Legal status in Yemen

Per-substance legal status for Yemen, 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.

24 confirmed substances64 not individually verifiedLast updated October 3, 2026

Confirmed legal status

Adderall

Legal status: Controlled as amphetamine in the 1993 text of Law No. 3 of 1993 read. Adderall, sold as mixed amphetamine salts, is not named in the Law, but Schedule 1 prints amphetamine as item 15, with the trade names Anorexine, Actedron, Benzedrin and Aktedro, and dexamphetamine as item 58, with the trade names Maxiton and Dexedrine. Under item 15 the Arabic text adds "مع ملاحظة أن ليفوامفيتامين لا يعتبر مادة مخدرة" (noting that levamfetamine is not considered a narcotic substance). Article 1(c) makes the substances set out in Schedule 1 the narcotic and psychotropic substances of the Law, excluding the Schedule 2 preparations, which list no amphetamine. A paragraph printed after item 111 of Schedule 1, and before items 112 to 120, extends the schedule to "أي مستحضر أو مخلوط أو مستخلص أو أي مركب آخر يحتوى على إحدى المواد المدرجة في هذا الجدول" (any preparation, mixture, extract or other compound containing one of the substances listed in this schedule) "وبأي نسبة كانت ما لم ينص على نسبة محددة" (in any proportion, unless a specific proportion is stated). No proportion is printed under item 15 or item 58, so a tablet containing dexamphetamine or amphetamine is within the Law.
Consequences if caught: These penalties are stated as printed in the 1993 text read, not as confirmed current law. Article 38 punishes with imprisonment for five years anyone who possesses, buys, produces or manufactures narcotic substances for consumption or personal use unless he proves he was authorised by a medical prescription or under the Law; instead of that sentence the court may commit a person proved to be addicted to a sanatorium for treatment, and no criminal action is brought against a user who comes to a sanatorium for treatment of his own accord. Article 39 applies the same penalty to possession for purposes other than trafficking or personal use. Article 34(a) punishes by death or imprisonment for twenty five years owning, possessing, buying, selling, delivering, transporting or offering a narcotic substance with intent to traffic in it. Article 33 punishes by death import or export of narcotic substances with intent to traffic or promote before obtaining the Article 3 licence, and production or manufacture with intent to traffic. Article 37 allows a penalty to be reduced only to the next penalty below it. Article 49 exempts from the Article 33, 34 and 35 penalties an offender who reports the offence before the authorities know of it, and one who reports after they know if the report actually leads to the arrest of the other offenders. The Law names no quantity that moves a case between these articles; what separates them is the purpose of the act.
If prescribed / medical: Article 14 lets pharmacies dispense narcotic substances against a medical prescription from a physician or dentist, or under a licence card (بطاقة رخصة) as provided in Articles 19 to 22, and Article 17 forbids dispensing on a prescription more than ten days after its date. Article 15 forbids dispensing on a prescription beyond the quantities in Schedule 4, but where the patient's condition requires more, the treating physician must apply for a licence card for the quantities needed. Schedule 4 caps "أقراص أكتدرون" (Aktedron tablets, an amphetamine trade name) at 30 tablets and Maxiton tablets (a dexamphetamine trade name) at 30 tablets in a single prescription (items 53 and 52 in the Arabic text). Article 38 excuses possession only where the holder proves a medical prescription or authority under the Law.
Documentation: Article 3 says "لا يجوز جلب المواد المخدرة مهما كانت الوجهة النهائية لها" (narcotic substances may not be imported whatever their final destination) and allows export only by prior written licence, yet Article 4 provides for "أذن الجلب المشار إليه في المادة الثالثة" (the import permit referred to in Article 3) for medical and scientific uses and grants it only to government health institutions, the Yemeni Drugs Manufacturing and Trading Company, the National Drugs Establishment, and chemical and industrial analysis and scientific research laboratories and science colleges and institutes under Ministry of Health supervision. The Law contains no provision for a traveller carrying a personal supply. The Arabic text read is the PDF the Yemeni House of Representatives publishes on its website; it is not an Official Gazette image, every page was read as a rendered image, and its schedules carry a note citing health decisions of 1976 and 1981 and footnote markers whose footnote text is not printed. The English translation on UNODC SHERLOC differs from the Arabic inside Article 38: the Arabic says a court committal to a sanatorium may not be shorter than six months, the English says it may not exceed six months and adds a paragraph on a committee and repeat committals that the Arabic does not print. The English is therefore not relied on for Article 38, and it also omits the levamfetamine note and numbers Schedule 4 differently.

