Is Scopolamine (Devil's Breath) legal in Netherlands?
- Legal status
- Scopolamine (hyoscine) is an authorised medicine, not an Opiumwet controlled substance: butylscopolaminebromide (Buscopan) tablets and suppositories are registered by the CBG-MEB and sold without prescription, while scopolamine injection is prescription-only.
- Consequences if caught
- Scopolamine is not on the Opiumwet lists, so no controlled-drug penalty applies; unauthorised supply of the prescription injectable is a Geneesmiddelenwet matter, not a trafficking offence.
- If prescribed or medical
- Buscopan (butylscopolamine) tablets and suppositories are OTC antispasmodics; scopolamine injection (anaesthetic premedication, palliative secretions) requires a prescription.
- Documentation
- Buscopan omhulde tabletten (butylscopolaminebromide) are registered in the CBG-MEB Geneesmiddeleninformatiebank; carried lawfully as an OTC purchase.
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 →