Is Ketamine legal in Indonesia?

Also known as: ket, special k

Legal status

Not a narkotika and not a psikotropika under Indonesia's Undang-Undang Nomor 35 Tahun 2009 tentang Narkotika or Undang-Undang Nomor 5 Tahun 1997 tentang Psikotropika: named in none of the seven current golongan: Narkotika Golongan I, II and III of Permenkes No. 15 Tahun 2025, and Psikotropika Golongan I, II, III and IV of Permenkes No. 14 Tahun 2025. Ketamine is in none of the seven current golongan, and the near misses are what make this worth checking rather than assuming. Psikotropika Golongan I contains DESKLOROKETAMIN at item 1, 2F-DESKLOROKETAMIN at item 2, FLUOREXETAMIN at item 6 and DESKLORO-N-ETIL KETAMIN at item 11, and Narkotika Golongan I contains METOKSETAMINA at item 102. Every one of those is an analogue. A text search for ketamine returns four of them, and the fourth contains the word KETAMIN as the tail of a longer name. The model: each Act carries its own list for the first time only, and every change since is a Ministerial regulation. Pasal 6(1) of Undang-Undang Nomor 35 Tahun 2009 tentang Narkotika divides narcotics into Golongan I, II and III. Pasal 6(2) then provides that 「Penggolongan Narkotika sebagaimana dimaksud pada ayat (1) untuk pertama kali ditetapkan sebagaimana tercantum dalam Lampiran I dan merupakan bagian yang tak terpisahkan dari Undang-Undang ini」, so the Act's own annex governs only the first classification. The empowering article is Pasal 6(3): 「Ketentuan mengenai perubahan penggolongan Narkotika sebagaimana dimaksud pada ayat (2) diatur dengan Peraturan Menteri」. The psychotropics Act is built the same way: Pasal 2(3) of Undang-Undang Nomor 5 Tahun 1997 tentang Psikotropika sets the four golongan 「untuk pertamakali」 in its annex and Pasal 2(4) provides that 「Ketentuan lebih lanjut untuk penetapan dan perubahan jenis-jenis psikotropika sebagaimana dimaksud pada ayat (3) diatur oleh Menteri」. So neither Act's annex is the operative list today. The narcotics list in force is the Lampiran to Peraturan Menteri Kesehatan Nomor 15 Tahun 2025 tentang Perubahan Penggolongan Narkotika, ditetapkan 21 November 2025, diundangkan 28 November 2025, Berita Negara Republik Indonesia Tahun 2025 Nomor 989, which revoked Permenkes Nomor 7 Tahun 2025. The psychotropics list in force is the Lampiran to Peraturan Menteri Kesehatan Nomor 14 Tahun 2025 tentang Penetapan dan Perubahan Penggolongan Psikotropika, Berita Negara Tahun 2025 Nomor 988, which revoked Permenkes Nomor 6 Tahun 2025. The Act itself was last amended by Undang-Undang Nomor 6 Tahun 2023. One part of the scheme is still in the Act and not in any regulation: the Prekursor Narkotika in Lampiran II, Tabel I and Tabel II, which neither Permenkes restates.

Consequences if caught

Capital exposure: none. Neither Act creates an offence for this substance, so neither the narcotics ladder in Pasal 111 to 127 nor the psychotropics offences in Pasal 59 and following can engage on any facts. What governs it instead is named in the status above. So neither Act reaches ketamine and neither the narcotics nor the psychotropics penalties apply to it. It is controlled instead as a prescription medicine, an obat keras, under the medicines regime administered by the national drug agency, where misuse is a regulatory and professional matter rather than a narcotics offence. Indonesia has repeatedly been urged to schedule it and has not. Neither reaches this substance, and not because the penalty is low but because no offence under either Act engages at all. The capital provisions are Pasal 113(2), 114(2) and 116(2) for Golongan I narcotics, Pasal 118(2), 119(2) and 121(2) for Golongan II, and Pasal 59(2) of the psychotropics Act for Golongan I psychotropics. Every one of them operates on a substance in a named Golongan, and this substance is in none of the seven lists: Narkotika Golongan I, II and III, and Psikotropika Golongan I, II, III and IV. Golongan III narcotics carry no death penalty in any event. The precursor tables in Lampiran II of the Act were also read and this substance is in neither of them, so Pasal 129 does not apply either. No quantity and no conduct reaches a capital or life sentence for it under these two Acts. [Certain] Re-derived in this pass: Permenkes 15/2025 and 14/2025 were read and no entry for this substance was located under the names searched. That is an unresolved search and not a finding of absence: the lists print chemical names and a name not searched for is a name not found.

If prescribed or medical

Ketamine is registered in Indonesia and used as a hospital anaesthetic. It is a prescription medicine, supplied to and through medical facilities rather than retail.

Documentation

A patient carrying ketamine would be carrying a hospital anaesthetic, which is unusual outside a medical transfer. Carry the prescription and a doctor's letter.

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