Is Hydrocodone legal in Saudi Arabia?
- Legal status
- Hydrocodone is a controlled narcotic under the Law of Combating Narcotics (Royal Decree M/39, 2005) and is expressly listed among the SFDA-controlled medicines requiring a traveller's permit; drug trafficking is a capital offence (actively enforced), so aggravated hydrocodone trafficking is death-eligible (no published gram threshold — capital by judicial determination).
- Consequences if caught
- Aggravated trafficking of narcotic-table opioids is death-eligible and actively enforced (122 drug executions in 2024); prescribed personal use is not capital, but undocumented import can be treated as trafficking.
- If prescribed or medical
- Dispensed only as an SFDA-controlled narcotic under prescription; there is no ordinary retail supply.
- Documentation
- Traveller trap: an SFDA 'Traveler's Permit for Controlled Drugs' is mandatory (from 1 Nov 2025) and expressly lists hydrocodone; carry it with a doctor's letter and original packaging (about a 1-month max supply).
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.
Before you travel
Verify current rules with the destination country’s official drug authority and your own country’s embassy before traveling. Find the destination’s U.S. embassy & official country guidance →
Non-U.S. travelers: check your own government’s travel advisory and embassy.
If you’re detained or arrested abroad
Contact your own country’s embassy or consulate in the destination immediately — not the destination’s authorities. U.S. citizens: contact the nearest U.S. embassy/consulate and the U.S. State Department at +1-202-501-4444 (from abroad). If a U.S. citizen is arrested or detained abroad →