Legal status in Mexico

Per-substance legal status for Mexico, from sourced statutes where available. Legal information, not legal advice — drug laws change; confirm with the destination’s embassy or drug authority before you travel.

Last updated: 2026-07-14

1P-LSD

Legal status: Not confirmed — verify with Mexico's COFEPRIS / your embassy
Consequences if caught: This specific substance was not named with a personal-use threshold by the reachable Mexican sources (Ley General de Salud Arts 477–479 / COFEPRIS) — verify before travel. Possession above the threshold is treated as trafficking-related: simple possession carries up to 7.5 years plus a fine (Art 195 bis, Federal Penal Code), and sale/distribution carries harsher penalties. Possession within 300 m of schools, police or correctional facilities is excluded from leniency.
If prescribed / medical: Carry a doctor's letter/prescription; check COFEPRIS for controlled medicines (some OTC medicines legal abroad — e.g. codeine, pseudoephedrine — are prohibited in Mexico).
Documentation: Carry a doctor's letter/prescription; check COFEPRIS guidance for controlled substances. Note some OTC medicines legal abroad are prohibited in Mexico (e.g. codeine, pseudoephedrine — Actifed/Sudafed/Vicks inhalers). Keep medicines in original packaging.

Source · Updated 2026-07-14

2-FDCK

Legal status: Not confirmed — verify with Mexico's COFEPRIS / your embassy
Consequences if caught: This specific substance was not named with a personal-use threshold by the reachable Mexican sources (Ley General de Salud Arts 477–479 / COFEPRIS) — verify before travel. Possession above the threshold is treated as trafficking-related: simple possession carries up to 7.5 years plus a fine (Art 195 bis, Federal Penal Code), and sale/distribution carries harsher penalties. Possession within 300 m of schools, police or correctional facilities is excluded from leniency.
If prescribed / medical: Carry a doctor's letter/prescription; check COFEPRIS for controlled medicines (some OTC medicines legal abroad — e.g. codeine, pseudoephedrine — are prohibited in Mexico).
Documentation: Carry a doctor's letter/prescription; check COFEPRIS guidance for controlled substances. Note some OTC medicines legal abroad are prohibited in Mexico (e.g. codeine, pseudoephedrine — Actifed/Sudafed/Vicks inhalers). Keep medicines in original packaging.

Source · Updated 2026-07-14

25I-NBOMe

Legal status: Not confirmed — verify with Mexico's COFEPRIS / your embassy
Consequences if caught: This specific substance was not named with a personal-use threshold by the reachable Mexican sources (Ley General de Salud Arts 477–479 / COFEPRIS) — verify before travel. Possession above the threshold is treated as trafficking-related: simple possession carries up to 7.5 years plus a fine (Art 195 bis, Federal Penal Code), and sale/distribution carries harsher penalties. Possession within 300 m of schools, police or correctional facilities is excluded from leniency.
If prescribed / medical: Carry a doctor's letter/prescription; check COFEPRIS for controlled medicines (some OTC medicines legal abroad — e.g. codeine, pseudoephedrine — are prohibited in Mexico).
Documentation: Carry a doctor's letter/prescription; check COFEPRIS guidance for controlled substances. Note some OTC medicines legal abroad are prohibited in Mexico (e.g. codeine, pseudoephedrine — Actifed/Sudafed/Vicks inhalers). Keep medicines in original packaging.

Source · Updated 2026-06-25

2C-B

Legal status: Not confirmed — verify with Mexico's COFEPRIS / your embassy
Consequences if caught: This specific substance was not named with a personal-use threshold by the reachable Mexican sources (Ley General de Salud Arts 477–479 / COFEPRIS) — verify before travel. Possession above the threshold is treated as trafficking-related: simple possession carries up to 7.5 years plus a fine (Art 195 bis, Federal Penal Code), and sale/distribution carries harsher penalties. Possession within 300 m of schools, police or correctional facilities is excluded from leniency.
If prescribed / medical: Carry a doctor's letter/prescription; check COFEPRIS for controlled medicines (some OTC medicines legal abroad — e.g. codeine, pseudoephedrine — are prohibited in Mexico).
Documentation: Carry a doctor's letter/prescription; check COFEPRIS guidance for controlled substances. Note some OTC medicines legal abroad are prohibited in Mexico (e.g. codeine, pseudoephedrine — Actifed/Sudafed/Vicks inhalers). Keep medicines in original packaging.

Source · Updated 2026-06-25

2C-E

Legal status: Not confirmed — verify with Mexico's COFEPRIS / your embassy
Consequences if caught: This specific substance was not named with a personal-use threshold by the reachable Mexican sources (Ley General de Salud Arts 477–479 / COFEPRIS) — verify before travel. Possession above the threshold is treated as trafficking-related: simple possession carries up to 7.5 years plus a fine (Art 195 bis, Federal Penal Code), and sale/distribution carries harsher penalties. Possession within 300 m of schools, police or correctional facilities is excluded from leniency.
If prescribed / medical: Carry a doctor's letter/prescription; check COFEPRIS for controlled medicines (some OTC medicines legal abroad — e.g. codeine, pseudoephedrine — are prohibited in Mexico).
Documentation: Carry a doctor's letter/prescription; check COFEPRIS guidance for controlled substances. Note some OTC medicines legal abroad are prohibited in Mexico (e.g. codeine, pseudoephedrine — Actifed/Sudafed/Vicks inhalers). Keep medicines in original packaging.

Source · Updated 2026-07-14

2C-I

Legal status: Not confirmed — verify with Mexico's COFEPRIS / your embassy
Consequences if caught: This specific substance was not named with a personal-use threshold by the reachable Mexican sources (Ley General de Salud Arts 477–479 / COFEPRIS) — verify before travel. Possession above the threshold is treated as trafficking-related: simple possession carries up to 7.5 years plus a fine (Art 195 bis, Federal Penal Code), and sale/distribution carries harsher penalties. Possession within 300 m of schools, police or correctional facilities is excluded from leniency.
If prescribed / medical: Carry a doctor's letter/prescription; check COFEPRIS for controlled medicines (some OTC medicines legal abroad — e.g. codeine, pseudoephedrine — are prohibited in Mexico).
Documentation: Carry a doctor's letter/prescription; check COFEPRIS guidance for controlled substances. Note some OTC medicines legal abroad are prohibited in Mexico (e.g. codeine, pseudoephedrine — Actifed/Sudafed/Vicks inhalers). Keep medicines in original packaging.

Source · Updated 2026-06-25

2C-T-7

Legal status: Not confirmed — verify with Mexico's COFEPRIS / your embassy
Consequences if caught: This specific substance was not named with a personal-use threshold by the reachable Mexican sources (Ley General de Salud Arts 477–479 / COFEPRIS) — verify before travel. Possession above the threshold is treated as trafficking-related: simple possession carries up to 7.5 years plus a fine (Art 195 bis, Federal Penal Code), and sale/distribution carries harsher penalties. Possession within 300 m of schools, police or correctional facilities is excluded from leniency.
If prescribed / medical: Carry a doctor's letter/prescription; check COFEPRIS for controlled medicines (some OTC medicines legal abroad — e.g. codeine, pseudoephedrine — are prohibited in Mexico).
Documentation: Carry a doctor's letter/prescription; check COFEPRIS guidance for controlled substances. Note some OTC medicines legal abroad are prohibited in Mexico (e.g. codeine, pseudoephedrine — Actifed/Sudafed/Vicks inhalers). Keep medicines in original packaging.

Source · Updated 2026-06-25

3-MMC

Legal status: 3-MMC (3-methylmethcathinone) is controlled: cathinones are Grupo I substances under Art. 245 of the Ley General de Salud (substances of little or no therapeutic value and high abuse potential), and 3-MMC is caught by the cathinone class.
Consequences if caught: Grupo I psychotropic offences: trafficking is a criminal offence carrying imprisonment. Non-death-penalty jurisdiction.
If prescribed / medical: Grupo I: no recognised medical use and no lawful prescription route.
Documentation: No lawful personal-import route for a Grupo I psychotropic.

Source · Updated 2026-07-14

4-AcO-DMT

Legal status: Not confirmed — verify with Mexico's COFEPRIS / your embassy
Consequences if caught: This specific substance was not named with a personal-use threshold by the reachable Mexican sources (Ley General de Salud Arts 477–479 / COFEPRIS) — verify before travel. Possession above the threshold is treated as trafficking-related: simple possession carries up to 7.5 years plus a fine (Art 195 bis, Federal Penal Code), and sale/distribution carries harsher penalties. Possession within 300 m of schools, police or correctional facilities is excluded from leniency.
If prescribed / medical: Carry a doctor's letter/prescription; check COFEPRIS for controlled medicines (some OTC medicines legal abroad — e.g. codeine, pseudoephedrine — are prohibited in Mexico).
Documentation: Carry a doctor's letter/prescription; check COFEPRIS guidance for controlled substances. Note some OTC medicines legal abroad are prohibited in Mexico (e.g. codeine, pseudoephedrine — Actifed/Sudafed/Vicks inhalers). Keep medicines in original packaging.

