Legal status in State of Palestine
Per-substance legal status for State of Palestine, from sourced statutes where available. Legal information, not legal advice; drug laws change, so confirm with the destination’s embassy or drug authority before you travel.
Confirmed legal status
Alcohol
- Legal status
- Split regime, alcohol (ethanol) is legal and licensed in parts of the West Bank (notably Christian towns such as Taybeh, Ramallah and Bethlehem, home to the Taybeh brewery), while in Gaza the Hamas authorities have prohibited it.
- Consequences if caught
- No general penalty for licensed consumption in West Bank Christian areas; in Gaza, possessing or consuming alcohol brings arrest and confiscation under the local ban.
- If prescribed / medical
- n/a, a beverage, not a medicine.
- Documentation
- Bought at licensed shops, restaurants and the Taybeh brewery in the West Bank; effectively unavailable and banned in Gaza. Availability varies sharply by locality.
travel.state.gov · Updated July 14, 2026
Buprenorphine
- Legal status
- Buprenorphine is a controlled narcotic under the Palestinian narcotics regime (PA-administered West Bank; separate Gaza military orders), a lighter tier than methadone; in PA areas prescribed/personal use is non-capital.
- Consequences if caught
- In the West Bank (PA) ordinary opioid medicines are non-capital; in Gaza, Hamas military orders make drug trafficking capital, but that reaches aggravated trafficking, prescribed/personal buprenorphine is non-capital.
- If prescribed / medical
- Dispensed as a controlled prescription medicine on health-authority approval in PA areas.
- Documentation
- Health-authority approval is required; carry full documentation (Gaza access is severely constrained).
hri.global · Updated July 13, 2026
Cannabis / THC
- Legal status
- Cannabis is a controlled drug in the State of Palestine, no legal recreational or medical regime; the precise instrument is left to confirmation against the current law; the maximum penalty is imprisonment (and, for the gravest trafficking offences in the Gaza Strip, death).
- Consequences if caught
- Capital exposure: not established for this substance. State of Palestine retains the death penalty for drug offences, under military orders applied in the Gaza Strip, for serious drug trafficking, and that much is established here. What is not established is this substance's own position under it: the source read here gives neither the article that would carry it nor any quantity at which it would apply. No threshold is stated in this cell because none was established. Do not read the absence of a figure as a safe amount. The country level position is the one to act on, and the substance specific position has to be settled against the current instrument. The position differs by territory, and the framework applied in the West Bank is a separate one that maintains a longstanding execution moratorium. This cell does not establish which of the two would govern a given case.
- If prescribed / medical
- Not a prescribed traveller medicine in this form.
- Documentation
- In the State of Palestine, drug law differs by territory. The precise governing instrument and article are left to confirmation against the current law in each territory. [jurisdiction-split] Capital drug provisions are associated with the Hamas-administered Gaza Strip; Verify against the current governing law in each territory. A primary statute portal was not located; this cell is sourced via the Library of Congress Global Legal Monitor (loc.gov) and the UNODC legal database, with Harm Reduction International as a corroborating record. Cannabis is a controlled drug, with no legal recreational or medical regime. Carry any controlled medicine with its prescription and confirm requirements with your embassy before travel.
State of Palestine, applicable penal law (Gaza Strip military orders · West Bank PA framework) · loc.gov · unodc.org · Updated September 20, 2026
Cathinone
- Legal status
- Illegal, cathinone (khat's natural principal alkaloid) is a 1971 Convention SCHEDULE I psychotropic and is caught by the applicable narcotics law (the PA aligns with Israeli control, under which cathinone/cathine are prohibited). Mechanism: 1971 Sch-I transposition, named. As the parent compound it is DISTINCT from the khat PLANT (Catha edulis, not traditionally consumed) and from the synthetic cathinones (mephedrone etc.) that derive from it; cathinone is the named Sch-I alkaloid, cathine the milder metabolite (1971 Schedule III). No realistic capital exposure, the alkaloid sits below any tier.
