Is Quetiapine legal in Turkey?

Also known as: seroquel

Legal status

Quetiapine is absent from Turkey's closed narcotics list. The dossier ran a completed list search, «Arama kaydı: “quetiapine” adı, yaygın eş anlamlıları ve kimyasal adı 2313 sayılı Kanun kapsamındaki kararların tamamında arandı; tam kayıt bulunmadı.», the name, common synonyms and chemical name were searched across all the decisions made under Law No. 2313 and no exact entry was found. That verified absence means the narcotics schedule does not reach it, without implying unrestricted legality under other law. Quetiapine is an atypical antipsychotic prescribed for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, and it is the clearest case in this corpus of a medicine that is heavily regulated and not controlled: prescription status and narcotics scheduling are separate systems in Turkey, and this row sits inside the first and outside the second. Article 19 of Law No. 2313 reaches a substance only where a Presidential decision names it.

Consequences if caught

Capital exposure: none. No controlled drug capital, life or quantity rule attaches, because the substance is absent from the closed narcotics list; separate regulatory law may still apply. Articles 188 and 191 of Penal Code No. 5237 do not engage, so the thirty year ceiling and the two to five year use offence are not in play for quetiapine at any quantity. There is no drug offence in passing a tablet to another person, although doing so may be a serious clinical error and may expose the giver to liability under general law if harm follows. The Penal Code provision at the edge of medicines law is article 187, one to five years and a judicial fine for producing or selling a medicine in a way that endangers the life and health of persons, increased by one third where committed by a physician or pharmacist or within a profession practised under official permission.

If prescribed or medical

Quetiapine is a prescription medicine in Turkey and the route is the ordinary pharmacy route rather than a controlled one. The dossier carried no prescription instrument for this row, so the exact dispensing category is for the TİTCK to state and is deferred here, and no claim is made about whether a foreign prescription can be honoured in a Turkish pharmacy. A traveller continuing an antipsychotic should plan for continuity rather than for clearance, because interruption is the real risk and the medicine is not one that a border officer is likely to question. Carry enough for the trip and hold the prescriber's details.

Documentation

Carry quetiapine in its original dispensing packaging with the prescription and a prescriber's letter naming the patient, the active ingredient, the dose and the treatment period, which is good practice for any long term medicine rather than a narcotics requirement. No import certificate under articles 4 and 5 of Law No. 2313 is engaged, since those provisions operate only on substances that Law covers. If a local supply is needed mid trip, a Turkish prescription will be required and that is a clinical appointment rather than a customs matter. The verified absence was read in the dossier on 18 September 2026 and article 187 of the Penal Code was read from the consolidated text on 20 September 2026.

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