Source · Updated 2026-07-14

4-HO-MET

Legal status: Not confirmed — verify with Mexico's COFEPRIS / your embassy
Consequences if caught: This specific substance was not named with a personal-use threshold by the reachable Mexican sources (Ley General de Salud Arts 477–479 / COFEPRIS) — verify before travel. Possession above the threshold is treated as trafficking-related: simple possession carries up to 7.5 years plus a fine (Art 195 bis, Federal Penal Code), and sale/distribution carries harsher penalties. Possession within 300 m of schools, police or correctional facilities is excluded from leniency.
If prescribed / medical: Carry a doctor's letter/prescription; check COFEPRIS for controlled medicines (some OTC medicines legal abroad — e.g. codeine, pseudoephedrine — are prohibited in Mexico).
Documentation: Carry a doctor's letter/prescription; check COFEPRIS guidance for controlled substances. Note some OTC medicines legal abroad are prohibited in Mexico (e.g. codeine, pseudoephedrine — Actifed/Sudafed/Vicks inhalers). Keep medicines in original packaging.

Source · Updated 2026-07-14

5-MeO-DMT (Bufo / Toad)

Legal status: Not confirmed — verify with Mexico's COFEPRIS / your embassy
Consequences if caught: This specific substance was not named with a personal-use threshold by the reachable Mexican sources (Ley General de Salud Arts 477–479 / COFEPRIS) — verify before travel. Possession above the threshold is treated as trafficking-related: simple possession carries up to 7.5 years plus a fine (Art 195 bis, Federal Penal Code), and sale/distribution carries harsher penalties. Possession within 300 m of schools, police or correctional facilities is excluded from leniency.
If prescribed / medical: Carry a doctor's letter/prescription; check COFEPRIS for controlled medicines (some OTC medicines legal abroad — e.g. codeine, pseudoephedrine — are prohibited in Mexico).
Documentation: Carry a doctor's letter/prescription; check COFEPRIS guidance for controlled substances. Note some OTC medicines legal abroad are prohibited in Mexico (e.g. codeine, pseudoephedrine — Actifed/Sudafed/Vicks inhalers). Keep medicines in original packaging.

Source · Updated 2026-07-14

6-APB

Legal status: Not confirmed — verify with Mexico's COFEPRIS / your embassy
Consequences if caught: This specific substance was not named with a personal-use threshold by the reachable Mexican sources (Ley General de Salud Arts 477–479 / COFEPRIS) — verify before travel. Possession above the threshold is treated as trafficking-related: simple possession carries up to 7.5 years plus a fine (Art 195 bis, Federal Penal Code), and sale/distribution carries harsher penalties. Possession within 300 m of schools, police or correctional facilities is excluded from leniency.
If prescribed / medical: Carry a doctor's letter/prescription; check COFEPRIS for controlled medicines (some OTC medicines legal abroad — e.g. codeine, pseudoephedrine — are prohibited in Mexico).
Documentation: Carry a doctor's letter/prescription; check COFEPRIS guidance for controlled substances. Note some OTC medicines legal abroad are prohibited in Mexico (e.g. codeine, pseudoephedrine — Actifed/Sudafed/Vicks inhalers). Keep medicines in original packaging.

Source · Updated 2026-07-14

7-Hydroxymitragynine (7-OH)

Legal status: Neither 7-hydroxymitragynine nor kratom is listed under the General Health Law: 7-OH, a kratom alkaloid, is not separately scheduled, so it shares the plant's un-controlled status; possession and use appear legal with no official COFEPRIS listing located.
Consequences if caught: No controlled-substance penalty attaches to the alkaloid under current listings; kratom is not scheduled.
If prescribed / medical: No COFEPRIS-listed kratom or alkaloid medicine exists; there is no controlled prescription tier for it.
Documentation: No narcotics import controls apply; kratom and its alkaloids are unscheduled.

Source · Updated 2026-07-13

Adderall

Legal status: Adderall (mixed amphetamine salts) has no separate legal identity — it is regulated AS amphetamine: psychotropic, Grupo II (fracción II) of Art. 245 of the Ley General de Salud; requires a special-control prescription.
Consequences if caught: Possession without prescription or supply is criminal under the narcomenudeo regime + Código Penal Federal (multi-year for trafficking/supply).
If prescribed / medical: Carry a valid prescription (Spanish) / doctor's letter and original packaging; mailing needs a COFEPRIS permit.
Documentation: Carry a doctor's letter/prescription; check COFEPRIS guidance for controlled substances. Note some OTC medicines legal abroad are prohibited in Mexico (e.g. codeine, pseudoephedrine — Actifed/Sudafed/Vicks inhalers). Keep medicines in original packaging.

Source · Updated 2026-07-13

Alcohol

Legal status: Legal — alcohol (ethanol) is a licensed, age-regulated beverage, not a controlled drug; minimum purchase age 18.
Consequences if caught: No penalty for adult consumption; open-container and public-intoxication rules vary by municipality, and sale to minors is penalised.
If prescribed / medical: n/a — a beverage, not a medicine.
Documentation: Widely sold in shops and supermarkets on proof of age (18+); no traveller permit.

Source · Updated 2026-07-14

Amanita muscaria

Legal status: Not confirmed — verify with Mexico's COFEPRIS / your embassy
Consequences if caught: This specific substance was not named with a personal-use threshold by the reachable Mexican sources (Ley General de Salud Arts 477–479 / COFEPRIS) — verify before travel. Possession above the threshold is treated as trafficking-related: simple possession carries up to 7.5 years plus a fine (Art 195 bis, Federal Penal Code), and sale/distribution carries harsher penalties. Possession within 300 m of schools, police or correctional facilities is excluded from leniency.
If prescribed / medical: Carry a doctor's letter/prescription; check COFEPRIS for controlled medicines (some OTC medicines legal abroad — e.g. codeine, pseudoephedrine — are prohibited in Mexico).
Documentation: Carry a doctor's letter/prescription; check COFEPRIS guidance for controlled substances. Note some OTC medicines legal abroad are prohibited in Mexico (e.g. codeine, pseudoephedrine — Actifed/Sudafed/Vicks inhalers). Keep medicines in original packaging.

Source · Updated 2026-07-14

Amphetamine

Legal status: Psychotropic, Grupo II (fracción II) of Art. 245 of the Ley General de Salud; requires a special-control prescription.
Consequences if caught: Possession without prescription or supply is criminal under the narcomenudeo regime + Código Penal Federal (multi-year for trafficking/supply).
If prescribed / medical: Carry a valid prescription (Spanish) / doctor's letter and original packaging; mailing needs a COFEPRIS permit.
Documentation: Carry a doctor's letter/prescription; check COFEPRIS guidance for controlled substances. Note some OTC medicines legal abroad are prohibited in Mexico (e.g. codeine, pseudoephedrine — Actifed/Sudafed/Vicks inhalers). Keep medicines in original packaging.

Source · Updated 2026-07-13

Amyl Nitrite

Legal status: Not confirmed — verify with Mexico's COFEPRIS / your embassy
Consequences if caught: This specific substance was not named with a personal-use threshold by the reachable Mexican sources (Ley General de Salud Arts 477–479 / COFEPRIS) — verify before travel. Possession above the threshold is treated as trafficking-related: simple possession carries up to 7.5 years plus a fine (Art 195 bis, Federal Penal Code), and sale/distribution carries harsher penalties. Possession within 300 m of schools, police or correctional facilities is excluded from leniency.
If prescribed / medical: Carry a doctor's letter/prescription; check COFEPRIS for controlled medicines (some OTC medicines legal abroad — e.g. codeine, pseudoephedrine — are prohibited in Mexico).
Documentation: Carry a doctor's letter/prescription; check COFEPRIS guidance for controlled substances. Note some OTC medicines legal abroad are prohibited in Mexico (e.g. codeine, pseudoephedrine — Actifed/Sudafed/Vicks inhalers). Keep medicines in original packaging.

Source · Updated 2026-07-14

Ayahuasca

Legal status: Not confirmed — verify with Mexico's COFEPRIS / your embassy
Consequences if caught: This specific substance was not named with a personal-use threshold by the reachable Mexican sources (Ley General de Salud Arts 477–479 / COFEPRIS) — verify before travel. Possession above the threshold is treated as trafficking-related: simple possession carries up to 7.5 years plus a fine (Art 195 bis, Federal Penal Code), and sale/distribution carries harsher penalties. Possession within 300 m of schools, police or correctional facilities is excluded from leniency.
If prescribed / medical: Carry a doctor's letter/prescription; check COFEPRIS for controlled medicines (some OTC medicines legal abroad — e.g. codeine, pseudoephedrine — are prohibited in Mexico).
Documentation: Carry a doctor's letter/prescription; check COFEPRIS guidance for controlled substances. Note some OTC medicines legal abroad are prohibited in Mexico (e.g. codeine, pseudoephedrine — Actifed/Sudafed/Vicks inhalers). Keep medicines in original packaging.

Source · Updated 2026-07-14

Barbiturates

Legal status: Barbiturates are psychotropics under Article 245 of the General Health Law (Ley General de Salud) — classed by compound (secobarbital/amobarbital/pentobarbital in the higher fracción, phenobarbital lower) — with Article 251 retaining a prescription requirement.
Consequences if caught: Sale, supply or possession without a prescription is punishable; personal use with a valid prescription is lawful.
If prescribed / medical: Phenobarbital is prescribed as an antiepileptic (a WHO Essential Medicine); the sedative-hypnotic barbiturates are tightly controlled and rarely used.
Documentation: Personal use is allowed with a valid prescription or medical letter; no COFEPRIS permit is needed for reasonable quantities.

