Is Quetiapine legal in Netherlands?
- Legal status
- Quetiapine is a prescription-only medicine (uitsluitend recept, UR), not a controlled drug: Seroquel/Seroquel XR and associated names are nationally authorised medicines harmonised under the EMA Article-30 referral and are absent from the Opiumwet lists I and II.
- Consequences if caught
- Quetiapine falls outside the Opiumwet, so no controlled-drug penalty applies; unauthorised supply of a UR medicine is a Geneesmiddelenwet offence only.
- If prescribed or medical
- Prescribed as an atypical antipsychotic for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder; dispensed only on prescription.
- Documentation
- Quetiapine (Seroquel and generics) is a nationally authorised human medicine listed in the EMA referral annex; carried lawfully with a prescription.
Drug laws and enforcement change and vary within a country. This is not legal advice. Always confirm with Netherlands’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 →
