Is MXE legal in Denmark?
- Legal status
- Controlled under the Danish euphoriants legislation. Named on liste B of bekendtgoerelse nr. 405 af 26. marts 2026 om euforiserende stoffer at nr. 333, where the entry reads: Metoxetamin (2-(ethylamino)-2(3-methoxyphenyl)cyclohexan-1-on). Bilag 1 says liste B, D and E cover stoffer, der kun må benyttes til medicinsk og videnskabelig brug, substances that may be used only for medical and scientific purposes.
- Consequences if caught
- The placement was read off the list itself, and the entry at liste B nr. 333 reads: Metoxetamin (2-(ethylamino)-2(3-methoxyphenyl)cyclohexan-1-on). The instrument places this compound under the Danish spelling Metoxetamin, which is why an English spelling search returns nothing. This placement is new since the consolidation the previous cell was written against. Ketamin is placed separately at liste B nr. 259 and 2-fluorodeschloroketamin at liste B nr. 203. The offence is not in the bekendtgoerelse. Section 30 says a breach of it is punished under section 3 and sections 3 a to 3 d of lov om euforiserende stoffer, and that where the circumstances in section 191 of straffeloven apply the breach is punished under that provision instead. Section 3(1) of the Act sets the ordinary penalty as a fine. The same sentence sets the custodial ceiling at imprisonment for up to 2 years. In fixing the penalty, including a fine, the court must weigh the harmful effects of the substance and, since 1 July 2025, its dangerousness. Section 191 of straffeloven raises the ceiling to imprisonment for up to 10 years where a person transfers euphoriant substances to a larger number of people, or for significant payment, or under other particularly aggravating circumstances. That ceiling rises again to imprisonment for 16 years where the transfer concerns a significant quantity of a particularly dangerous or harmful substance, or where the transfer of such a substance was otherwise of a particularly dangerous character. Section 191(2) applies the same band to importing, exporting, buying, delivering, receiving, manufacturing, processing or possessing such substances with intent to transfer. Section 3(2) of the Act treats four things as significantly aggravating, and lov nr. 724 af 20. juni 2025 added the last two of them: repeated sales of a particularly harmful or dangerous substance, sale or free transfer for later sale at restaurants including discotheques or at concerts or music festivals or other events mainly attended by children or young people, sale or free transfer for later sale through social media, and sale or free transfer for later sale in shops carrying on retail trade. Section 3 c, in force since 1 July 2025, allows a motor vehicle used in a serious breach to be confiscated, and requires confiscation where the vehicle's owner committed an offence falling under section 191, unless special grounds exceptionally tell against it. Section 3 d lets a court disqualify a person from retail shop work for supplying euphoriant substances from a shop, and impose an area ban whose breach carries imprisonment for up to 2 years. Denmark is widely described as refusing warnings for personal possession, and that description now rests on a repealed sentence. The rule that a warning could in general not be given was section 3(1) third sentence, and lov nr. 667 af 11. juni 2024 repealed it with effect from 1 July 2024. In its place section 3(4) says that a withdrawal of the charge shall be given for possession of euphoriant substances for own use where social circumstances speak for it and the possession is due to a strong dependence on hard euphoriant substances following prolonged and sustained misuse, and it says that this applies in repeat cases as well. These are Denmark's general drug penalties rather than a tariff for this substance, and they describe the offences that this row's placement brings into play. Read against bekendtgoerelse nr. 405 af 26. marts 2026 om euforiserende stoffer as in force on 29 March 2026, which repealed bekendtgoerelse nr. 2446 af 12. december 2021 at its section 33(2), and against lov om euforiserende stoffer as consolidated on 9 December 2019 and amended by lov nr. 667 af 11. juni 2024 and lov nr. 724 af 20. juni 2025, all read at retsinformation.dk on 22 September 2026. The minister may add a substance to the lists at any time under sections 1 and 2 of the Act, so a placement and an absence are both statements about the lists as they stood on that date.
- If prescribed or medical
- There is a lawful medical route. Section 3 of bekendtgoerelse nr. 405 says euphoriants may be used in Denmark only for medical or scientific purposes, and section 6(1)(1) allows receipt and possession only by a person who receives the substance on a prescription or requisition issued under the rules in force.
- Documentation
- Declare any controlled medicine on arrival, carry it in its original dispensed container, and carry the prescription or a doctor's letter naming the substance, the dose and the patient. Within the Schengen area a doctor's certificate under Article 75 of the Schengen Convention is the usual document for a controlled medicine. Confirm requirements with the Danish Medicines Agency and with your embassy before travel.
Court records
We have not yet assessed whether court records are publicly available for this jurisdiction.
Other substances confirmed in Denmark
Drug laws and enforcement change and vary within a country. This is not legal advice. Always confirm with Denmark’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 authority and 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 consulate in the destination immediately, not the 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 →
