Is Kratom legal in Saudi Arabia?

Legal status

Kratom is expressly named in Saudi Arabia rather than inferred. The plant is listed in Schedule IV of the schedules attached to the Law of Combating Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances, Royal Decree M/39 of 1426 AH, in the version issued on 4 September 2026, printed as «نبات القرطوم (Kratom)», and its alkaloid mitragynine, together with 7-hydroxymitragynine, sits at Schedule II Category E under «فئة (هـ):... المؤثرات العقلية الخاضعة للرقابة محلياً بالمملكة», Category E, psychotropic substances locally controlled in the Kingdom. So leaf, powder, extract and isolated alkaloid are all reached, by entries at two different places in the schedules. Mitragyna speciosa is unscheduled or contested in a number of countries and is widely sold as a supplement; none of that transfers, and the Kingdom's position is set out in its own tables. M/39 Article 17 governs the prohibited plants and Articles 70 to 71 keep the attached schedules current.

Consequences if caught

A Schedule IV prohibited plant with a Schedule II Category E alkaloid is inside Article 37(I), and that article states no quantity at all. There is no weight threshold in it: the conduct named is smuggling, receipt from a smuggler, and import, export, manufacture, production, extraction or cultivation with intent to promote, together with the repeat promotion histories the article sets out, and cultivation and extraction are both named limbs. Death under Article 37(I) is a statutory ta'zir penalty and it is not mandatory, because Article 37(II) gives the court the power to reduce it; where the court does reduce, the substitute is a prison term of not less than fifteen years with the lashes and the fine the article states. No express life imprisonment wording was found anywhere in M/39. Articles 38 to 41 are cited as the tiers below Article 37. A tub of powder ordered online and shipped in is an import within the article's own words.

If prescribed or medical

The Saudi traveller rule is a permit rule rather than a prescription rule. A controlled medicine may be brought in only under a clearance obtained from the SFDA before travel through its Controlled Drugs System, and that advance electronic clearance is required rather than optional. Kratom sits inside the narcotics law as a Schedule IV prohibited plant with its alkaloid at Schedule II Category E, and no Saudi dispensing route and no medicinal kratom product was recorded, so nothing here should be read as saying a clearance would issue for it. A supplement label, a herbal designation or a food supplement registration in another country carries no Saudi permission with it.

Documentation

There is nothing to carry for this material, because no lawful import route was established for it. That covers leaf, capsules, powder, extracts and drinks alike, and a customs declaration does not convert a prohibited plant into a permitted one. For any controlled medicine, apply through the SFDA Controlled Drugs System before travelling, carry the clearance and not the prescription alone, bring the medicine in its original dispensing packaging with the prescription and a medical report translated into Arabic and dated less than six months before travel, and declare it at customs; advance electronic clearance has been required since 1 November 2025. The permit mechanics stated here are the SFDA traveller rules recorded on the current live cell and were not re-derived from the instrument in this pass. The Schedule IV listing and the Schedule II Category E alkaloid entry were read in the 4 September 2026 schedules on 17 September 2026.

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.