- Consequences if caught
- Controlled substance: treated as a scheduled psychotropic drawing imprisonment-level exposure for the alkaloid.
- If prescribed / medical
- 1971 Schedule I substance with no accepted medical use and no lawful prescription route for the isolated alkaloid.
- Documentation
- No licit personal-import route for a controlled substance.
euda.europa.eu · Updated July 14, 2026
Codeine
- Legal status
- Codeine is a controlled narcotic - medically dispensed in the West Bank under Palestinian Authority (Jordanian-derived) narcotics law. Capital exposure differs by area: in Gaza, Hamas military orders make drug trafficking capital and executions have occurred, while in West Bank/PA areas there is no death penalty for ordinary opioid medicines. Capital does not attach to therapeutic codeine.
- Consequences if caught
- In Gaza, aggravated trafficking is death-eligible under military orders; in PA areas codeine is non-capital; unauthorised possession draws imprisonment, while prescribed use is lawful.
- If prescribed / medical
- PRESCRIPTION AVAILABILITY NOT CONFIRMED. The State of Palestine has no entry of any kind in INCB's Estimated World Requirements of Narcotic Drugs for 2026, and no entry on INCB's country-regulations-for-travellers page. No Palestinian medicines-regulator source for codeine was reachable. The control status above is what is established; whether codeine is dispensed on prescription, in West Bank/PA areas or in Gaza, is not confirmed here.
- Documentation
- Health authority approval is required; the Gaza blockade and division leave no reliable channel - carry full documentation.
hri.global · INCB Estimated World Requirements of Narcotic Drugs for 2026 (April update), no State of Palestine entry: https://www.incb.org/incb/uploads/documents/Narcotic-Drugs/Status-of-Estimates/2026/EstApr26.pdf · INCB Country Regulations for Travellers, no State of Palestine entry: https://www.incb.org/incb/en/travellers/country-regulations.html · Updated August 24, 2026
Khat
- Legal status
- Controlled/illegal, cathinone/cathine are caught by the narcotics law (the PA aligns with Israeli control, where khat/cathinone are prohibited); khat is not traditionally consumed. Mechanism: class (alkaloid); plant specifics left to confirmation. No realistic capital exposure, the leaf sits below any tier.
- Consequences if caught
- Treated as a controlled narcotic; not a local commodity, with imprisonment-level exposure for the leaf.
- If prescribed / medical
- Khat is traditional plant material with no recognised medical use and no lawful prescription route.
- Documentation
- No lawful personal-import route; leaf caught via its scheduled cathinone content.
euda.europa.eu · Updated July 14, 2026
MDA
- Legal status
- Controlled, MDA is scheduled under the PA's inherited (Jordanian/Egyptian-derived) narcotics law. Scheduled mechanism. Capital reach left to confirmation: the death penalty exists (notably in Gaza), but a drug-trafficking capital provision reaching MDA is not clearly established and any application would be exceptional.
- Consequences if caught
- Trafficking penalties severe; drug-specific capital reach uncertain.
- If prescribed / medical
- Scheduled drug with no recognised medical use; no lawful prescription route.
- Documentation
- No lawful personal import; capital reach for drugs uncertain.
security-legislation.ps · Updated July 14, 2026
Pink Cocaine / Tusi
- Legal status
- Pink cocaine (tusi) is not scheduled as such; it is a variable mixture (typically ketamine + MDMA) prosecuted through its constituents, MDMA is a controlled substance under the applicable penal law in the State of Palestine, which reaches any preparation containing a controlled substance. Because the blend varies batch to batch, exposure follows the most-severely-controlled component, so an MDMA-containing tusi sample can carry capital exposure in the Hamas-administered Gaza Strip.
