Is Memantine legal in Singapore?
Also known as: namenda
- Legal status
- Not a controlled drug under this Act. Memantine is in no Part of the First Schedule. The Fifth Schedule, Part 1 excludes "Any medicinal product" at item 10, "Any health product" at item 6 and "Any poison" at item 11 from the Part 2A psychoactive substance offences, and item 14 excludes "Any substance listed under any Schedule to the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961, as amended by the 1972 Protocol or the Convention on Psychotropic Substances of 1971". Control comes from the Health Products Act 2007, the Medicines Act 1975 and the Poisons Act 1938, administered by the Health Sciences Authority, not from the Misuse of Drugs Act.
- Consequences if caught
- Second Schedule reach: none. The Second Schedule carries 20 rows imposing "Death" and they name exactly eight terms: opium, morphine, diamorphine, cocaine, cannabis, cannabis mixture, cannabis resin and methamphetamine. Memantine is none of those eight and is not a controlled drug, so no capital band in this Act can reach it. Importing a prescription medicine without the required approval is dealt with under the health products legislation, not under the Misuse of Drugs Act's trafficking sections.
- If prescribed or medical
- Do not rely on a foreign prescription without checking with the Health Sciences Authority before travelling.
- Documentation
- VERIFIED against the instrument for the question asked. Instrument: Misuse of Drugs Act 1973 (Singapore). Sections: First Schedule, all three Parts, searched and absent; Fifth Schedule, Part 1, items 6, 10, 11 and 14. URL: https://sso.agc.gov.sg/Act/MDA1973. What is not established here: the precise Poisons Act or Health Products Act schedule placement was not read, because that was not the question. The capital determination does not depend on it.
- Misuse of Drugs Act 1973 (Singapore), First Schedule, Second Schedule, Third Schedule and Fifth Schedule, on Singapore Statutes Online at https://sso.agc.gov.sg/Act/MDA1973, read as at the version the page marks "Current version as at 17 Sep 2026", the most recent amendment shown on its own timeline being S 321/2026 with effect from 1 June 2026
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Court records
We publish verified court records for Singapore, but have not verified one involving Memantine.
Source checked eLitigation (Singapore Courts) · 2026-08-27
Memantine in related jurisdictions
Other substances confirmed in Singapore
Same substance, other countries
Drug laws and enforcement change and vary within a country. This is not legal advice. Always confirm with Singapore’s embassy or official drug authority before traveling; penalties can be severe, including imprisonment.
Before you travel
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