin, committed more than once; 80 hours community service, 72 hours remaining after police custody credit
Substances recorded cocaine, heroin
Heroin in related jurisdictions
Other substances confirmed in Netherlands
Same substance, other countries
Drug laws and enforcement change and vary within a country. This is not legal advice. Always confirm with Netherlands’s embassy or official drug authority before traveling; penalties can be severe, including imprisonment.
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