- Consequences if caught
- An MDMA-positive mixture is a serious offence where, in the Gaza Strip, grave drug trafficking is capital-eligible (death sentences have been imposed); in the West Bank the PA framework applies imprisonment.
- If prescribed / medical
- No lawful supply of the mixture; MDMA has no accepted medical use, and ketamine, where present, is a controlled medicine.
- Documentation
- Sold as a party powder of unknown makeup; because the blend varies batch to batch, buyers and travellers cannot know whether death-eligible MDMA is present, so legal exposure under the applicable penal law is unknowable at purchase.
hri.global · Updated July 14, 2026
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Not individually verified
80 substances are not individually verified for State of Palestine
For these the governing national drug law is cited, but we have not verified that the substance specifically is scheduled under it. Treat them as unanswered, not as legal. Confirm with State of Palestine’s drug authority or your embassy.
| Substance | What we found |
|---|---|
| 1P-LSD | Not confirmed, the applicable Palestinian penal law (Gaza Strip military orders / West Bank Palestinian Authority... |
| 2-FDCK | Not confirmed, the applicable Palestinian penal law (Gaza Strip military orders / West Bank Palestinian Authority... |
| 25I-NBOMe | Not confirmed, the applicable Palestinian penal law (Gaza Strip military orders / West Bank Palestinian Authority... |
| 2C-B | Not confirmed. The status of 2C-B in the State of Palestine was not established on this record. Drug law differs... |
| 2C-E | Not confirmed, the applicable Palestinian penal law (Gaza Strip military orders / West Bank Palestinian Authority... |
| 2C-I | Not confirmed, the applicable Palestinian penal law (Gaza Strip military orders / West Bank Palestinian Authority... |
| 2C-T-7 | Not confirmed, the applicable Palestinian penal law (Gaza Strip military orders / West Bank Palestinian Authority... |
| 3-MMC | Not confirmed, the applicable Palestinian penal law (Gaza Strip military orders / West Bank Palestinian Authority... |
| 4-AcO-DMT | Not confirmed, the applicable Palestinian penal law (Gaza Strip military orders / West Bank Palestinian Authority... |
| 4-HO-MET | Not confirmed, the applicable Palestinian penal law (Gaza Strip military orders / West Bank Palestinian Authority... |
| 5-MeO-DMT (Bufo / Toad) | Not confirmed, the applicable Palestinian penal law (Gaza Strip military orders / West Bank Palestinian Authority... |
| 6-APB | Not confirmed, the applicable Palestinian penal law (Gaza Strip military orders / West Bank Palestinian Authority... |
| 7-Hydroxymitragynine (7-OH) | Not confirmed, the applicable Palestinian penal law (Gaza Strip military orders / West Bank Palestinian Authority... |
| Adderall | Not confirmed, the applicable Palestinian penal law (Gaza Strip military orders / West Bank Palestinian Authority... |
| Amanita muscaria | Not confirmed, the applicable Palestinian penal law (Gaza Strip military orders / West Bank Palestinian Authority... |
| Amphetamine | Not confirmed, the applicable Palestinian penal law (Gaza Strip military orders / West Bank Palestinian Authority... |
| Amyl Nitrite | Not confirmed, the applicable Palestinian penal law (Gaza Strip military orders / West Bank Palestinian Authority... |
| Ayahuasca | Not confirmed, the applicable Palestinian penal law (Gaza Strip military orders / West Bank Palestinian Authority... |
| Barbiturates | Not confirmed, the applicable Palestinian penal law (Gaza Strip military orders / West Bank Palestinian Authority... |
| Benzodiazepines | Not confirmed. The status of benzodiazepines in the State of Palestine was not established on this record. Drug law... |
| Caffeine | Not confirmed, the applicable Palestinian penal law (Gaza Strip military orders / West Bank Palestinian Authority... |
| Cannabinol | Not confirmed, the applicable Palestinian penal law (Gaza Strip military orders / West Bank Palestinian Authority... |