Law No. 3 of 1993, Articles 1, 3, 4, 14, 15, 17, 19, 33 to 39 and 49, Schedule 1 items 15 and 58 and the paragraph after item 111, Schedules 2 and 4, Arabic text published by the House of Representatives, read at https://yemenparliament.gov.ye/uploads/posts/documents/2018/10/1019201893432579.pdf on 3 October 2026 (all 38 pages read as images · cited text on pages 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 12, 17, 25, 27 to 33 and 37) · English translation compared at https://sherloc.unodc.org/cld/uploads/res/document/yem/1993/law_on_control_narcotics_93_html/LAW_3-93control_of_illicit_trafficking_and_abuse_or_narcotics.pdf · neither is an Official Gazette image. The text prints footnote markers on the Schedule 1 and 3 headings and Schedule 4 items 51, 55 and 62 with no footnote text, and a note on page 35 cites Health Decision No. 506 of 1981 and Ministerial Decisions No. 295 and No. 301 of 1976. The 292 law titles in the House of Representatives legislative encyclopedia (1990 to 2013), including the 39 containing تعديل and the four containing المعدل, show no amendment of Law No. 3 of 1993. That encyclopedia is a selection, not a complete list: it lists the 2006 amendment to the Crimes and Penalties Law but not that Law itself, titles are truncated, and the list ends in 2013. So later amending legislation was not ruled out. This reading does not rule out a later amending law or a decision under Article 32. · Updated October 3, 2026

Adderall in Yemen, full detail →

Alcohol

Legal status: Prohibited, alcohol (ethanol) is banned under Sharia-based law; production, sale and consumption are criminal offences, with only marginal historical exceptions for non-Muslims in some areas.
Consequences if caught: Consuming, selling or possessing alcohol brings imprisonment, fines and flogging (a corporal penalty); enforcement is severe in Houthi-controlled areas.
If prescribed / medical: n/a, a beverage, not a medicine.
Documentation: No legal retail sale; alcohol may not be imported and is confiscated at entry. Availability is effectively nil for travellers.

travel.state.gov · Updated July 14, 2026

Alcohol in Yemen, full detail →

Amphetamine

Legal status: Scheduled psychotropic under the Law on Control of Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances (Law No. 3 of 1993).
Consequences if caught: Personal possession/use ~5 years. Trafficking a scheduled substance is DEATH or 25-years eligible (Art. 34), an amphetamine-trafficking death sentence was imposed in 2022. Amphetamine carries capital exposure; enforcement is fractured amid conflict.
If prescribed / medical: Prescription stimulant via strictly controlled medical channels; carrying it without a local permit/prescription risks arrest.
Documentation: In Yemen (Law No. 3 of 1993 on Control of Illicit Trafficking in and Abuse of Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances), trafficking or cultivating schedule-V plants with intent to traffic is punishable by DEATH or 25 years (Art 34); possession not for trafficking draws a lesser penalty (Art 39). The penalty keys on INTENT, not a fixed statutory quantity, there is no fixed gram threshold; there is no medical cannabis. [retained; executions rare amid conflict] Yemen is retentionist, death applies for trafficking or cultivation with intent to traffic, but executions are rare amid the conflict. Active executions are not asserted. Carry any controlled medicine with its prescription and confirm requirements with your embassy before travel.

