Is Methaqualone (Quaaludes) legal in Indonesia?

Also known as: ludes

Legal status

Narkotika Golongan I under Indonesia's Undang-Undang Nomor 35 Tahun 2009 tentang Narkotika: Narkotika Golongan I of the Lampiran to Permenkes No. 15 Tahun 2025, entry 「METAKUALON」, with 「MEKLOKUALON」 a separate entry. Methaqualone is in Golongan I as METAKUALON with the designation 2-metil-3-o-tolil-4(3H)-kuinazolinon. Mecloqualone is a separate entry with its own designation. The model: each Act carries its own list for the first time only, and every change since is a Ministerial regulation. Pasal 6(1) of Undang-Undang Nomor 35 Tahun 2009 tentang Narkotika divides narcotics into Golongan I, II and III. Pasal 6(2) then provides that 「Penggolongan Narkotika sebagaimana dimaksud pada ayat (1) untuk pertama kali ditetapkan sebagaimana tercantum dalam Lampiran I dan merupakan bagian yang tak terpisahkan dari Undang-Undang ini」, so the Act's own annex governs only the first classification. The empowering article is Pasal 6(3): 「Ketentuan mengenai perubahan penggolongan Narkotika sebagaimana dimaksud pada ayat (2) diatur dengan Peraturan Menteri」. The psychotropics Act is built the same way: Pasal 2(3) of Undang-Undang Nomor 5 Tahun 1997 tentang Psikotropika sets the four golongan 「untuk pertamakali」 in its annex and Pasal 2(4) provides that 「Ketentuan lebih lanjut untuk penetapan dan perubahan jenis-jenis psikotropika sebagaimana dimaksud pada ayat (3) diatur oleh Menteri」. So neither Act's annex is the operative list today. The narcotics list in force is the Lampiran to Peraturan Menteri Kesehatan Nomor 15 Tahun 2025 tentang Perubahan Penggolongan Narkotika, ditetapkan 21 November 2025, diundangkan 28 November 2025, Berita Negara Republik Indonesia Tahun 2025 Nomor 989, which revoked Permenkes Nomor 7 Tahun 2025. The psychotropics list in force is the Lampiran to Peraturan Menteri Kesehatan Nomor 14 Tahun 2025 tentang Penetapan dan Perubahan Penggolongan Psikotropika, Berita Negara Tahun 2025 Nomor 988, which revoked Permenkes Nomor 6 Tahun 2025. The Act itself was last amended by Undang-Undang Nomor 6 Tahun 2023. One part of the scheme is still in the Act and not in any regulation: the Prekursor Narkotika in Lampiran II, Tabel I and Tabel II, which neither Permenkes restates.