Source · Updated 2026-07-14

Benzodiazepines

Legal status: Not confirmed — verify with Mexico's COFEPRIS / your embassy
Consequences if caught: This specific substance was not named with a personal-use threshold by the reachable Mexican sources (Ley General de Salud Arts 477–479 / COFEPRIS) — verify before travel. Possession above the threshold is treated as trafficking-related: simple possession carries up to 7.5 years plus a fine (Art 195 bis, Federal Penal Code), and sale/distribution carries harsher penalties. Possession within 300 m of schools, police or correctional facilities is excluded from leniency.
If prescribed / medical: Carry a doctor's letter/prescription; check COFEPRIS for controlled medicines (some OTC medicines legal abroad — e.g. codeine, pseudoephedrine — are prohibited in Mexico).
Documentation: Carry a doctor's letter/prescription; check COFEPRIS guidance for controlled substances. Note some OTC medicines legal abroad are prohibited in Mexico (e.g. codeine, pseudoephedrine — Actifed/Sudafed/Vicks inhalers). Keep medicines in original packaging.

Source · Updated 2026-06-25

Buprenorphine

Legal status: Buprenorphine is a controlled narcotic under the General Health Law (Ley General de Salud) in a lighter access tier than methadone; it is registered (including an IV form) but supply is limited.
Consequences if caught: Sale, supply or possession without authorisation is punishable; personal use with a valid prescription is lawful.
If prescribed / medical: Provided for opioid-substitution treatment via authorised clinics (a methadone-based system); take-home is limited and access patchy.
Documentation: Personal use is allowed with a valid prescription or medical letter; a COFEPRIS/INCB permit and border declaration apply to narcotic medicines.

Source · Updated 2026-07-13

Caffeine

Legal status: Not confirmed — verify with Mexico's COFEPRIS / your embassy
Consequences if caught: This specific substance was not named with a personal-use threshold by the reachable Mexican sources (Ley General de Salud Arts 477–479 / COFEPRIS) — verify before travel. Possession above the threshold is treated as trafficking-related: simple possession carries up to 7.5 years plus a fine (Art 195 bis, Federal Penal Code), and sale/distribution carries harsher penalties. Possession within 300 m of schools, police or correctional facilities is excluded from leniency.
If prescribed / medical: Carry a doctor's letter/prescription; check COFEPRIS for controlled medicines (some OTC medicines legal abroad — e.g. codeine, pseudoephedrine — are prohibited in Mexico).
Documentation: Carry a doctor's letter/prescription; check COFEPRIS guidance for controlled substances. Note some OTC medicines legal abroad are prohibited in Mexico (e.g. codeine, pseudoephedrine — Actifed/Sudafed/Vicks inhalers). Keep medicines in original packaging.

Source · Updated 2026-07-14

Cannabis / THC

Legal status: Recreational personal use recognised as a right via Supreme Court rulings — but requires an individual COFEPRIS permit + amparo (not blanket-legal); no legal commercial market
Consequences if caught: Recreational personal cannabis use has been recognised as a constitutional right through Supreme Court (SCJN) rulings, but it requires an individual COFEPRIS permit plus an amparo — it is not blanket-legal — and there is no legal commercial market; the possession/transport limit is 5 g. Below the 5 g personal-use threshold (Art 479) there is no criminal action; above it, possession is treated as trafficking-related (up to 7.5 years, Art 195 bis). Bringing cannabis INTO Mexico — even with a foreign medical-marijuana prescription — is treated as international drug trafficking, a serious federal offence.
If prescribed / medical: A foreign medical-marijuana prescription is NOT valid in Mexico; importing cannabis even with a prescription is treated as international drug trafficking.
Documentation: Carry a doctor's letter/prescription; check COFEPRIS guidance for controlled substances. Note some OTC medicines legal abroad are prohibited in Mexico (e.g. codeine, pseudoephedrine — Actifed/Sudafed/Vicks inhalers). Keep medicines in original packaging.

Source · Updated 2026-06-25

Cathinone

Legal status: Controlled — cathinone (khat's natural principal alkaloid) is a 1971 Convention SCHEDULE I psychotropic and is listed in the Group I psychotropics of the Ley General de Salud (Art. 245), the most-restricted class. Mechanism: 1971 Sch-I transposition, named. As the parent compound it is DISTINCT from the khat PLANT (Catha edulis leaf, not individually named) and from the synthetic cathinones (mephedrone etc., separately controlled) that derive from it; cathinone is the named Group-I alkaloid, cathine the milder lower-group / Schedule-III metabolite. Mexico has no death penalty.
Consequences if caught: Group I psychotropic: possession above personal thresholds and trafficking of the alkaloid are crimes under the LGS and federal penal law; custodial, not capital.
If prescribed / medical: 1971 Schedule I / Group-I substance with no accepted medical use and no lawful prescription route for the isolated alkaloid.
Documentation: No licit personal-import route for a Group-I psychotropic.

Source · Updated 2026-07-14

CBD

Legal status: CBD (cannabidiol) consumer products are permitted with THC below 1% subject to prior COFEPRIS sanitary authorisation; once authorised, sub-1%-THC CBD products may be sold without a prescription under the 2021 medicinal-cannabis regulation of the Ley General de Salud.
Consequences if caught: An authorised sub-1%-THC CBD product is lawful to hold, while unauthorised or higher-THC product falls under the drug provisions of the Ley General de Salud; COFEPRIS has issued consumer alerts on non-compliant cannabis products.
If prescribed / medical: Medicinal cannabis/CBD is available via the medicinal-cannabis regulation and import permits. Distinct from recreational cannabis, which requires an individual COFEPRIS permit and amparo.
Documentation: Carry the COFEPRIS sanitary authorisation and lab proof of THC below 1%; unauthorised product is not legalised, and medicinal cannabis needs an import permit.

Source · Updated 2026-07-14

Clonazepam

Legal status: Clonazepam is a psychotropic under Article 245 fracción III of the General Health Law (Ley General de Salud); Article 251 retains a prescription requirement.
Consequences if caught: Sale, supply or possession without a prescription is punishable; personal use with a valid prescription is lawful.
If prescribed / medical: Prescribed as a fracción III psychotropic medicine.
Documentation: Personal use is allowed with a valid prescription or medical letter; no COFEPRIS permit is needed for reasonable quantities.

Source · Updated 2026-07-13

Cocaine

Legal status: Controlled substance — personal-use threshold under Art 479 (Ley General de Salud)
Consequences if caught: In Mexico, possession at or below the personal-use threshold (Art 479, Ley General de Salud) results in no criminal action — the person is released (with a record) and, on a third report, diverted to treatment. The personal-use threshold is 0.5 g (500 mg) of cocaine. Possession above the threshold is treated as trafficking-related: simple possession carries up to 7.5 years plus a fine (Art 195 bis, Federal Penal Code), and sale/distribution carries harsher penalties. Possession within 300 m of schools, police or correctional facilities is excluded from leniency.
If prescribed / medical: Carry a doctor's letter/prescription; check COFEPRIS for controlled medicines.
Documentation: Carry a doctor's letter/prescription; check COFEPRIS guidance for controlled substances. Note some OTC medicines legal abroad are prohibited in Mexico (e.g. codeine, pseudoephedrine — Actifed/Sudafed/Vicks inhalers). Keep medicines in original packaging.

Source · Updated 2026-06-25

Codeine

Legal status: Codeine is a controlled narcotic requiring a prescription under the General Health Law (Ley General de Salud, art. 226 fraccion system); COFEPRIS-registered combination antitussives are dispensed on prescription.
Consequences if caught: Unauthorised possession or supply is prosecutable as a narcotic offence; prescribed personal use is lawful.
If prescribed / medical: Prescribed and dispensed as a controlled narcotic medicine.
Documentation: Carry a prescription; codeine is controlled at the pharmacy - a personal-use quantity with documentation is advised.

Source · Updated 2026-07-13

Crack Cocaine

Legal status: Crack is the freebase (base) form of cocaine and has no separate legal identity in Mexico: it is controlled AS cocaine under the Ley General de Salud, whose scheduling covers cocaine, its salts and preparations and so reaches the base/freebase form. Crack is treated identically to cocaine, including the narcomenudeo personal-use threshold framework.
Consequences if caught: Possession of crack (as cocaine) above the Art 479 personal-use threshold is criminal; trafficking is prosecuted under Art 195 bis of the Federal Penal Code and the Ley General de Salud.
If prescribed / medical: Cocaine has only narrow controlled medical use; the crack/freebase base has no medicinal preparation and cannot be prescribed.
Documentation: No prescription documentation exists for crack/freebase cocaine.

Source · Updated 2026-07-14

Delta-8-THC

Legal status: Controlled — the Ley General de Salud (Art. 245) lists tetrahydrocannabinol and expressly enumerates its isomers, so delta-8-THC (Δ8-THC) is caught as an isomer of THC. Distinct from cannabis, whose personal recreational use is a Supreme-Court-recognised right exercised via individual COFEPRIS permit/amparo — that framework does not create a legal delta-8 market. No death penalty.
Consequences if caught: Illegal outside a permit; narcomenudeo (Arts. 477–479) governs small quantities and trafficking is heavier (Art. 195 bis, Federal Penal Code).
If prescribed / medical: No recognised medical use; delta-8-THC is not an authorised prescription cannabinoid.
Documentation: No lawful personal import of a controlled tetrahydrocannabinol.