Law No. 3 of 1993, Art. 34 (capital) · sherloc.unodc.org · Updated July 13, 2026

Amphetamine in Yemen, full detail →

Barbiturates

Legal status: Barbiturates are scheduled psychotropic prescription medicines under Yemen's narcotics and psychotropics law (regulated under the lower psychotropic provisions, Art. 45), a class transposing the 1971 Convention.
Consequences if caught: Psychotropic trafficking draws imprisonment (Art. 45); possession/use is non-capital. Yemen's death penalty (Arts. 33-35) applies only to narcotic substances and Schedule-V plants, barbiturates sit in the lower psychotropic tier and are not death-eligible (enforcement is opaque amid the conflict).
If prescribed / medical: Phenobarbital is dispensed as a scheduled antiepileptic (a WHO Essential Medicine); the sedative-hypnotic barbiturates are tightly controlled.
Documentation: Carry a prescription and original packaging; confirm import rules where possible before travel.

sherloc.unodc.org · Updated July 14, 2026

Barbiturates in Yemen, full detail →

Buprenorphine

Legal status: Buprenorphine is a controlled narcotic under Yemen's Narcotics & Psychotropic Substances Law No. 3 of 1993, a lighter tier than methadone; capital exposure attaches only to aggravated trafficking, not to prescribed use.
Consequences if caught: Aggravated drug trafficking is death-eligible on paper, but prescribed/personal buprenorphine is non-capital (enforcement is disrupted by the conflict).
If prescribed / medical: Dispensed as a controlled prescription medicine where supply chains allow.
Documentation: Import authorisation is nominally required; carry full documentation and confirm rules where possible before travel.

hri.global · Updated July 13, 2026

Buprenorphine in Yemen, full detail →

Cannabis / THC

Legal status: Cannabis prohibited under Law No. 3 of 1993, trafficking/cultivation with intent punishable by DEATH or 25 years (Art 34); possession not for trafficking a lesser penalty (Art 39); no fixed statutory quantity; no medical cannabis; [retained; executions rare amid conflict]
Consequences if caught: Cannabis is prohibited in Yemen under Law No. 3 of 1993 on Control of Illicit Trafficking in and Abuse of Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances. In Yemen (Law No. 3 of 1993 on Control of Illicit Trafficking in and Abuse of Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances), trafficking or cultivating schedule-V plants with intent to traffic is punishable by DEATH or 25 years (Art 34); possession not for trafficking draws a lesser penalty (Art 39). The penalty keys on INTENT, not a fixed statutory quantity, there is no fixed gram threshold. [retained; executions rare amid conflict] Yemen is retentionist, death applies for trafficking or cultivation with intent to traffic, but executions are rare amid the conflict. Active executions are not asserted.
If prescribed / medical: Not a prescribed traveller medicine in this form; Yemen has no medical cannabis.
Documentation: In Yemen (Law No. 3 of 1993 on Control of Illicit Trafficking in and Abuse of Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances), trafficking or cultivating schedule-V plants with intent to traffic is punishable by DEATH or 25 years (Art 34); possession not for trafficking draws a lesser penalty (Art 39). The penalty keys on INTENT, not a fixed statutory quantity, there is no fixed gram threshold; there is no medical cannabis. [retained; executions rare amid conflict] Yemen is retentionist, death applies for trafficking or cultivation with intent to traffic, but executions are rare amid the conflict. Active executions are not asserted. Carry any controlled medicine with its prescription and confirm requirements with your embassy before travel.