| CBD | Not confirmed, the applicable Palestinian penal law (Gaza Strip military orders / West Bank Palestinian Authority... |
| Clonazepam | Not confirmed, the applicable Palestinian penal law (Gaza Strip military orders / West Bank Palestinian Authority... |
| Cocaine | Not confirmed. The status of cocaine in the State of Palestine was not established on this record. Drug law differs... |
| Crack Cocaine | Not confirmed. This record treats crack as the freebase form of cocaine, with no separate legal identity in the... |
| Delta-8-THC | Not confirmed, the applicable Palestinian penal law (Gaza Strip military orders / West Bank Palestinian Authority... |
| Diazepam | Not confirmed, the applicable Palestinian penal law (Gaza Strip military orders / West Bank Palestinian Authority... |
| DMT | Not confirmed. The status of DMT in the State of Palestine was not established on this record. Drug law differs... |
| DOM | Not confirmed, the applicable Palestinian penal law (Gaza Strip military orders / West Bank Palestinian Authority... |
| DXM | Not confirmed, the applicable Palestinian penal law (Gaza Strip military orders / West Bank Palestinian Authority... |
| Ephedrine | Not confirmed, the applicable Palestinian penal law (Gaza Strip military orders / West Bank Palestinian Authority... |
| Etizolam | Not confirmed, the applicable Palestinian penal law (Gaza Strip military orders / West Bank Palestinian Authority... |
| Fentanyl | Not confirmed. The status of fentanyl in the State of Palestine was not established on this record. Drug law differs... |
| Gabapentin | Not confirmed, the applicable Palestinian penal law (Gaza Strip military orders / West Bank Palestinian Authority... |
| GBL | Not confirmed, the applicable Palestinian penal law (Gaza Strip military orders / West Bank Palestinian Authority... |
| GHB | Not confirmed. The status of GHB in the State of Palestine was not established on this record. Drug law differs... |
| Heroin | Not confirmed. The status of heroin in the State of Palestine was not established on this record. Drug law differs... |
| HHC | Not confirmed, the applicable Palestinian penal law (Gaza Strip military orders / West Bank Palestinian Authority... |
| Hydrocodone | Not confirmed, the applicable Palestinian penal law (Gaza Strip military orders / West Bank Palestinian Authority... |
| Ketamine | Not confirmed, the applicable Palestinian penal law (Gaza Strip military orders / West Bank Palestinian Authority... |
| Kratom | Not confirmed, the applicable Palestinian penal law (Gaza Strip military orders / West Bank Palestinian Authority... |
| Lorazepam | Not confirmed, the applicable Palestinian penal law (Gaza Strip military orders / West Bank Palestinian Authority... |
| LSA (Morning Glory) | Not confirmed, the applicable Palestinian penal law (Gaza Strip military orders / West Bank Palestinian Authority... |
| LSD | Not confirmed. The status of LSD in the State of Palestine was not established on this record. Drug law differs... |
| MDMA | Not confirmed. The status of MDMA in the State of Palestine was not established on this record. Drug law differs... |
| MDPV | Not confirmed, the applicable Palestinian penal law (Gaza Strip military orders / West Bank Palestinian Authority... |
| Memantine | Not confirmed, the applicable Palestinian penal law (Gaza Strip military orders / West Bank Palestinian Authority... |
| Mephedrone (4-MMC) | Not confirmed, the applicable Palestinian penal law (Gaza Strip military orders / West Bank Palestinian Authority... |
| Mescaline | Not confirmed. The status of mescaline in the State of Palestine was not established on this record. Drug law... |
| Methadone | Not confirmed, the applicable Palestinian penal law (Gaza Strip military orders / West Bank Palestinian Authority... |
| Methamphetamine | Not confirmed. The status of methamphetamine in the State of Palestine was not established on this record. Drug law... |