Source · Updated 2026-07-14

Diazepam

Legal status: Diazepam is a psychotropic under Article 245 fracción III of the General Health Law (Ley General de Salud); Article 251 retains a prescription requirement.
Consequences if caught: Sale, supply or possession without a prescription is punishable; personal use with a valid prescription is lawful.
If prescribed / medical: Prescribed as a fracción III psychotropic medicine.
Documentation: Personal use is allowed with a valid prescription or medical letter; no COFEPRIS permit is needed for reasonable quantities.

Source · Updated 2026-07-13

DMT

Legal status: Not confirmed — verify with Mexico's COFEPRIS / your embassy
Consequences if caught: This specific substance was not named with a personal-use threshold by the reachable Mexican sources (Ley General de Salud Arts 477–479 / COFEPRIS) — verify before travel. Possession above the threshold is treated as trafficking-related: simple possession carries up to 7.5 years plus a fine (Art 195 bis, Federal Penal Code), and sale/distribution carries harsher penalties. Possession within 300 m of schools, police or correctional facilities is excluded from leniency.
If prescribed / medical: Carry a doctor's letter/prescription; check COFEPRIS for controlled medicines (some OTC medicines legal abroad — e.g. codeine, pseudoephedrine — are prohibited in Mexico).
Documentation: Carry a doctor's letter/prescription; check COFEPRIS guidance for controlled substances. Note some OTC medicines legal abroad are prohibited in Mexico (e.g. codeine, pseudoephedrine — Actifed/Sudafed/Vicks inhalers). Keep medicines in original packaging.

Source · Updated 2026-06-25

DOM

Legal status: DOM (STP) is a Fraccion I psychotropic under Article 245 of the Ley General de Salud (listed as 2-amino-1-(2,5-dimetoxi-4-metil)fenilpropano, DOM/STP), Mexico's transposition of DOM's individual Schedule I listing under the 1971 UN Convention.
Consequences if caught: Trafficking is a federal crime under the Ley General de Salud and Codigo Penal Federal; DOM is not in the Art. 479 personal-use table, so any amount exposes the holder to prosecution.
If prescribed / medical: Fraccion I: substances with scant or no therapeutic value; not prescribable.
Documentation: Ley General de Salud, Articulo 245, Fraccion I.

Source · Updated 2026-07-14

DXM

Legal status: Not confirmed — verify with Mexico's COFEPRIS / your embassy
Consequences if caught: This specific substance was not named with a personal-use threshold by the reachable Mexican sources (Ley General de Salud Arts 477–479 / COFEPRIS) — verify before travel. Possession above the threshold is treated as trafficking-related: simple possession carries up to 7.5 years plus a fine (Art 195 bis, Federal Penal Code), and sale/distribution carries harsher penalties. Possession within 300 m of schools, police or correctional facilities is excluded from leniency.
If prescribed / medical: Carry a doctor's letter/prescription; check COFEPRIS for controlled medicines (some OTC medicines legal abroad — e.g. codeine, pseudoephedrine — are prohibited in Mexico).
Documentation: Carry a doctor's letter/prescription; check COFEPRIS guidance for controlled substances. Note some OTC medicines legal abroad are prohibited in Mexico (e.g. codeine, pseudoephedrine — Actifed/Sudafed/Vicks inhalers). Keep medicines in original packaging.

Source · Updated 2026-07-14

Ephedrine

Legal status: Controlled chemical precursor under the Ley Federal para el Control de Precursores Químicos — production/sale/import/export/transport tightly restricted (COFEPRIS/Secretaría de Salud); a 2026 order prohibits importing medicines made with ephedrine. Not OTC.
Consequences if caught: Precursor-diversion offences under the Federal Precursor Law + Código Penal Federal ('delitos contra la salud'): unauthorised import/handling/diversion carries imprisonment + fines.
If prescribed / medical: Also a pharmacy/prescription decongestant-bronchodilator medicine subject to sales limits; carry documentation for a personal supply.
Documentation: Carry a doctor's letter/prescription; check COFEPRIS guidance for controlled substances. Note some OTC medicines legal abroad are prohibited in Mexico (e.g. codeine, pseudoephedrine — Actifed/Sudafed/Vicks inhalers). Keep medicines in original packaging.

Source · Updated 2026-07-13

Etizolam

Legal status: Not confirmed — verify with Mexico's COFEPRIS / your embassy
Consequences if caught: This specific substance was not named with a personal-use threshold by the reachable Mexican sources (Ley General de Salud Arts 477–479 / COFEPRIS) — verify before travel. Possession above the threshold is treated as trafficking-related: simple possession carries up to 7.5 years plus a fine (Art 195 bis, Federal Penal Code), and sale/distribution carries harsher penalties. Possession within 300 m of schools, police or correctional facilities is excluded from leniency.
If prescribed / medical: Carry a doctor's letter/prescription; check COFEPRIS for controlled medicines (some OTC medicines legal abroad — e.g. codeine, pseudoephedrine — are prohibited in Mexico).
Documentation: Carry a doctor's letter/prescription; check COFEPRIS guidance for controlled substances. Note some OTC medicines legal abroad are prohibited in Mexico (e.g. codeine, pseudoephedrine — Actifed/Sudafed/Vicks inhalers). Keep medicines in original packaging.

Source · Updated 2026-07-13

Fentanyl

Legal status: Not confirmed — verify with Mexico's COFEPRIS / your embassy
Consequences if caught: This specific substance was not named with a personal-use threshold by the reachable Mexican sources (Ley General de Salud Arts 477–479 / COFEPRIS) — verify before travel. Possession above the threshold is treated as trafficking-related: simple possession carries up to 7.5 years plus a fine (Art 195 bis, Federal Penal Code), and sale/distribution carries harsher penalties. Possession within 300 m of schools, police or correctional facilities is excluded from leniency.
If prescribed / medical: Carry a doctor's letter/prescription; check COFEPRIS for controlled medicines (some OTC medicines legal abroad — e.g. codeine, pseudoephedrine — are prohibited in Mexico).
Documentation: Carry a doctor's letter/prescription; check COFEPRIS guidance for controlled substances. Note some OTC medicines legal abroad are prohibited in Mexico (e.g. codeine, pseudoephedrine — Actifed/Sudafed/Vicks inhalers). Keep medicines in original packaging.

Source · Updated 2026-06-25

Gabapentin

Legal status: Not confirmed — verify with Mexico's COFEPRIS / your embassy
Consequences if caught: This specific substance was not named with a personal-use threshold by the reachable Mexican sources (Ley General de Salud Arts 477–479 / COFEPRIS) — verify before travel. Possession above the threshold is treated as trafficking-related: simple possession carries up to 7.5 years plus a fine (Art 195 bis, Federal Penal Code), and sale/distribution carries harsher penalties. Possession within 300 m of schools, police or correctional facilities is excluded from leniency.
If prescribed / medical: Carry a doctor's letter/prescription; check COFEPRIS for controlled medicines (some OTC medicines legal abroad — e.g. codeine, pseudoephedrine — are prohibited in Mexico).
Documentation: Carry a doctor's letter/prescription; check COFEPRIS guidance for controlled substances. Note some OTC medicines legal abroad are prohibited in Mexico (e.g. codeine, pseudoephedrine — Actifed/Sudafed/Vicks inhalers). Keep medicines in original packaging.

Source · Updated 2026-07-14

GBL

Legal status: Not confirmed — verify with Mexico's COFEPRIS / your embassy
Consequences if caught: This specific substance was not named with a personal-use threshold by the reachable Mexican sources (Ley General de Salud Arts 477–479 / COFEPRIS) — verify before travel. Possession above the threshold is treated as trafficking-related: simple possession carries up to 7.5 years plus a fine (Art 195 bis, Federal Penal Code), and sale/distribution carries harsher penalties. Possession within 300 m of schools, police or correctional facilities is excluded from leniency.
If prescribed / medical: Carry a doctor's letter/prescription; check COFEPRIS for controlled medicines (some OTC medicines legal abroad — e.g. codeine, pseudoephedrine — are prohibited in Mexico).
Documentation: Carry a doctor's letter/prescription; check COFEPRIS guidance for controlled substances. Note some OTC medicines legal abroad are prohibited in Mexico (e.g. codeine, pseudoephedrine — Actifed/Sudafed/Vicks inhalers). Keep medicines in original packaging.

Source · Updated 2026-07-14

GHB

Legal status: Not confirmed — verify with Mexico's COFEPRIS / your embassy
Consequences if caught: This specific substance was not named with a personal-use threshold by the reachable Mexican sources (Ley General de Salud Arts 477–479 / COFEPRIS) — verify before travel. Possession above the threshold is treated as trafficking-related: simple possession carries up to 7.5 years plus a fine (Art 195 bis, Federal Penal Code), and sale/distribution carries harsher penalties. Possession within 300 m of schools, police or correctional facilities is excluded from leniency.
If prescribed / medical: Carry a doctor's letter/prescription; check COFEPRIS for controlled medicines (some OTC medicines legal abroad — e.g. codeine, pseudoephedrine — are prohibited in Mexico).
Documentation: Carry a doctor's letter/prescription; check COFEPRIS guidance for controlled substances. Note some OTC medicines legal abroad are prohibited in Mexico (e.g. codeine, pseudoephedrine — Actifed/Sudafed/Vicks inhalers). Keep medicines in original packaging.