Law No. 3 of 1993 on Control of Illicit Trafficking in and Abuse of Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances, Arts 34/39 · corroborated by Harm Reduction International · sherloc.unodc.org · hri.global · Updated June 26, 2026

Cannabis / THC in Yemen, full detail →

Cathinone

Legal status: Split status, cathinone (khat's natural principal alkaloid) is a 1971 Convention SCHEDULE I psychotropic, and as a 1971 party Yemen's psychotropics control extends to the isolated alkaloid. This is the sharpest illustration of the parent/plant distinction: the khat PLANT (Catha edulis leaf) is a LICIT, mainstream, government-taxed commodity chewed daily, whereas pure cathinone extracted from it is a treaty-scheduled Sch-I psychotropic, not a licit article of trade. It is also DISTINCT from the synthetic cathinones (mephedrone etc.) derived from it; cathine, khat's milder degradation product, sits in the lesser 1971 Schedule III.
Consequences if caught: No offence attaches to chewing or trading the khat leaf domestically; the isolated alkaloid, by contrast, is a scheduled psychotropic with no lawful commerce. No realistic capital exposure.
If prescribed / medical: Isolated cathinone is a 1971 Schedule I substance with no accepted medical use and no prescription route; the leaf itself is chewed as a licit stimulant with no medical framework.
Documentation: The leaf is legal and ubiquitous inside Yemen, but never carry any khat or cathinone OUT, the alkaloid is a Schedule-I psychotropic and the leaf is a controlled narcotic in every neighbouring state.

euda.europa.eu · Updated July 14, 2026

Cathinone in Yemen, full detail →

CBD

Legal status: CBD (cannabidiol) is controlled as cannabis under the Law on Control of Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances, all forms of cannabis are illegal, including medical use, with no hemp/CBD carve-out or THC threshold.
Consequences if caught: Fines and lengthy imprisonment apply with strict enforcement; Article 34 imposes death or 25 years for trafficking-intent possession/transport/sale, so a personal CBD item is charged as possession and CBD-specific capital exposure is left to confirmation.
If prescribed / medical: There is none.
Documentation: No documentation legalises CBD, controlled as cannabis, with no prescription route.

sherloc.unodc.org · Updated July 14, 2026

CBD in Yemen, full detail →

Clonazepam

Legal status: Clonazepam is a scheduled psychotropic prescription medicine under Yemen's narcotics and psychotropics law (regulated under the lower psychotropic provisions, Art. 45).
Consequences if caught: Psychotropic trafficking draws imprisonment (Art. 45); possession/use is non-capital. Yemen's death penalty (Arts. 33-35) applies only to narcotic substances and Schedule-V plants, benzodiazepines sit in the lower psychotropic tier and are not death-eligible (enforcement is opaque amid the conflict).
If prescribed / medical: Dispensed as a scheduled psychotropic prescription medicine.
Documentation: Carry a prescription and original packaging; confirm import rules where possible before travel.

sherloc.unodc.org · Updated July 13, 2026

Clonazepam in Yemen, full detail →

Cocaine

Legal status: Prohibited under Law No. 3 of 1993, trafficking/cultivation with intent punishable by DEATH or 25 years (Art 34); possession not for trafficking a lesser penalty (Art 39); no fixed statutory quantity (keys on intent); [retained; executions rare amid conflict]
Consequences if caught: Cocaine is prohibited in Yemen under Law No. 3 of 1993 on Control of Illicit Trafficking in and Abuse of Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances. In Yemen (Law No. 3 of 1993 on Control of Illicit Trafficking in and Abuse of Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances), trafficking or cultivating schedule-V plants with intent to traffic is punishable by DEATH or 25 years (Art 34); possession not for trafficking draws a lesser penalty (Art 39). The penalty keys on INTENT, not a fixed statutory quantity, there is no fixed gram threshold. [retained; executions rare amid conflict] Yemen is retentionist, death applies for trafficking or cultivation with intent to traffic, but executions are rare amid the conflict. Active executions are not asserted.
If prescribed / medical: Not a prescribed traveller medicine in this form.
Documentation: In Yemen (Law No. 3 of 1993 on Control of Illicit Trafficking in and Abuse of Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances), trafficking or cultivating schedule-V plants with intent to traffic is punishable by DEATH or 25 years (Art 34); possession not for trafficking draws a lesser penalty (Art 39). The penalty keys on INTENT, not a fixed statutory quantity, there is no fixed gram threshold; there is no medical cannabis. [retained; executions rare amid conflict] Yemen is retentionist, death applies for trafficking or cultivation with intent to traffic, but executions are rare amid the conflict. Active executions are not asserted. Carry any controlled medicine with its prescription and confirm requirements with your embassy before travel.

