Is Salvia divinorum legal in Saudi Arabia?

Legal status

Salvia divinorum is expressly a prohibited plant in Saudi Arabia, listed in Schedule IV of the schedules attached to the Law of Combating Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances, Royal Decree M/39 of 1426 AH, in the version issued on 4 September 2026, printed as «نبات (Salvia Divinorum)». Its active constituent salvinorin A is separately placed at Schedule II Category E under «فئة (هـ):... المؤثرات العقلية الخاضعة للرقابة محلياً بالمملكة», Category E, psychotropic substances locally controlled in the Kingdom. Both entries are express. Salvia is unscheduled in a number of countries and has been sold openly as a herbal product, so the temptation on a row like this is to assume it fell through the net; in these schedules it did not, and the plant and the diterpene are each named. M/39 Article 17 governs the prohibited plants and Articles 70 to 71 keep the attached schedules current.

Consequences if caught

A Schedule IV prohibited plant with a Schedule II Category E constituent is inside Article 37(I), 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 cultivation and extraction are both named limbs. 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. A concentrated extract sold by a strength multiple is the same listed plant material concentrated, and the multiple on the label has no legal significance here.

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. Salvia divinorum sits inside the narcotics law as a Schedule IV prohibited plant with salvinorin A at Schedule II Category E, and no Saudi dispensing route and no medicinal product derived from it was recorded, so nothing here should be read as saying a clearance would issue for it.

Documentation

There is nothing to carry for this plant, because no lawful import route was established for it, and that covers live cuttings, dried leaf and standardised extracts alike. 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 IV listing and the Schedule II Category E salvinorin A entry were 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.