Are Synthetic Cannabinoids (K2 / Spice) legal in Portugal?

Legal status

Controlled, and the class is split across two regimes. Some synthetic cannabinoids sit in table II-A of Decreto-Lei n.º 15/93 and others remain on the list of new psychoactive substances made under Decreto-Lei n.º 54/2013. Which one governs depends on the individual compound.

Consequences if caught

The class does not have one answer and a single label would be wrong. Article 2(1) of Portaria n.º 232/2022, de 7 de setembro, removed JWH-018, AM-2201, UR-144 and 5F-UR-144, named there as a synonym of XLR-11, from the list of new psychoactive substances because they had been added to table II-A of Decreto-Lei n.º 15/93. The annex republished by article 3 of the same portaria still carries other synthetic cannabinoids, including CP47,497 and its C8 homologue, HU-210, CRA-13 and the adamantoyl derivative of JWH-018. So a compound in table II-A brings the drug law, with the trafficking offence in article 21 and, for personal consumption, Lei n.º 30/2000 as amended by Lei n.º 55/2023 with the ten day quantity and the commissions for the dissuasion of drug addiction. A compound still on the new psychoactive substances list brings the administrative offence in article 10 of Decreto-Lei n.º 54/2013 instead. Where the regime does apply, article 4 provides that it is prohibited to produce, import, export, advertise, distribute, sell, hold or make available a new psychoactive substance, except for industrial or pharmaceutical purposes when duly authorised. Article 10 makes a breach of article 4 an administrative offence with a fine from 750 to 3,740 euros for an individual and from 5,000 to 44,890 euros for a body corporate, and article 10(2) applies Lei n.º 30/2000 with the necessary adaptations to holding for mere personal consumption. Identify the individual compound before relying on either. A product sold as a synthetic cannabinoid may contain a compound that is in neither instrument, and this cell does not say that any particular product is lawful. The list was read as republished in full by Portaria n.º 232/2022, de 7 de setembro, which entered into force on 8 September 2022. Anything added after that date was not available here.

If prescribed or medical

There is no traveller prescription route. No synthetic cannabinoid in this class is dispensed as a medicine in Portugal in a form a traveller would carry.

Documentation

Carry any prescribed medicine in its original packaging with the prescription. No documentation authorises carrying a synthetic cannabinoid.

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.