Cocaine in Yemen, full detail →

Codeine

Legal status: Codeine is a controlled narcotic under Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances Law No. 3 of 1993; supply chains are disrupted by conflict. The death penalty applies to aggravated narcotic trafficking on paper, but capital does not attach to therapeutic codeine.
Consequences if caught: Aggravated trafficking is death-eligible on paper; unauthorised possession of codeine draws imprisonment, while prescribed use is lawful (enforcement is opaque amid the conflict).
If prescribed / medical: Available as medicine: Yemen's INCB estimated requirement for codeine for 2026 is 180,000 g, against morphine at 2,500 g. Yemen furnished INCB a traveller-regulation sheet (2024); the English file downloads but is a scanned image with no text layer, so its carry terms could not be read here.
Documentation: Import authorisation is nominally required but wartime breakdown leaves no reliable channel - carry full documentation.

hri.global · INCB Estimated World Requirements of Narcotic Drugs for 2026 (April update): https://www.incb.org/incb/uploads/documents/Narcotic-Drugs/Status-of-Estimates/2026/EstApr26.pdf · INCB Country Regulations for Travellers: https://www.incb.org/incb/en/travellers/country-regulations.html · Updated August 24, 2026

Codeine in Yemen, full detail →

Crack Cocaine

Legal status: Crack is the freebase (base) form of cocaine and has no separate legal identity in Yemen: it is controlled AS cocaine under Law No. 3 of 1993, whose schedule covers cocaine, its salts and preparations and thus reaches the base/freebase form. The capital trafficking regime (Art 34) carries over to crack whether powder or base.
Consequences if caught: Trafficking or cultivation with intent involving crack (as cocaine) is punishable by death or 25 years (Art 34); possession not for trafficking draws a lesser penalty.
If prescribed / medical: Cocaine has no recognised therapeutic use in Yemen; the crack/freebase base has no medicinal preparation and cannot be prescribed.
Documentation: No prescription documentation exists for crack/freebase cocaine.

unodc.org · Updated July 14, 2026

Crack Cocaine in Yemen, full detail →

Delta-8-THC

Legal status: Controlled, delta-8-THC (Δ8-THC) is caught as a tetrahydrocannabinol under Law No. 3 of 1993 on narcotics and psychotropic substances, which schedules cannabis and THC; delta-8 is controlled as an isomer of THC. Distinct from cannabis, prohibited (death or 25 years for trafficking/cultivation with intent, Art. 34). The capital reach of a pure delta-8 isomer is left to confirmation.
Consequences if caught: Capital exposure: not established for this substance. Yemen retains the death penalty for drug offences, under the national narcotics law, for 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.
If prescribed / medical: No recognised medical use; delta-8-THC is not a prescribable medicine.
Documentation: No lawful personal import of a controlled tetrahydrocannabinol.

unodc.org · Updated September 20, 2026

Delta-8-THC in Yemen, full detail →

Diazepam

Legal status: Diazepam is a scheduled psychotropic prescription medicine under Yemen's narcotics and psychotropics law (regulated under the lower psychotropic provisions, Art. 45).
Consequences if caught: Psychotropic trafficking draws imprisonment (Art. 45); possession/use is non-capital. Yemen's death penalty (Arts. 33-35) applies only to narcotic substances and Schedule-V plants, benzodiazepines sit in the lower psychotropic tier and are not death-eligible (enforcement is opaque amid the conflict).
If prescribed / medical: Dispensed as a scheduled psychotropic prescription medicine.
Documentation: Carry a prescription and original packaging; confirm import rules where possible before travel.

