Is Memantine legal in Turkey?

Also known as: namenda

Legal status

Memantine is absent from Turkey's closed narcotics list. The dossier ran a completed list search, «Arama kaydı: “memantine” adı, yaygın eş anlamlıları ve kimyasal adı 2313 sayılı Kanun kapsamındaki kararların tamamında arandı; tam kayıt bulunmadı.», the name, common synonyms and chemical name were searched across all the decisions made under Law No. 2313 and no exact entry was found. That verified absence means the narcotics schedule does not reach it, without implying unrestricted legality under other law. Memantine is an NMDA receptor antagonist prescribed for moderate to severe Alzheimer's dementia, and it shares a receptor target with ketamine and PCP, both of which are scheduled on their own rows in this corpus. A closed list does not schedule by mechanism of action, which is why a shared pharmacology produces opposite answers here, and reasoning from the receptor rather than from the entry would get this row wrong.

Consequences if caught

Capital exposure: none. No controlled drug capital, life or quantity rule attaches, because the substance is absent from the closed narcotics list; separate regulatory law may still apply. Articles 188 and 191 of Penal Code No. 5237 do not engage, so neither the thirty year ceiling in 188(1) nor the two to five year use offence in 191(1) applies to memantine in any quantity. It is not a substance with an illicit market and the realistic legal questions around it are clinical and regulatory rather than criminal. Article 187 of the Penal Code remains the outer boundary of the medicines regime, setting one to five years and a judicial fine for producing or selling a medicine in a way that endangers the life and health of persons.

If prescribed or medical

Memantine is a prescription medicine and the practical issue is continuity of a dementia treatment rather than clearance of a controlled drug. The dossier carried no prescription instrument for this row, so the Turkish dispensing category is for the TİTCK to state and is deferred here. A person travelling with a relative who takes memantine should carry enough for the whole trip and hold the prescriber's contact details, since obtaining a replacement abroad requires a local prescription and a local assessment. Nothing in the narcotics chain restricts the quantity that may be brought for personal treatment.

Documentation

Carry memantine in its original dispensing packaging with the prescription and a prescriber's letter naming the patient, the active ingredient, the dose and the treatment period. Where the patient is travelling with a carer, keeping the medicine and its documentation in the carer's hand luggage avoids the commonest practical failure, which is a checked bag that does not arrive. No narcotics import certificate under articles 4 and 5 of Law No. 2313 is engaged. The verified absence was read in the dossier on 18 September 2026 and article 19 of Law No. 2313 was read from the consolidated statute on 20 September 2026.

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