Source · Updated 2026-06-25

Heroin

Legal status: Controlled substance — personal-use threshold under Art 479 (Ley General de Salud)
Consequences if caught: In Mexico, possession at or below the personal-use threshold (Art 479, Ley General de Salud) results in no criminal action — the person is released (with a record) and, on a third report, diverted to treatment. The personal-use threshold is 50 mg of heroin. Possession above the threshold is treated as trafficking-related: simple possession carries up to 7.5 years plus a fine (Art 195 bis, Federal Penal Code), and sale/distribution carries harsher penalties. Possession within 300 m of schools, police or correctional facilities is excluded from leniency.
If prescribed / medical: Carry a doctor's letter/prescription; check COFEPRIS for controlled medicines.
Documentation: Carry a doctor's letter/prescription; check COFEPRIS guidance for controlled substances. Note some OTC medicines legal abroad are prohibited in Mexico (e.g. codeine, pseudoephedrine — Actifed/Sudafed/Vicks inhalers). Keep medicines in original packaging.

Source · Updated 2026-06-25

HHC

Legal status: Not confirmed — verify with Mexico's COFEPRIS / your embassy
Consequences if caught: This specific substance was not named with a personal-use threshold by the reachable Mexican sources (Ley General de Salud Arts 477–479 / COFEPRIS) — verify before travel. Possession above the threshold is treated as trafficking-related: simple possession carries up to 7.5 years plus a fine (Art 195 bis, Federal Penal Code), and sale/distribution carries harsher penalties. Possession within 300 m of schools, police or correctional facilities is excluded from leniency.
If prescribed / medical: Carry a doctor's letter/prescription; check COFEPRIS for controlled medicines (some OTC medicines legal abroad — e.g. codeine, pseudoephedrine — are prohibited in Mexico).
Documentation: Carry a doctor's letter/prescription; check COFEPRIS guidance for controlled substances. Note some OTC medicines legal abroad are prohibited in Mexico (e.g. codeine, pseudoephedrine — Actifed/Sudafed/Vicks inhalers). Keep medicines in original packaging.

Source · Updated 2026-07-14

Hydrocodone

Legal status: Hydrocodone is an estupefaciente under Article 234 / 226 fracción I of the Ley General de Salud (special barcoded narcotics prescription via COFEPRIS); it is not marketed in Mexico but sits in the same fracción I strong-opioid tier as morfina and oxicodona — left to confirmation.
Consequences if caught: Above the narcomenudeo personal thresholds it is trafficking (up to 10+ years).
If prescribed / medical: No marketed Mexican hydrocodone product; a fracción I narcotic is dispensed only on the special barcoded prescription.
Documentation: Carry a valid prescription or medical letter and declare it; import of controlled narcotics requires COFEPRIS-linked authorisation.

Source · Updated 2026-07-13

Ketamine

Legal status: Psychotropic substance under Article 245, Fracción III of the Ley General de Salud (therapeutic value but a public-health concern).
Consequences if caught: Illicit possession or supply is prosecuted under the narcomenudeo provisions (arts. 473–482 LGS) and federal drug offences.
If prescribed / medical: Prescription medicine (single-use prescription retained by the pharmacy); acquisition largely restricted to licensed veterinary/medical channels.
Documentation: Carry a doctor's letter/prescription; check COFEPRIS guidance for controlled substances. Note some OTC medicines legal abroad are prohibited in Mexico (e.g. codeine, pseudoephedrine — Actifed/Sudafed/Vicks inhalers). Keep medicines in original packaging.

Source · Updated 2026-07-13

Khat

Legal status: Controlled — ALKALOID NAMED. Cathinone is listed in the Group I psychotropics of the Ley General de Salud (Art. 245), the most-restricted class, and cathine in a lower control group; the Catha edulis plant is not individually named. Mechanism: NAMED (alkaloid); plant grey.
Consequences if caught: Fresh leaf contains Group-I cathinone and is treated as prohibited to import or possess; prosecuted as a controlled-substance offence.
If prescribed / medical: Khat is traditional plant material with no recognised medical use and no lawful prescription route.
Documentation: No lawful personal-import route; leaf caught via its Group-I cathinone content.

Source · Updated 2026-07-14

Kratom

Legal status: Kratom (Mitragyna speciosa) is not controlled in Mexico — the General Health Law (Ley General de Salud) does not list the plant or its alkaloids mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine, so possession and use appear legal; no official scheduling has been located.
Consequences if caught: No specific drug-law penalty is located for kratom, as it is not listed in the General Health Law; ordinary import and commerce rules apply.
If prescribed / medical: Not a scheduled medicine — no prescription requirement; it is not a COFEPRIS-listed controlled substance.
Documentation: No kratom-specific carry restriction identified; a reasonable personal quantity is not a controlled-substance matter.

Source · Updated 2026-07-13

Lorazepam

Legal status: Lorazepam is a psychotropic under Article 245 fracción III of the General Health Law (Ley General de Salud); Article 251 retains a prescription requirement.
Consequences if caught: Sale, supply or possession without a prescription is punishable; personal use with a valid prescription is lawful.
If prescribed / medical: Prescribed as a fracción III psychotropic medicine.
Documentation: Personal use is allowed with a valid prescription or medical letter; no COFEPRIS permit is needed for reasonable quantities.

Source · Updated 2026-07-13

LSA (Morning Glory)

Legal status: Not confirmed — verify with Mexico's COFEPRIS / your embassy
Consequences if caught: This specific substance was not named with a personal-use threshold by the reachable Mexican sources (Ley General de Salud Arts 477–479 / COFEPRIS) — verify before travel. Possession above the threshold is treated as trafficking-related: simple possession carries up to 7.5 years plus a fine (Art 195 bis, Federal Penal Code), and sale/distribution carries harsher penalties. Possession within 300 m of schools, police or correctional facilities is excluded from leniency.
If prescribed / medical: Carry a doctor's letter/prescription; check COFEPRIS for controlled medicines (some OTC medicines legal abroad — e.g. codeine, pseudoephedrine — are prohibited in Mexico).
Documentation: Carry a doctor's letter/prescription; check COFEPRIS guidance for controlled substances. Note some OTC medicines legal abroad are prohibited in Mexico (e.g. codeine, pseudoephedrine — Actifed/Sudafed/Vicks inhalers). Keep medicines in original packaging.

Source · Updated 2026-07-14

LSD

Legal status: Controlled substance — personal-use threshold under Art 479 (Ley General de Salud)
Consequences if caught: In Mexico, possession at or below the personal-use threshold (Art 479, Ley General de Salud) results in no criminal action — the person is released (with a record) and, on a third report, diverted to treatment. The personal-use threshold is 0.015 mg of LSD. Possession above the threshold is treated as trafficking-related: simple possession carries up to 7.5 years plus a fine (Art 195 bis, Federal Penal Code), and sale/distribution carries harsher penalties. Possession within 300 m of schools, police or correctional facilities is excluded from leniency.
If prescribed / medical: Carry a doctor's letter/prescription; check COFEPRIS for controlled medicines.
Documentation: Carry a doctor's letter/prescription; check COFEPRIS guidance for controlled substances. Note some OTC medicines legal abroad are prohibited in Mexico (e.g. codeine, pseudoephedrine — Actifed/Sudafed/Vicks inhalers). Keep medicines in original packaging.

Source · Updated 2026-06-25

MDA

Legal status: Controlled — MDA is a psicotropico listed under Ley General de Salud art. 245. NAMED mechanism.
Consequences if caught: Trafficking prosecuted under the Codigo Penal Federal; no medical use.
If prescribed / medical: Art. 245 psychotropic with no recognised medical use; no lawful prescription route.
Documentation: No lawful personal import of a scheduled psychotropic.

Source · Updated 2026-07-14

MDMA

Legal status: Controlled substance — personal-use threshold under Art 479 (Ley General de Salud)
Consequences if caught: In Mexico, possession at or below the personal-use threshold (Art 479, Ley General de Salud) results in no criminal action — the person is released (with a record) and, on a third report, diverted to treatment. The personal-use threshold is 40 mg of MDMA in crystal form (or ≤200 mg in tablet form). Possession above the threshold is treated as trafficking-related: simple possession carries up to 7.5 years plus a fine (Art 195 bis, Federal Penal Code), and sale/distribution carries harsher penalties. Possession within 300 m of schools, police or correctional facilities is excluded from leniency.
If prescribed / medical: Carry a doctor's letter/prescription; check COFEPRIS for controlled medicines.
Documentation: Carry a doctor's letter/prescription; check COFEPRIS guidance for controlled substances. Note some OTC medicines legal abroad are prohibited in Mexico (e.g. codeine, pseudoephedrine — Actifed/Sudafed/Vicks inhalers). Keep medicines in original packaging.