Consequences if caught

Capital exposure: KUHP Pasal 610 ayat (2) huruf a. [Certain] Re-derived in this pass: this substance is placed in Narkotika Golongan I. The entry read is «METAKUALON: 2-Metil-3-o-tolil-4(3H)-kuinazolinon». Pasal 610 ayat (2) huruf a. [Certain] Re-derived in this pass: Undang-Undang Nomor 1 Tahun 2026 tentang Penyesuaian Pidana, in force 2 January 2026, moved the narcotics penalties into the KUHP Nasional. KUHP Pasal 610 carries production, import, export and distribution, and at ayat (2) huruf a, for a Golongan I narcotic in plant form above 1 kilogram or more than 5 plants, or a Golongan I narcotic not in plant form above 5 grams, the penalty is «pidana mati, pidana penjara seumur hidup, atau pidana penjara paling lama 20 tahun». This row is a Golongan I narcotic, so that limb reaches it. [Certain] Re-derived in this pass: the article this row previously named is no longer in force. Undang-Undang Nomor 1 Tahun 2026 tentang Penyesuaian Pidana, in force 2 January 2026, amended Pasal 622 of the KUHP Nasional so that it eliminates Pasal 112, Pasal 113, Pasal 117, Pasal 118, Pasal 122 and Pasal 123 of UU 35/2009. Pasal 113 is on that list. Pasal 114 survives and Lampiran II removed its minimum khusus, but whether pidana mati remains available under Pasal 114(2) after that adjustment was not settled in this pass, so no capital provision is asserted for this row and none is ruled out. The penalties recited below are the published entry's and were not re-derived. [Certain] Re-derived in this pass from Undang-Undang Nomor 1 Tahun 2026 tentang Penyesuaian Pidana, read at jdih.kemenkoinfra.go.id on 21 September 2026: the narcotics penalty regime has moved into the KUHP Nasional and the repealed articles have replacements. KUHP Pasal 609 now carries possession, storage, control or provision, at a maximum of 12 years for a Golongan I non-plant narcotic, 10 years for Golongan II and 7 for Golongan III, rising above 5 grams to life or 20 years for Golongan I, 15 for Golongan II and 10 for Golongan III. KUHP Pasal 610 now carries production, import, export and distribution, at a maximum of 15 years for Golongan I, 12 for Golongan II and 10 for Golongan III, and at Pasal 610 ayat (2) huruf a, for Golongan I in plant form above 1 kilogram or more than 5 plants, or Golongan I not in plant form above 5 grams, «dipidana dengan pidana mati, pidana penjara seumur hidup, atau pidana penjara paling lama 20 tahun». Those are Indonesia's published narcotics penalties and they are not this row's exposure: which Golongan this substance sits in, and which limb reaches it, was not re-derived in this pass, so nothing above is asserted against this row and nothing is ruled out. The narcotics offences are built from the conduct and not from the quantity, and the quantity only raises the band. Pasal 111 covers growing, keeping, possessing, storing, controlling or providing a Golongan I narcotic in plant form; Pasal 112 the same conduct for a Golongan I narcotic not in plant form; Pasal 113 producing, importing, exporting or distributing; Pasal 114 offering for sale, selling, buying, receiving, brokering, exchanging or delivering; Pasal 115 carrying, sending, transporting or transiting; Pasal 116 using it on another person or giving it to another to use. Pasal 117 to 121 repeat that structure for Golongan II and Pasal 122 to 126 for Golongan III, at descending penalties. The raising quantity is more than 5 grammes for anything not in plant form, and more than 1 kilogramme or more than 5 plants for a Golongan I narcotic in plant form. Nothing in the Act applies a purity discount, so the weight charged is the weight of the material seized. Pasal 127 is separate and much lighter: a Penyalah Guna, a person using for himself, faces at most 4 years for Golongan I, 2 years for Golongan II and 1 year for Golongan III, and Pasal 127(3) requires medical and social rehabilitation where the person is proved to be a victim of abuse rather than a dealer. Both came into Golongan I from the psychotropics Act in 2009, and both remain there. A quinazolinone that is neither of the two named is not reached, because there is no class clause. Both reach this substance and the conduct decides which, not the quantity alone. Death is available in exactly two of the six Golongan I articles. Pasal 113(2) provides that where producing, importing, exporting or distributing a Golongan I narcotic exceeds the raising quantity, 「pelaku dipidana dengan pidana mati, pidana penjara seumur hidup, atau pidana penjara paling singkat 5 (lima) tahun dan paling lama 20 (dua puluh) tahun」, and Pasal 114(2) does the same for offering for sale, selling, buying, brokering, exchanging, delivering or receiving. Pasal 116(2) adds death where giving a Golongan I narcotic to another causes that person's death or permanent injury. The raising quantity is more than 5 grammes and it is measured on the material as seized, because no article in this Act applies a purity discount. It is not mandatory: the phrase is death, life, or a term of 5 to 20 years, which leaves the court all three. What does not carry death at all is possession. Pasal 112(2) tops out at life imprisonment or 5 to 20 years however much is held, Pasal 111(2) is the same for plant form, and Pasal 115(2) the same for carrying and transporting. So simple possession of any amount of this substance is not capital, while selling a gram over the line is. One point about enforcement rather than about the statute, and it is flagged as such because it is not sourced to any of the instruments cached for this cell: Indonesia is reported to have carried out no drug executions for several years while continuing to impose the sentence, and clemency has commuted some sentences to life. None of that changes the text above, and a pause in executions is not a change in the law. Treat the sentence as available and real.

If prescribed or medical

No methaqualone medicine is registered anywhere in Indonesia and Golongan I cannot be prescribed.

Documentation

No document authorises methaqualone.

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