Is Ketamine legal in Egypt?

Legal status

Controlled in Egypt's Table 3, not as a Table 1 narcotic substance. «الجدول رقم (٣) - المواد التي تخضع لبعض قيود الجواهر المخدرة», Table 3, the substances subject to some of the restrictions on narcotic substances, Section 4, «الجدول رقم (٣) - القسم الرابع», whose heading covers the listed substances «وأملاحها ونظائرها وإستراتها وإيثراتها». Item 3 is «كيتامين» «Ketamine», «(RS)-2-(2-Chlorophenyl)-2 -(methylamino)cyclohexanone» (PDF page 28, gazette page 29). Named. Its fluoro analogue «2-Fluorodeschloroketamine» is printed separately at item 19. The earlier citation of the Anti-Narcotics Law No. 182/1960 without a table is superseded, because Decision 44 replaced every table. This is the position under Ministry of Health and Population Decision 44 of 2026, which replaced every table annexed to Law 182/1960, published in Al-Waqa'i' al-Misriya issue 39 (continued, c) on 17 February 2026 and in force from publication, as amended by Decision 242 of 2026, in Al-Waqa'i' al-Misriya issue 179 of 17 August 2026 and in force the next day, replaced item 12 of Table 1 Section 1(b), the phenethylamine group, and added items 57 to 61 to Table 3 Section 3, four alkyl nitrites and «Cannabidiol (CBD)». Decision 44's preamble cites the Supreme Constitutional Court judgment of 16 February 2026 in case 33 of judicial year 47. The Egyptian Drug Authority laws index read on 3 October 2026 lists no amendment to the tables later than Decision 242, which does not rule out one made since.

Consequences if caught

Capital exposure: none under Law 182/1960 for a Table 3 substance. Article 1 of the Anti-Narcotics Law, Law 182/1960, makes Table 1 the narcotic substances and excepts the Table 2 preparations: «تعتبر جواهر مخدرة فى تطبيق أحكام هذا القانون المواد المبينة فى الجدول رقم (١) الملحق به، ويستثنى منها المستحضرات المبينة بالجدول رقم (٢)». Article 33 and Article 34, which carry the death penalty, and Articles 35, 37, 38(1) and 38(2), which carry the aggravated imprisonment terms, are written for narcotic substances, with Articles 33, 37 and 38 also reaching Table 5 plants, and Article 39, which carries imprisonment, is written for narcotic substances too; none of them reaches a Table 3 substance. Article 44, as replaced by Law 122/1989, reads «يعاقب بالحبس مدة لا تقل عن سنة ولا تجاوز خمس سنوات وبغرامة لا تقل عن ألفى جنيه ولا تجاوز خمسة آلاف جنيه» for anyone who produces, extracts, separates, manufactures, imports, exports or possesses with intent to trade any substance in Table 3 outside the cases the law authorises, so one to five years and a fine of 2,000 to 5,000 pounds, with the substance confiscated in every case. Article 45 punishes «أية مخالفة أخرى لأحكام هذا القانون أو القرارات المنفذة له» by imprisonment of at least three months and a fine of up to 2,000 pounds, or either. The articles name no minimum quantity. The earlier note that synthetic cannabinoids were added to Schedule 1 by amendment, 'Voodoo' in 2014 and 'Strox' or AB-FUBINACA by Act 440/2018, is superseded: Decision 44 replaced every table, and «AB-Fubinaca» is now an example in group 3 of Table 1 Section 1(b). The earlier figure of three to ten years for Article 38(1) is not in the article, which as written reads only a term of hard labour, now aggravated imprisonment, three to fifteen years under Penal Code Article 14. Article 36, as an exception to Article 17 of the Penal Code, bars a court applying Articles 33 to 35 and 38 from «النزول عن العقوبة التالية مباشرة» to the prescribed penalty, so mitigation stops at the next lower penalty, and if that next penalty is aggravated imprisonment or imprisonment the term may not be less than six years. The UNODC English rendering, that the next penalty may not be conceded, reads as the opposite and is not followed. Law 95/2003, Article 2, abolished hard labour «أينما وردت», wherever it appears, in the Penal Code or any other law, putting «السجن المؤبد», life imprisonment, in place of life hard labour and «السجن المشدد», aggravated imprisonment, in place of hard labour for a term; Article 3 of the same Law replaced Penal Code Article 14, under which aggravated imprisonment runs from three to fifteen years unless the law provides otherwise. The penalties above are named as they stand after that Law, although Law 122/1989 wrote them as hard labour.

If prescribed or medical

Schedule 1 and Schedule 3(a,b,d) medicines (e.g. amphetamine/Adderall, methylphenidate/Ritalin, methadone) cannot be imported even with a foreign prescription; verify any controlled medicine before travel (see documentation).

Documentation

Schedule 1 and Schedule 3(a,b,d) medicines CANNOT be imported even with a foreign prescription, explicitly banned: amphetamine/dexamphetamine (Adderall), methylphenidate (Ritalin/Concerta) and methadone; tramadol is banned for recreational use and tightly controlled. Codeine, diazepam and some sleep aids may be carried WITH a doctor's letter, original packaging, a 2-3 month maximum supply, and a customs declaration. (Reference: a 2017 traveller received a 3-year sentence for carrying 290 tramadol tablets.)

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