Is Methaqualone (Quaaludes) legal in Kazakhstan?

Legal status

Methaqualone 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 Метаквалон at item 18 of section В of Таблица I of the Список, the schedule whose substances are prohibited from use for medical purposes. The second document, the Сводная таблица of small, large and particularly large sizes, then carries the row Метаквалон (основание и соли) and sets небольшой размер at 0-0,05 grams, крупный размер at 0,05-1,0 grams and особо крупный размер above 1,0 grams. Mecloqualone is listed separately at item 12 with the same three figures, so the pair is covered by name rather than as a class. 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. Criminal Code Article 296 governs handling without intent to supply. Part 2 reaches manufacture, processing, acquisition, storage and transport and carries a fine of up to 160 monthly calculation indices, corrective labour, community work or arrest of up to 40 days. Part 3 raises that to up to 200 indices or arrest of up to 50 days once the quantity is крупный. Part 4 is the first custodial rung and runs to three to seven years once the quantity is особо крупный. Part 1 deals separately with non-medical consumption in a public place. Supply is Article 297, at five to eight years with confiscation, rising through six to ten and seven to twelve to fifteen to twenty years for its aggravated parts, and Article 297-1, inserted by the amending law of 2 January 2025 No. 150-VIII, covers manufacture and processing for supply and reaches life imprisonment at its part 4. The row that carries those figures is Метаквалон (основание и соли), and for Methaqualone the custodial rung therefore opens above 1,0 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.

If prescribed or medical

The Список answers the prescribing question on its own face. The heading of Таблица I is the schedule of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances whose use for medical purposes is prohibited, so Kazakhstan operates no prescribing route for Methaqualone and a prescription written abroad does not create one. A traveller carrying it is in the position Article 296 describes and not in a medical one.

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.

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.