| Methaqualone (Quaaludes) | Not confirmed, the applicable Palestinian penal law (Gaza Strip military orders / West Bank Palestinian Authority... |
| Methylone | Not confirmed, the applicable Palestinian penal law (Gaza Strip military orders / West Bank Palestinian Authority... |
| Methylphenidate | Not confirmed, the applicable Palestinian penal law (Gaza Strip military orders / West Bank Palestinian Authority... |
| Mitragynine | Not confirmed, the applicable Palestinian penal law (Gaza Strip military orders / West Bank Palestinian Authority... |
| Modafinil | Not confirmed, the applicable Palestinian penal law (Gaza Strip military orders / West Bank Palestinian Authority... |
| Morphine | Not confirmed, the applicable Palestinian penal law (Gaza Strip military orders / West Bank Palestinian Authority... |
| MXE | Not confirmed, the applicable Palestinian penal law (Gaza Strip military orders / West Bank Palestinian Authority... |
| Nicotine | Not confirmed, the applicable Palestinian penal law (Gaza Strip military orders / West Bank Palestinian Authority... |
| Nimetazepam | Not confirmed, the applicable Palestinian penal law (Gaza Strip military orders / West Bank Palestinian Authority... |
| Nitrous Oxide | Not confirmed, the applicable Palestinian penal law (Gaza Strip military orders / West Bank Palestinian Authority... |
| Opium | Not confirmed, the applicable Palestinian penal law (Gaza Strip military orders / West Bank Palestinian Authority... |
| Oxycodone | Not confirmed, the applicable Palestinian penal law (Gaza Strip military orders / West Bank Palestinian Authority... |
| PCP | Not confirmed. The status of PCP in the State of Palestine was not established on this record. Drug law differs... |
| Peyote | Not confirmed, the applicable Palestinian penal law (Gaza Strip military orders / West Bank Palestinian Authority... |
| Phenibut | Not confirmed, the applicable Palestinian penal law (Gaza Strip military orders / West Bank Palestinian Authority... |
| Poppers | Not confirmed, the applicable Palestinian penal law (Gaza Strip military orders / West Bank Palestinian Authority... |
| Pregabalin | Not confirmed, the applicable Palestinian penal law (Gaza Strip military orders / West Bank Palestinian Authority... |
| Psilocybin | Not confirmed. The status of psilocybin in the State of Palestine was not established on this record. Drug law... |
| Quetiapine | Not confirmed, the applicable Palestinian penal law (Gaza Strip military orders / West Bank Palestinian Authority... |
| Salvia divinorum | Not confirmed, the applicable Palestinian penal law (Gaza Strip military orders / West Bank Palestinian Authority... |
| Scopolamine (Devil's Breath) | Not confirmed, the applicable Palestinian penal law (Gaza Strip military orders / West Bank Palestinian Authority... |
| Synthetic Cannabinoids (K2 / Spice) | Not confirmed, the applicable Palestinian penal law (Gaza Strip military orders / West Bank Palestinian Authority... |
| THC-P | Not confirmed, the applicable Palestinian penal law (Gaza Strip military orders / West Bank Palestinian Authority... |
| Tobacco | Not confirmed, the applicable Palestinian penal law (Gaza Strip military orders / West Bank Palestinian Authority... |
| Tramadol | Not confirmed, the applicable Palestinian penal law (Gaza Strip military orders / West Bank Palestinian Authority... |
| Xanax (Alprazolam) | Not confirmed, the applicable Palestinian penal law (Gaza Strip military orders / West Bank Palestinian Authority... |
| Xylazine | Not confirmed, the applicable Palestinian penal law (Gaza Strip military orders / West Bank Palestinian Authority... |
| Zolpidem | Not confirmed, the applicable Palestinian penal law (Gaza Strip military orders / West Bank Palestinian Authority... |
Drug laws and enforcement change and vary by country. This is not legal advice. Always confirm with the destination’s embassy or official drug authority before traveling; penalties can be severe, including imprisonment.
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