Source · Updated 2026-06-25

MDPV

Legal status: Controlled as a psychotropic. MDPV is a 1971 Convention Schedule II psychotropic controlled through the Ley General de Salud Art. 245 psychotropic provisions, Mexico incorporating international scheduling; the specific fraccion listing is left to confirmation.
Consequences if caught: Illegal as a controlled psychotropic; trafficking prosecuted under federal health law with imprisonment. No death penalty (abolished).
If prescribed / medical: MDPV has no recognised medical use and no lawful prescription route in Mexico.
Documentation: No lawful personal-import route for a controlled psychotropic; do not carry.

Source · Updated 2026-07-14

Memantine

Legal status: Memantine is a prescription medicine (medicamento fraccion IV, receta), not a controlled substance: it holds COFEPRIS registro sanitario and is not listed as an estupefaciente or psicotropico under the Ley General de Salud.
Consequences if caught: Memantine attracts no controlled-substance penalty; sale outside the prescription channel is a health-regulation matter, not a narcotics offence.
If prescribed / medical: Prescribed for moderate-to-severe Alzheimer's disease.
Documentation: Memantine (Ebixa, Akatinol and generics) is entered in the COFEPRIS registro sanitario de medicamentos; carried lawfully with a prescription.

Source · Updated 2026-07-14

Mephedrone (4-MMC)

Legal status: Controlled — TREATY-floor / NAMED. Mephedrone is captured by the Ley General de Salud psychotropics schedule (art. 245), which incorporates 1971 Schedule II substances via the 2015 addition; a standalone Mexican naming amendment is not independently confirmed, so left to confirmation.
Consequences if caught: Controlled psychotropic: possession above personal-use thresholds is a crime; trafficking heavily penalised. Mexico has no death penalty.
If prescribed / medical: Controlled psychotropic with no recognised medical use and no lawful prescription route.
Documentation: No licit personal-import route for a controlled psychotropic.

Source · Updated 2026-07-14

Mescaline

Legal status: Not confirmed — verify with Mexico's COFEPRIS / your embassy
Consequences if caught: This specific substance was not named with a personal-use threshold by the reachable Mexican sources (Ley General de Salud Arts 477–479 / COFEPRIS) — verify before travel. Possession above the threshold is treated as trafficking-related: simple possession carries up to 7.5 years plus a fine (Art 195 bis, Federal Penal Code), and sale/distribution carries harsher penalties. Possession within 300 m of schools, police or correctional facilities is excluded from leniency.
If prescribed / medical: Carry a doctor's letter/prescription; check COFEPRIS for controlled medicines (some OTC medicines legal abroad — e.g. codeine, pseudoephedrine — are prohibited in Mexico).
Documentation: Carry a doctor's letter/prescription; check COFEPRIS guidance for controlled substances. Note some OTC medicines legal abroad are prohibited in Mexico (e.g. codeine, pseudoephedrine — Actifed/Sudafed/Vicks inhalers). Keep medicines in original packaging.

Source · Updated 2026-06-25

Methadone

Legal status: Methadone is a narcotic under the General Health Law (Ley General de Salud); it is legally registered and dispensed for OST via licensed centres/CIJ, though supply is constrained.
Consequences if caught: Sale, supply or possession above the personal narcomenudeo thresholds is trafficking (up to 10+ years).
If prescribed / medical: Prescribed for methadone-based OST through authorised clinics (take-home limited; access patchy).
Documentation: Carry a COFEPRIS/INCB permit plus prescription and declare narcotics at the border.

Source · Updated 2026-07-13

Methamphetamine

Legal status: Controlled substance — personal-use threshold under Art 479 (Ley General de Salud)
Consequences if caught: In Mexico, possession at or below the personal-use threshold (Art 479, Ley General de Salud) results in no criminal action — the person is released (with a record) and, on a third report, diverted to treatment. The personal-use threshold is 40 mg of methamphetamine ('crystal'). Possession above the threshold is treated as trafficking-related: simple possession carries up to 7.5 years plus a fine (Art 195 bis, Federal Penal Code), and sale/distribution carries harsher penalties. Possession within 300 m of schools, police or correctional facilities is excluded from leniency.
If prescribed / medical: Carry a doctor's letter/prescription; check COFEPRIS for controlled medicines.
Documentation: Carry a doctor's letter/prescription; check COFEPRIS guidance for controlled substances. Note some OTC medicines legal abroad are prohibited in Mexico (e.g. codeine, pseudoephedrine — Actifed/Sudafed/Vicks inhalers). Keep medicines in original packaging.

Source · Updated 2026-06-25

Methaqualone (Quaaludes)

Legal status: Not confirmed — verify with Mexico's COFEPRIS / your embassy
Consequences if caught: This specific substance was not named with a personal-use threshold by the reachable Mexican sources (Ley General de Salud Arts 477–479 / COFEPRIS) — verify before travel. Possession above the threshold is treated as trafficking-related: simple possession carries up to 7.5 years plus a fine (Art 195 bis, Federal Penal Code), and sale/distribution carries harsher penalties. Possession within 300 m of schools, police or correctional facilities is excluded from leniency.
If prescribed / medical: Carry a doctor's letter/prescription; check COFEPRIS for controlled medicines (some OTC medicines legal abroad — e.g. codeine, pseudoephedrine — are prohibited in Mexico).
Documentation: Carry a doctor's letter/prescription; check COFEPRIS guidance for controlled substances. Note some OTC medicines legal abroad are prohibited in Mexico (e.g. codeine, pseudoephedrine — Actifed/Sudafed/Vicks inhalers). Keep medicines in original packaging.

Source · Updated 2026-07-14

Methylone

Legal status: Not confirmed — verify with Mexico's COFEPRIS / your embassy
Consequences if caught: This specific substance was not named with a personal-use threshold by the reachable Mexican sources (Ley General de Salud Arts 477–479 / COFEPRIS) — verify before travel. Possession above the threshold is treated as trafficking-related: simple possession carries up to 7.5 years plus a fine (Art 195 bis, Federal Penal Code), and sale/distribution carries harsher penalties. Possession within 300 m of schools, police or correctional facilities is excluded from leniency.
If prescribed / medical: Carry a doctor's letter/prescription; check COFEPRIS for controlled medicines (some OTC medicines legal abroad — e.g. codeine, pseudoephedrine — are prohibited in Mexico).
Documentation: Carry a doctor's letter/prescription; check COFEPRIS guidance for controlled substances. Note some OTC medicines legal abroad are prohibited in Mexico (e.g. codeine, pseudoephedrine — Actifed/Sudafed/Vicks inhalers). Keep medicines in original packaging.

Source · Updated 2026-07-14

Methylphenidate

Legal status: Psychotropic, Grupo II (fracción II) of Art. 245 of the Ley General de Salud ('Metilfenidato'); requires a special-control prescription.
Consequences if caught: Possession without prescription or supply is criminal (narcomenudeo regime + Código Penal Federal).
If prescribed / medical: Prescription ADHD/narcolepsy medicine (e.g. Ritalin/Concerta) via controlled channels; carry the original prescription and any required import permit.

Source · Updated 2026-07-13

Mitragynine

Legal status: Neither mitragynine nor kratom is listed under the General Health Law (Ley General de Salud): mitragynine, the principal alkaloid of kratom, is not separately scheduled, so as a kratom alkaloid it shares the plant's un-controlled status; possession and use appear legal with no official COFEPRIS listing located.
Consequences if caught: No controlled-substance penalty attaches to the alkaloid under current listings; kratom is not scheduled.
If prescribed / medical: No COFEPRIS-listed kratom or alkaloid medicine exists; there is no controlled prescription tier for it.
Documentation: No narcotics import controls apply; kratom and its alkaloids are unscheduled.

Source · Updated 2026-07-13

Modafinil

Legal status: Prescription medicine — NOT found on the Art. 245 Ley General de Salud psychotropic lists (not scheduled as a psychotropic).
Consequences if caught: Prescription-medicine offence only.
If prescribed / medical: Prescription-only medicine; carry the original prescription for a personal supply.
Documentation: Carry a doctor's letter/prescription; check COFEPRIS guidance for controlled substances. Note some OTC medicines legal abroad are prohibited in Mexico (e.g. codeine, pseudoephedrine — Actifed/Sudafed/Vicks inhalers). Keep medicines in original packaging.

Source · Updated 2026-07-13

Morphine

Legal status: Morphine is an estupefaciente under Article 234/226 fracción I of the General Health Law (Ley General de Salud) — dispensed on a special barcoded narcotics prescription (COFEPRIS).
Consequences if caught: Narcomenudeo thresholds apply; possession above the personal dose is treated as trafficking (up to 10+ years).
If prescribed / medical: Prescribed as a fracción I estupefaciente for severe and cancer pain.
Documentation: Carry a prescription or medical letter and declare it; importing controlled medicines requires COFEPRIS-linked authorisation.

Source · Updated 2026-07-13

MXE

Legal status: Not confirmed — verify with Mexico's COFEPRIS / your embassy
Consequences if caught: This specific substance was not named with a personal-use threshold by the reachable Mexican sources (Ley General de Salud Arts 477–479 / COFEPRIS) — verify before travel. Possession above the threshold is treated as trafficking-related: simple possession carries up to 7.5 years plus a fine (Art 195 bis, Federal Penal Code), and sale/distribution carries harsher penalties. Possession within 300 m of schools, police or correctional facilities is excluded from leniency.
If prescribed / medical: Carry a doctor's letter/prescription; check COFEPRIS for controlled medicines (some OTC medicines legal abroad — e.g. codeine, pseudoephedrine — are prohibited in Mexico).
Documentation: Carry a doctor's letter/prescription; check COFEPRIS guidance for controlled substances. Note some OTC medicines legal abroad are prohibited in Mexico (e.g. codeine, pseudoephedrine — Actifed/Sudafed/Vicks inhalers). Keep medicines in original packaging.

