Is Lorazepam legal in Kazakhstan?
- Legal status
- Lorazepam is named in Kazakhstan's controlled list. The first of the three documents Government Resolution No. 470 of 3 July 2019 approves, the Список наркотических средств, психотропных веществ и прекурсоров, подлежащих контролю в Республике Казахстан, carries the entry Лоразепам at item 27 of section В of Таблица III of the Список, the schedule of substances used for medical purposes and held under control. The second document, the Сводная таблица of small, large and particularly large sizes, then carries the row Лоразепам and sets небольшой размер at 0-0,5 grams, крупный размер at 0,5-5,0 grams and особо крупный размер above 5,0 grams. Lorazepam is one of the benzodiazepines that does carry an express небольшой band of 0-0,5 grams, unlike alprazolam and clonazepam, whose first column is blank. Anchoring matters on this name, because an unanchored search on the Russian also returns Делоразепам, which is a different substance at item 14. The copy read carries the amendment of 24 February 2026 made by Government Resolution No. 111, and the Сводная таблица is wholly in that redaction, so every size quoted here is the 24 February 2026 text, not an earlier one. [Certain] on the placement and the figures, both re-derived from the instrument in this pass.
- Consequences if caught
- Capital exposure: none. Kazakhstan has abolished the death penalty. No capital punishment remains available anywhere in its Criminal Code, because the law of 29 December 2021 numbered 89-VII on abolition replaced the words carrying it in Article 11 with life imprisonment, and Article 46 now names life imprisonment as the heaviest penalty the Code holds. The penalty ladder is read off those sizes. Possession without intent to supply sits in Criminal Code Article 296, which is non-custodial at parts 2 and 3, a fine of up to 160 or up to 200 monthly calculation indices or arrest of up to 40 or 50 days, and becomes custodial only at part 4, three to seven years, once the seizure is особо крупный. Consumption in a public place is part 1 of the same article. Supply runs under Article 297 at five to eight years with confiscation for the bare offence and fifteen to twenty years for its heaviest part, and manufacture or processing for supply under Article 297-1, added on 2 January 2025 by law No. 150-VIII, carries life imprisonment at part 4. The row that carries those figures is Лоразепам, and for Lorazepam the custodial rung therefore opens above 5,0 grams. Article 296 also carries a note releasing from liability under that article a person who voluntarily hands the substance over, seeks medical help or actively assists in uncovering a related offence. [Likely] The Criminal Code articles and their year ranges in this cell were read from secondary consolidations rather than from an official publisher in this pass. Two independent consolidations agree on them, and the Code's own article text was not reached: the state portal served only its contents list. The abolition of the death penalty, by contrast, was confirmed against the Code itself and is tagged [Certain] where it appears. [Likely] Carried from the entry published before this batch and not re-derived in this pass: the two middle rungs of that ladder are six to ten years for part 2 and seven to twelve years for part 3.
- If prescribed or medical
- Таблица III of the Список is headed as the schedule of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances used for medical purposes and held under control, which is the lighter of the two medical schedules, so Lorazepam has a domestic prescribing route. The Resolution fixes the schedule and the seizure sizes and says nothing about what a visitor may bring in, so the carriage question is answered by the health ministry's import rules and not by this text. The same Resolution also approves a short Список of veterinary medicines containing controlled substances, and Лоразепам appears on it.
- Documentation
- Provenance. The placement and the grams on this row were read from the consolidated text of Government Resolution of the Republic of Kazakhstan No. 470 of 3 July 2019 approving the Список наркотических средств, психотропных веществ и прекурсоров, подлежащих контролю в Республике Казахстан and the Сводная таблица of small, large and particularly large sizes at https://zakon.uchet.kz/rus/docs/P1900000470, which is the state legal information system's copy, on 2026-09-21. The tables were parsed by column position rather than by reading them as a stream of lines, which matters because a blank небольшой размер cell is a real feature of this table and a line reader silently shifts the remaining figures one column left. The copy read carries the amendment of 24 February 2026 made by Government Resolution No. 111, and the Сводная таблица is wholly in that redaction, so every size quoted here is the 24 February 2026 text. Russian names are quoted as the instrument prints them, except that the list prints the Список entries in capitals and they are given here in ordinary case.
- Kazakhstan, Government Resolution of the Republic of Kazakhstan No. 470 of 3 July 2019 approving the Список наркотических средств, психотропных веществ и прекурсоров, подлежащих контролю в Республике Казахстан and the Сводная таблица of small, large and particularly large sizes, read at https://zakon.uchet.kz/rus/docs/P1900000470 on 2026-09-21
- the copy states с изменениями на 24.02.2026 and the Сводная таблица is в редакции постановления Правительства РК от 24.02.2026 № 111. Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Code No. 226-V of 3 July 2014, articles 296, 297 and 297-1, read at https://prg.kz/Document/?doc_id=31575252
- the death penalty was removed from that Code by the Law of 29 December 2021 No. 89-VII.
Court records
We have not yet assessed whether court records are publicly available for this jurisdiction.
Other substances confirmed in Kazakhstan
Drug laws and enforcement change and vary within a country. This is not legal advice. Always confirm with Kazakhstan’s embassy or official drug authority before traveling; penalties can be severe, including imprisonment.
Before you travel
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If you’re detained or arrested abroad
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