sherloc.unodc.org · Updated July 13, 2026

Diazepam in Yemen, full detail →

Ephedrine

Legal status: Regulated as a chemical PRECURSOR (1988 UN Convention Table I, a methamphetamine precursor), NOT as a scheduled narcotic; a Schedule III precursor under the Law on Control of Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances.
Consequences if caught: No capital exposure, Schedule III precursor offences carry a maximum of ~1 year (not death); the death penalty is reserved for trafficking narcotic substances. (Wartime divided jurisdiction adds practical uncertainty.)
If prescribed / medical: Also a pharmacy/prescription decongestant-bronchodilator medicine subject to sales limits; carry documentation for a personal supply.
Documentation: In Yemen (Law No. 3 of 1993 on Control of Illicit Trafficking in and Abuse of Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances), trafficking or cultivating schedule-V plants with intent to traffic is punishable by DEATH or 25 years (Art 34); possession not for trafficking draws a lesser penalty (Art 39). The penalty keys on INTENT, not a fixed statutory quantity, there is no fixed gram threshold; there is no medical cannabis. [retained; executions rare amid conflict] Yemen is retentionist, death applies for trafficking or cultivation with intent to traffic, but executions are rare amid the conflict. Active executions are not asserted. Carry any controlled medicine with its prescription and confirm requirements with your embassy before travel.

unodc.org · Updated July 13, 2026

Ephedrine in Yemen, full detail →

Heroin

Legal status: Prohibited under Law No. 3 of 1993, trafficking/cultivation with intent punishable by DEATH or 25 years (Art 34); possession not for trafficking a lesser penalty (Art 39); no fixed statutory quantity (keys on intent); [retained; executions rare amid conflict]
Consequences if caught: Heroin is prohibited in Yemen under Law No. 3 of 1993 on Control of Illicit Trafficking in and Abuse of Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances. In Yemen (Law No. 3 of 1993 on Control of Illicit Trafficking in and Abuse of Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances), trafficking or cultivating schedule-V plants with intent to traffic is punishable by DEATH or 25 years (Art 34); possession not for trafficking draws a lesser penalty (Art 39). The penalty keys on INTENT, not a fixed statutory quantity, there is no fixed gram threshold. [retained; executions rare amid conflict] Yemen is retentionist, death applies for trafficking or cultivation with intent to traffic, but executions are rare amid the conflict. Active executions are not asserted.
If prescribed / medical: Not a prescribed traveller medicine in this form.
Documentation: In Yemen (Law No. 3 of 1993 on Control of Illicit Trafficking in and Abuse of Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances), trafficking or cultivating schedule-V plants with intent to traffic is punishable by DEATH or 25 years (Art 34); possession not for trafficking draws a lesser penalty (Art 39). The penalty keys on INTENT, not a fixed statutory quantity, there is no fixed gram threshold; there is no medical cannabis. [retained; executions rare amid conflict] Yemen is retentionist, death applies for trafficking or cultivation with intent to traffic, but executions are rare amid the conflict. Active executions are not asserted. Carry any controlled medicine with its prescription and confirm requirements with your embassy before travel.