Source · Updated 2026-07-14

Nicotine

Legal status: Nicotine is legal in Mexico in combustible tobacco and medicinal nicotine-replacement therapy, but the nicotine DELIVERY product is banned. A presidential decree of 31 May 2022 (grounded in Articles 4 and 131 of the Constitution) prohibited the commercialisation, distribution, import and export of e-cigarettes, vaporisers and the solutions consumed in them; a constitutional reform elevating the prohibition to Article 4 took effect in early 2025, making the vape ban constitutional.
Consequences if caught: The trade, sale, distribution and import/export of vaping devices and e-liquids is prohibited; products are subject to customs seizure at the border and cannot be lawfully sold. Nicotine-the-compound in tobacco is unaffected.
If prescribed / medical: Nicotine-replacement therapy remains a lawful medicine; there is no prescription pathway to obtain a vaping device.
Documentation: No import permit is available for personal vapes; the ban reaches importation including by travelers.

Source · Updated 2026-07-14

Nitrous Oxide

Legal status: Nitrous oxide is regulated in Mexico as a medical/anaesthetic gas under health law (Ley General de Salud, administered by COFEPRIS) and as a food-grade propellant, not as a narcotic; the Law Library of Congress comparative review records Mexico controlling its circulation to limit recreational use rather than scheduling it as a controlled drug.
Consequences if caught: No narcotics penalty attaches to the gas itself; misuse is addressed through health-product and consumer controls. No death penalty (non-DP).
If prescribed / medical: Nitrous oxide is a lawful medical/anaesthetic gas and food additive (E942); medical and culinary supply is standard.
Documentation: Food and medical nitrous oxide are lawfully available; there is no narcotics-import barrier for legitimate use.

Source · Updated 2026-07-14

Oxycodone

Legal status: Oxycodone (oxicodona) is an estupefaciente under Articles 234/226 fracción I of the General Health Law (Ley General de Salud), dispensed on a special barcoded narcotics prescription; it fell under tightened COFEPRIS controls in 2023 — a marketed strong opioid.
Consequences if caught: Sale, supply or possession above narcomenudeo thresholds is trafficking (up to 10+ years); prescribed personal use is lawful.
If prescribed / medical: Prescribed on the special COFEPRIS narcotics prescription with a barcode.
Documentation: Carry a personal supply with the prescription/medical letter and declare it; COFEPRIS-linked authorisation is needed to import controlled narcotics.

Source · Updated 2026-07-13

PCP

Legal status: Not confirmed — verify with Mexico's COFEPRIS / your embassy
Consequences if caught: This specific substance was not named with a personal-use threshold by the reachable Mexican sources (Ley General de Salud Arts 477–479 / COFEPRIS) — verify before travel. Possession above the threshold is treated as trafficking-related: simple possession carries up to 7.5 years plus a fine (Art 195 bis, Federal Penal Code), and sale/distribution carries harsher penalties. Possession within 300 m of schools, police or correctional facilities is excluded from leniency.
If prescribed / medical: Carry a doctor's letter/prescription; check COFEPRIS for controlled medicines (some OTC medicines legal abroad — e.g. codeine, pseudoephedrine — are prohibited in Mexico).
Documentation: Carry a doctor's letter/prescription; check COFEPRIS guidance for controlled substances. Note some OTC medicines legal abroad are prohibited in Mexico (e.g. codeine, pseudoephedrine — Actifed/Sudafed/Vicks inhalers). Keep medicines in original packaging.

Source · Updated 2026-06-25

Peyote

Legal status: Peyote (Lophophora williamsii) is NOT listed in the drug schedules of the Ley General de Salud (its alkaloid mescaline is the scheduled substance under Art. 245); instead the cactus is a protected species under NOM-059-SEMARNAT-2010, and its traditional sacred use by the Wixárika (Huichol) and other indigenous peoples is protected — the classic religious carve-out.
Consequences if caught: Unauthorised collection, possession or sale of wild peyote is prosecuted as an environmental crime under Article 420, fraction IV of the Federal Criminal Code; indigenous ceremonial use is protected and not treated as trafficking.
If prescribed / medical: Mescaline is a controlled psychotropic without ordinary medical use; peyote is managed as protected flora rather than a prescription medicine.
Documentation: Peyote is excluded from Ley General de Salud Art. 245 drug lists but protected under NOM-059-SEMARNAT-2010; PROFEPA prosecutes unauthorised peyote possession/sale under Federal Criminal Code Art. 420-IV while recognising Wixárika traditional use.

Source · Updated 2026-07-14

Phenibut

Legal status: Not confirmed — verify with Mexico's COFEPRIS / your embassy
Consequences if caught: This specific substance was not named with a personal-use threshold by the reachable Mexican sources (Ley General de Salud Arts 477–479 / COFEPRIS) — verify before travel. Possession above the threshold is treated as trafficking-related: simple possession carries up to 7.5 years plus a fine (Art 195 bis, Federal Penal Code), and sale/distribution carries harsher penalties. Possession within 300 m of schools, police or correctional facilities is excluded from leniency.
If prescribed / medical: Carry a doctor's letter/prescription; check COFEPRIS for controlled medicines (some OTC medicines legal abroad — e.g. codeine, pseudoephedrine — are prohibited in Mexico).
Documentation: Carry a doctor's letter/prescription; check COFEPRIS guidance for controlled substances. Note some OTC medicines legal abroad are prohibited in Mexico (e.g. codeine, pseudoephedrine — Actifed/Sudafed/Vicks inhalers). Keep medicines in original packaging.

Source · Updated 2026-07-14

Pink Cocaine / Tusi

Legal status: Pink cocaine (tusi) is not scheduled as such; it is a variable mixture (typically ketamine + MDMA) prosecuted through its constituents — Mexico controls MDMA as a narcotic and ketamine as a psychotropic substance under Article 245 Fracción III of the Ley General de Salud, which reaches any preparation containing a controlled substance. Because the blend varies batch to batch, exposure follows the most-severely-controlled detected component.
Consequences if caught: Trafficking (narcomenudeo) is prosecuted under Arts 477–479 of the Ley General de Salud and the Federal Penal Code; sub-threshold personal amounts may avoid prosecution, with the tier set by whichever constituent is detected.
If prescribed / medical: No lawful supply of the mixture; ketamine is a controlled psychotropic medicine, while MDMA has no marketed medical use.
Documentation: Sold as an unregulated party powder; because the makeup varies batch to batch, purchasers cannot know its constituents, so legal exposure under the Ley General de Salud is unknowable at purchase.

Source · Updated 2026-07-14

Poppers

Legal status: Not confirmed — verify with Mexico's COFEPRIS / your embassy
Consequences if caught: This specific substance was not named with a personal-use threshold by the reachable Mexican sources (Ley General de Salud Arts 477–479 / COFEPRIS) — verify before travel. Possession above the threshold is treated as trafficking-related: simple possession carries up to 7.5 years plus a fine (Art 195 bis, Federal Penal Code), and sale/distribution carries harsher penalties. Possession within 300 m of schools, police or correctional facilities is excluded from leniency.
If prescribed / medical: Carry a doctor's letter/prescription; check COFEPRIS for controlled medicines (some OTC medicines legal abroad — e.g. codeine, pseudoephedrine — are prohibited in Mexico).
Documentation: Carry a doctor's letter/prescription; check COFEPRIS guidance for controlled substances. Note some OTC medicines legal abroad are prohibited in Mexico (e.g. codeine, pseudoephedrine — Actifed/Sudafed/Vicks inhalers). Keep medicines in original packaging.

Source · Updated 2026-07-14

Pregabalin

Legal status: Not confirmed — verify with Mexico's COFEPRIS / your embassy
Consequences if caught: This specific substance was not named with a personal-use threshold by the reachable Mexican sources (Ley General de Salud Arts 477–479 / COFEPRIS) — verify before travel. Possession above the threshold is treated as trafficking-related: simple possession carries up to 7.5 years plus a fine (Art 195 bis, Federal Penal Code), and sale/distribution carries harsher penalties. Possession within 300 m of schools, police or correctional facilities is excluded from leniency.
If prescribed / medical: Carry a doctor's letter/prescription; check COFEPRIS for controlled medicines (some OTC medicines legal abroad — e.g. codeine, pseudoephedrine — are prohibited in Mexico).
Documentation: Carry a doctor's letter/prescription; check COFEPRIS guidance for controlled substances. Note some OTC medicines legal abroad are prohibited in Mexico (e.g. codeine, pseudoephedrine — Actifed/Sudafed/Vicks inhalers). Keep medicines in original packaging.

