Is Scopolamine (Devil's Breath) legal in Portugal?
- Legal status
- Scopolamine (hyoscine) — escopolamina (hioscina) is an authorised prescription/pharmacy medicine, not a controlled substance: Infarmed grants it marketing authorisation and it is absent from the Decreto-Lei 15/93 narcotics/psychotropics tables. Butilescopolamina (Buscopan) is an OTC antispasmodic.
- Consequences if caught
- Escopolamina attracts no controlled-drug penalty; unauthorised supply of a prescription medicine is a medicines-law matter, not a trafficking offence.
- If prescribed or medical
- Injectable and transdermal scopolamine (anaesthetic premedication, motion sickness, palliative secretions) are prescription medicines; Buscopan is sold for gastrointestinal spasm.
- Documentation
- Buscopan and escopolamina products are registered in the Infarmed Infomed database; carried lawfully.
Drug laws and enforcement change and vary within a country. This is not legal advice. Always confirm with Portugal’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 →