Heroin in Yemen, full detail →

Khat

Legal status: Not named in Law No. 3 of 1993 on Combating Illicit Trafficking in and Use of Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (قانون رقم (٣) لسنة ١٩٩٣م بشأن مكافحة الاتجار والاستعمال غير المشروعين للمخدرات والمؤثرات العقلية), in the 1993 text read. Khat, Catha edulis, cathinone and cathine appear in none of its 56 articles and none of its six annexed schedules; all 38 pages of the Arabic text were read as page images. Article 1(c) makes narcotic and psychotropic substances "المواد المبينة في الجدول رقم (١)" (the substances set out in Schedule 1), excluding the Schedule 2 preparations, and Article 1 describes Schedule 5 as the list of plants whose cultivation is prohibited "على سبيل الحصر" (exhaustively). Schedule 5 prints only Indian hemp, the opium poppy, all species of the papaver genus, and coca. Schedule 3, the substances subject to some of the restrictions, does not list khat, cathine or cathinone either. This cell states what this one Law says and nothing about any other Yemeni instrument.
Consequences if caught: Law No. 3 of 1993 creates no offence that names khat. Its penalty articles reach a narcotic substance, which Article 1(c) defines by Schedule 1, the plants listed in Schedule 5 (Articles 34(b), 38 and 39), the Schedule 3 substances, whose handling Article 27 prohibits (Article 45, and Article 46 for other contraventions of the Law), and khat is in none of those lists in the text read. Whether any other Yemeni law reaches khat was not examined. UNODC SHERLOC also reproduces articles 3, 12, 18 and 22 of the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance No. 13 of 1960, an Aden Colony ordinance whose article 3 speaks of a drug brought "into the Colony"; those excerpts concern opium and the alkaloids of opium and of the coca leaf and do not name khat, but the full Ordinance and any schedule to it were not read, and Law No. 3 of 1993 contains no article repealing it, its last article, Article 56, providing only for its entry into force and publication. Article 32 lets the Minister of Agriculture amend the schedules by deletion or addition by a decision "وينشر القرار في الجريدة الرسمية" (published in the Official Gazette), and no such decision was found or read.
If prescribed / medical: Law No. 3 of 1993 has no prescription rule for khat. Its prescription articles (Articles 14 to 17) and Schedule 4 govern narcotic substances dispensed by pharmacies, and khat is not among the substances the Law lists.
Documentation: The Arabic text read is the PDF that the Yemeni House of Representatives publishes in the legislative encyclopedia on its website, uploaded on 19 October 2018. It is published by a state body but is not an image of the Official Gazette, and its text layer garbles on extraction, so every page was read from a rendered image. The schedules as printed are a compilation: a note under Schedule 3 cites Article 3 of Minister of State for Health Decision No. 506 of 1981 and Ministerial Decisions No. 295 and No. 301 of 1976, and footnote markers stand on the Schedule 1 and Schedule 3 headings and on Schedule 4 items 51, 55 and 62 with no footnote text printed anywhere in the file. The English translation on UNODC SHERLOC was used as a cross check and agrees on every point this cell relies on. The cell says nothing about taxation, trade or custom, because the Law says nothing about them.

Law No. 3 of 1993 with Schedules 1 to 6, Arabic text published by the House of Representatives, read at https://yemenparliament.gov.ye/uploads/posts/documents/2018/10/1019201893432579.pdf on 3 October 2026 (38 pages, all read as images, linked from https://yemenparliament.gov.ye/Details?Post=96) · English translation cross checked at https://sherloc.unodc.org/cld/uploads/res/document/yem/1993/law_on_control_narcotics_93_html/LAW_3-93control_of_illicit_trafficking_and_abuse_or_narcotics.pdf · neither is an Official Gazette image. The 292 law titles in the House of Representatives legislative encyclopedia (laws of 1990 to 2013), including the 39 containing تعديل and the four containing المعدل, were searched and none is an amendment of Law No. 3 of 1993. That encyclopedia is a selection, not a complete list: it lists the 2006 amendment to the Crimes and Penalties Law but not that Law itself, titles are truncated, and the list ends in 2013. So that search is not proof that no amending law exists. This absence is stated as at the 1993 text read and does not rule out a later amending law or a decision under Article 32. · Updated October 3, 2026

