Is Mitragynine legal in Saudi Arabia?

Legal status

Mitragynine is a controlled psychotropic substance in Saudi Arabia, placed at Schedule II Category E of the schedules attached to the Law of Combating Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances, Royal Decree M/39 of 1426 AH, in the version of those schedules issued on 4 September 2026. The schedule prints «ميرتاجينين» under the heading «فئة (هـ):... المؤثرات العقلية الخاضعة للرقابة محلياً بالمملكة», Category E, psychotropic substances locally controlled in the Kingdom, and the same entry carries 7-hydroxymitragynine. Mitragynine is not in the international psychotropic conventions, so Category E, the Kingdom's own domestic list, is the reason this row can be answered at all. The source plant, kratom or Mitragyna speciosa, is separately listed in Schedule IV as a prohibited plant, so alkaloid and plant are reached independently. M/39 Articles 1 and 70 to 71 are cited for identification and for keeping the attached schedules current.

Consequences if caught

Because mitragynine is listed at Schedule II Category E, Article 37(I) reaches it, and that article states no quantity at all. There is no weight threshold in it: the conduct named is smuggling, receipt from a smuggler, and import, export, manufacture, production, extraction or cultivation with intent to promote, together with the repeat promotion histories the article sets out, and extraction of the alkaloid from leaf is a named limb. Death under Article 37(I) is a statutory ta'zir penalty and it is not mandatory, because Article 37(II) gives the court the power to reduce it; where the court does reduce, the substitute is a prison term of not less than fifteen years with the lashes and the fine the article states. No express life imprisonment wording was found anywhere in M/39. Articles 38 to 41 are cited as the tiers below Article 37. The locally controlled label says where the entry came from and not how lightly it is treated.

If prescribed or medical

The Saudi traveller rule is a permit rule rather than a prescription rule. A controlled medicine may be brought in only under a clearance obtained from the SFDA before travel through its Controlled Drugs System, and that advance electronic clearance is required rather than optional. Mitragynine sits inside that regime as a Schedule II Category E substance locally controlled in the Kingdom, and no Saudi dispensing route and no medicinal product containing it was recorded, so nothing here should be read as saying a clearance would issue for it. A supplement sold lawfully elsewhere carries no Saudi permission with it.

Documentation

There is nothing to carry for this substance, because no lawful import route was established for it, and an extract, a capsule and a powder are in the same position. For any controlled medicine, apply through the SFDA Controlled Drugs System before travelling, carry the clearance and not the prescription alone, bring the medicine in its original dispensing packaging with the prescription and a medical report translated into Arabic and dated less than six months before travel, and declare it at customs; advance electronic clearance has been required since 1 November 2025. The permit mechanics stated here are the SFDA traveller rules recorded on the current live cell and were not re-derived from the instrument in this pass. The Schedule II Category E placement was read in the 4 September 2026 schedules on 17 September 2026.

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