Is MDPV legal in Albania?

Legal status

MDPV is a controlled psychotropic substance in Albania. It is printed in List II of the 1971 Convention annexed to Ligji nr. 7975, datë 26.7.1995, «Për lëndët narkotike, psikotrope dhe të kontrolluara», as «PM 021», CAS «687603-66-3», other names «MDPV, 3,4-methylenedioxypyrovalerone», chemical name «(RS)-1-(Benzo[d][1,3]dioxol-5-yl)-2-(pyrrolidin-1-yl)pentan-1-one», on page 37 of the consolidated text, and the scheme places that list in Grupi II. The tables are read as at the consolidation of that law published by the Qendra e Botimeve Zyrtare as «ligj-1995-07-26-7975 -i përditësuar 9», which lists Ligji nr. 17/2026, datë 3.2.2026, as its last amendment, and that does not rule out a later amendment, including a change made by the health ministry under neni 2, pika 7, of Ligji nr. 8750, datë 26.3.2001, which says the tables «modifikohen, integrohen dhe azhurnohen nga ministria përgjegjëse për shëndetësinë».

Consequences if caught

Capital exposure: none. Article 29 of the Criminal Code, Ligji nr. 7895, datë 27.1.1995, lists the principal punishments for crimes as «burgim të përjetshëm», imprisonment and a fine, and names no death sentence, and the note to article 73 records that the words «a me vdekje» were removed by Ligji nr. 8733, datë 24.1.2001. The drug offences in that Code are written for «substancave narkotike dhe psikotrope». Article 283 punishes selling, offering, giving, distributing, trading, transporting, sending, delivering and keeping them, «përveç rastit të përdorimit vetjak dhe në doza të vogla», with five to ten years. Its second paragraph, as rewritten by Ligji nr. 8/2026, datë 28.1.2026, gives seven to fifteen years when the act is done in complicity or more than once, in large quantities, or with substances that cause serious harm to health, and organising, directing or financing gives ten to twenty years. Article 283/a punishes import, export, transit and trade with seven to fifteen years; its aggravated limb and its organising limb then give ten to twenty and fifteen years and above respectively, the second paragraph as rewritten by Ligji nr. 8/2026 and the third reading «jo më pak se pesëmbëdhjetë vjet». Article 32 allows imprisonment for crimes up to «tridhjetë e pesë vjet», so twenty years is not the ceiling on that limb. Article 284/c punishes unlicensed production and manufacture with five to ten years, seven to fifteen years in the aggravated cases and ten to twenty years for organising. Article 284 punishes unlicensed cultivation of plants that serve to produce narcotic and psychotropic substances with three to seven years and five to ten years in the aggravated cases, and its third paragraph reads «Organizmi, drejtimi apo financimi i kësaj veprimtarie, dënohen me burgim nga shtatë gjer në pesëmbëdhjetë vjet». The Albania entry already published on this site gives ten to twenty years for that cultivation limb, and the text quoted shows that figure is wrong. Article 283/b gives three to seven years to a person who administers such substances by duty and creates facilities for taking them. Those are prison bands and not quantities. The classification scheme annexed to Ligji nr. 7975 prints across all three groups «Ndiqet penalisht mbajtja për konsum vetjak», while article 283 excludes keeping for personal use in small doses, and neither text fixes a gram figure for a small dose, so the two are not reconciled by the statute read. Carried forward from the Albania entry already published on this site and not re-derived in this pass: the Supreme Court, in Decision 1 of 27 March 2008, defined small quantity as a single dose for that individual, decided case by case; in practice low level users are still prosecuted under article 283, and five year minimums have been seen even for roughly 0.4 to 1.9 g, which is a quantity seen in reported cases and not a threshold the statute sets; and personal possession may, in practice, be handled administratively under the Code of Misdemeanors article 121, with a fine of about 10,000 to 50,000 ALL, a money figure on a path the published entry marks reported and not controlling. This row is reached by those articles through the printed entry «PM 021», CAS «687603-66-3», other names «MDPV, 3,4-methylenedioxypyrovalerone», chemical name «(RS)-1-(Benzo[d][1,3]dioxol-5-yl)-2-(pyrrolidin-1-yl)pentan-1-one» in List II of the 1971 Convention, so the offence attaches through placement and not through analogy.

If prescribed or medical

Albania states one traveller rule and not a route for each substance. Scheduled medicines stay subject to Ligji për barnat dhe shërbimin farmaceutik and to the licensing and prescription rules of Ligji nr. 7975, datë 26.7.1995, «Për lëndët narkotike, psikotrope dhe të kontrolluara». The classification scheme annexed to that law puts in Grupi I the substances of «Listës IV të Konventës Unike» of 1961 and of «Listës I të Konventës për Lëndët Psikotrope 1971», in Grupi II those of Lists I and II of 1961 and List II of 1971, and in Grupi III those of List III of 1961 and Lists III and IV of 1971. For Grupi II the scheme sets prescriptions of «jo më shumë se 7 ditë» in nëngrupi A and «jo më shumë se 60 ditë» in nëngrupi B, and neni 13 allows production, manufacture, international trade, wholesale and retail sale and use of Grupi II material only to persons «të pajisur me autorizim për këto veprimtari». No Albanian marketing authorisation for this substance was looked for or found in this pass, so no lawful route to carry it is stated.

Documentation

The placement read for this row is «PM 021», CAS «687603-66-3», other names «MDPV, 3,4-methylenedioxypyrovalerone», chemical name «(RS)-1-(Benzo[d][1,3]dioxol-5-yl)-2-(pyrrolidin-1-yl)pentan-1-one» in List II of the 1971 Convention, Grupi II. Carry any controlled medicine in its original dispensing packaging with the prescription and a doctor's letter naming the patient, the active ingredient, the dose and the treatment period, and settle the import question with the Albanian authorities before travelling rather than at the border. Neni 9 of Ligji nr. 7975 prohibits cultivating «të gjitha llojeve dhe varieteteve të bimëve të gjinisë cannabis» for cannabis, resin and oil, and neni 104/1 routes medical and industrial cannabis to Law 61/2023, Ligji nr. 61/2023, whose neni 29 says the products made in the country «janë të destinuara vetëm për eksport». The Albania entry already published on this site cites the cultivation rule to Law 88/2016, article 9; Ligji nr. 88/2016 amended Ligji nr. 8750, and the cultivation prohibition read in this pass is neni 9 of Ligji nr. 7975.

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