Source · Updated 2026-07-14

Psilocybin

Legal status: Not confirmed — verify with Mexico's COFEPRIS / your embassy
Consequences if caught: This specific substance was not named with a personal-use threshold by the reachable Mexican sources (Ley General de Salud Arts 477–479 / COFEPRIS) — verify before travel. Possession above the threshold is treated as trafficking-related: simple possession carries up to 7.5 years plus a fine (Art 195 bis, Federal Penal Code), and sale/distribution carries harsher penalties. Possession within 300 m of schools, police or correctional facilities is excluded from leniency.
If prescribed / medical: Carry a doctor's letter/prescription; check COFEPRIS for controlled medicines (some OTC medicines legal abroad — e.g. codeine, pseudoephedrine — are prohibited in Mexico).
Documentation: Carry a doctor's letter/prescription; check COFEPRIS guidance for controlled substances. Note some OTC medicines legal abroad are prohibited in Mexico (e.g. codeine, pseudoephedrine — Actifed/Sudafed/Vicks inhalers). Keep medicines in original packaging.

Source · Updated 2026-06-25

Quetiapine

Legal status: Quetiapine is a prescription medicine (medicamento fraccion IV, receta medica), not a controlled substance: quetiapina (Seroquel and generics) holds COFEPRIS registro sanitario and is not listed as an estupefaciente or psicotropico under the Ley General de Salud.
Consequences if caught: Quetiapine attracts no controlled-substance penalty; sale outside the prescription channel is a health-regulation matter, not a narcotics offence.
If prescribed / medical: Prescribed as an atypical antipsychotic for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder; dispensed only on prescription.
Documentation: Quetiapina products are entered in the COFEPRIS registro sanitario de medicamentos; carried lawfully with a prescription.

Source · Updated 2026-07-14

Salvia divinorum

Legal status: Not confirmed — verify with Mexico's COFEPRIS / your embassy
Consequences if caught: This specific substance was not named with a personal-use threshold by the reachable Mexican sources (Ley General de Salud Arts 477–479 / COFEPRIS) — verify before travel. Possession above the threshold is treated as trafficking-related: simple possession carries up to 7.5 years plus a fine (Art 195 bis, Federal Penal Code), and sale/distribution carries harsher penalties. Possession within 300 m of schools, police or correctional facilities is excluded from leniency.
If prescribed / medical: Carry a doctor's letter/prescription; check COFEPRIS for controlled medicines (some OTC medicines legal abroad — e.g. codeine, pseudoephedrine — are prohibited in Mexico).
Documentation: Carry a doctor's letter/prescription; check COFEPRIS guidance for controlled substances. Note some OTC medicines legal abroad are prohibited in Mexico (e.g. codeine, pseudoephedrine — Actifed/Sudafed/Vicks inhalers). Keep medicines in original packaging.

Source · Updated 2026-06-25

Scopolamine (Devil's Breath)

Legal status: Escopolamina (hioscina) is a registered medicine, not a controlled substance: butilhioscina (Buscapina) holds COFEPRIS registro sanitario and scopolamine is not listed as an estupefaciente or psicotrópico under the Ley General de Salud.
Consequences if caught: Escopolamina attracts no controlled-substance penalty; sale outside the authorised channel is a health-regulation matter, not a narcotics offence.
If prescribed / medical: Buscapina (butilhioscina) is sold OTC for gastrointestinal, biliary and genitourinary spasm; injectable scopolamine (premedication) is prescription.
Documentation: Buscapina and escopolamina products are entered in the COFEPRIS registro sanitario de medicamentos; carried lawfully.

Source · Updated 2026-07-14

Synthetic Cannabinoids (K2 / Spice)

Legal status: Controlled as psychotropics. Synthetic cannabinoids are controlled through the psychotropic provisions of the Ley General de Salud (Art. 245), Mexico incorporating the synthetic cannabinoids added to Schedule II of the 1971 Convention; the specific fraccion listing for individual compounds is left to confirmation.
Consequences if caught: Illegal as controlled psychotropics; trafficking prosecuted under federal health law with imprisonment. No death penalty (abolished).
If prescribed / medical: These synthetic cannabinoids have no recognised medical use and no lawful prescription route in Mexico.
Documentation: No lawful personal-import route for controlled psychotropics; do not carry.

Source · Updated 2026-07-14

THC-P

Legal status: Not confirmed — verify with Mexico's COFEPRIS / your embassy
Consequences if caught: This specific substance was not named with a personal-use threshold by the reachable Mexican sources (Ley General de Salud Arts 477–479 / COFEPRIS) — verify before travel. Possession above the threshold is treated as trafficking-related: simple possession carries up to 7.5 years plus a fine (Art 195 bis, Federal Penal Code), and sale/distribution carries harsher penalties. Possession within 300 m of schools, police or correctional facilities is excluded from leniency.
If prescribed / medical: Carry a doctor's letter/prescription; check COFEPRIS for controlled medicines (some OTC medicines legal abroad — e.g. codeine, pseudoephedrine — are prohibited in Mexico).
Documentation: Carry a doctor's letter/prescription; check COFEPRIS guidance for controlled substances. Note some OTC medicines legal abroad are prohibited in Mexico (e.g. codeine, pseudoephedrine — Actifed/Sudafed/Vicks inhalers). Keep medicines in original packaging.

Source · Updated 2026-07-14

Tobacco

Legal status: Not confirmed — verify with Mexico's COFEPRIS / your embassy
Consequences if caught: This specific substance was not named with a personal-use threshold by the reachable Mexican sources (Ley General de Salud Arts 477–479 / COFEPRIS) — verify before travel. Possession above the threshold is treated as trafficking-related: simple possession carries up to 7.5 years plus a fine (Art 195 bis, Federal Penal Code), and sale/distribution carries harsher penalties. Possession within 300 m of schools, police or correctional facilities is excluded from leniency.
If prescribed / medical: Carry a doctor's letter/prescription; check COFEPRIS for controlled medicines (some OTC medicines legal abroad — e.g. codeine, pseudoephedrine — are prohibited in Mexico).
Documentation: Carry a doctor's letter/prescription; check COFEPRIS guidance for controlled substances. Note some OTC medicines legal abroad are prohibited in Mexico (e.g. codeine, pseudoephedrine — Actifed/Sudafed/Vicks inhalers). Keep medicines in original packaging.

Source · Updated 2026-07-14

Tramadol

Legal status: Tramadol is a controlled medicine in Mexico — COFEPRIS reclassified it under Fracción III of Article 226 of the General Health Law (Ley General de Salud), retaining a prescription requirement, effective 14 July 2026.
Consequences if caught: Sale, supply or possession without a prescription is punishable; personal use with a valid prescription is lawful.
If prescribed / medical: Prescribed as a Fracción III controlled medicine.
Documentation: From 14 July 2026 pharmacies retain the prescription — carry a doctor's prescription or letter and a personal-use quantity only.

Source · Updated 2026-07-13

Xanax (Alprazolam)

Legal status: Alprazolam is a psychotropic under Article 245 fracción III of the General Health Law (Ley General de Salud); Article 251 retains a prescription requirement.
Consequences if caught: Sale, supply or possession without a prescription is punishable; personal use with a valid prescription is lawful.
If prescribed / medical: Prescribed as a fracción III psychotropic medicine.
Documentation: Personal use is allowed with a valid prescription or medical letter; no COFEPRIS permit is needed for reasonable quantities.

Source · Updated 2026-07-13

Xylazine

Legal status: Xylazine (xilacina) is regulated in Mexico as a veterinary medicine restricted to use by veterinarians: it is a registered veterinary sedative/analgesic and is not listed as an estupefaciente or psicotrópico under the Ley General de Salud human controlled-substances tables.
Consequences if caught: Diversion of xilacina is addressed as a health-regulation / veterinary-medicines matter; Mexican authorities have issued border-city alerts over its illicit use as an adulterant, but it is not a controlled human drug.
If prescribed / medical: Administered exclusively by a veterinarian for sedation/analgesia in cattle, equines, dogs and cats (and not in equines destined for human consumption); xylazine has no human indication.
Documentation: Xylazine veterinary products (e.g. Xilazina 20 mg/ml injectable) are marketed for veterinary use; Mexican government advisories describe xilacina as a veterinary drug administered only by veterinarians.

Source · Updated 2026-07-14

Zolpidem

Legal status: Zolpidem is a Group IV psychotropic under Article 245 of the Ley General de Salud, transposing its 1971 Convention Schedule IV status; it is a prescription medicine dispensed on a physician's prescription bearing the professional licence number.
Consequences if caught: Unauthorised trafficking of this Group IV psychotropic is prosecuted under the Ley General de Salud; a prescribed personal supply is lawful.
If prescribed / medical: Zolpidem is prescribed short-term for insomnia; the Group IV prescription may be filled up to three times within six months from issuance.
Documentation: A traveller carries prescribed zolpidem with the prescription; personal-use import for treatment is permitted within the Group IV allowances.

Source · Updated 2026-07-14

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

Before you travel

Verify current rules with the destination country’s official drug authorityand your own country’s embassy before traveling. Find the destination’s U.S. embassy & official country guidance →
Non-U.S. travelers: check your own government’s travel advisory and embassy.

If you’re detained or arrested abroad

Contact your own country’s embassy or consulatein the destination immediately — notthe destination’s authorities. U.S. citizens: contact the nearest U.S. embassy/consulate and the U.S. State Department at +1-202-501-4444 (from abroad). If a U.S. citizen is arrested or detained abroad →

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