Khat in Yemen, full detail →

Lorazepam

Legal status: Lorazepam is a scheduled psychotropic prescription medicine under Yemen's narcotics and psychotropics law (regulated under the lower psychotropic provisions, Art. 45).
Consequences if caught: Psychotropic trafficking draws imprisonment (Art. 45); possession/use is non-capital. Yemen's death penalty (Arts. 33-35) applies only to narcotic substances and Schedule-V plants, benzodiazepines sit in the lower psychotropic tier and are not death-eligible (enforcement is opaque amid the conflict).
If prescribed / medical: Dispensed as a scheduled psychotropic prescription medicine.
Documentation: Carry a prescription and original packaging; confirm import rules where possible before travel.

sherloc.unodc.org · Updated July 13, 2026

Lorazepam in Yemen, full detail →

MDA

Legal status: Controlled, MDA is a scheduled narcotic under the national narcotics law. NAMED/scheduled mechanism. enforcement fractured by conflict; de facto reach left to confirmation.
Consequences if caught: Capital exposure: not established for this substance. Yemen retains the death penalty for drug offences, under the national narcotics law, for 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.
If prescribed / medical: Scheduled narcotic with no recognised medical use; no lawful prescription route.
Documentation: No lawful personal import.

sherloc.unodc.org · Updated September 20, 2026

MDA in Yemen, full detail →

MDMA

Legal status: Prohibited under Law No. 3 of 1993, trafficking/cultivation with intent punishable by DEATH or 25 years (Art 34); possession not for trafficking a lesser penalty (Art 39); no fixed statutory quantity (keys on intent); [retained; executions rare amid conflict]
Consequences if caught: MDMA is prohibited in Yemen under Law No. 3 of 1993 on Control of Illicit Trafficking in and Abuse of Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances. In Yemen (Law No. 3 of 1993 on Control of Illicit Trafficking in and Abuse of Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances), trafficking or cultivating schedule-V plants with intent to traffic is punishable by DEATH or 25 years (Art 34); possession not for trafficking draws a lesser penalty (Art 39). The penalty keys on INTENT, not a fixed statutory quantity, there is no fixed gram threshold. [retained; executions rare amid conflict] Yemen is retentionist, death applies for trafficking or cultivation with intent to traffic, but executions are rare amid the conflict. Active executions are not asserted.
If prescribed / medical: Not a prescribed traveller medicine in this form.
Documentation: In Yemen (Law No. 3 of 1993 on Control of Illicit Trafficking in and Abuse of Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances), trafficking or cultivating schedule-V plants with intent to traffic is punishable by DEATH or 25 years (Art 34); possession not for trafficking draws a lesser penalty (Art 39). The penalty keys on INTENT, not a fixed statutory quantity, there is no fixed gram threshold; there is no medical cannabis. [retained; executions rare amid conflict] Yemen is retentionist, death applies for trafficking or cultivation with intent to traffic, but executions are rare amid the conflict. Active executions are not asserted. Carry any controlled medicine with its prescription and confirm requirements with your embassy before travel.

MDMA in Yemen, full detail →

Methamphetamine

Legal status: Prohibited under Law No. 3 of 1993, trafficking/cultivation with intent punishable by DEATH or 25 years (Art 34); possession not for trafficking a lesser penalty (Art 39); no fixed statutory quantity (keys on intent); [retained; executions rare amid conflict]
Consequences if caught: Methamphetamine is prohibited in Yemen under Law No. 3 of 1993 on Control of Illicit Trafficking in and Abuse of Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances. In Yemen (Law No. 3 of 1993 on Control of Illicit Trafficking in and Abuse of Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances), trafficking or cultivating schedule-V plants with intent to traffic is punishable by DEATH or 25 years (Art 34); possession not for trafficking draws a lesser penalty (Art 39). The penalty keys on INTENT, not a fixed statutory quantity, there is no fixed gram threshold. [retained; executions rare amid conflict] Yemen is retentionist, death applies for trafficking or cultivation with intent to traffic, but executions are rare amid the conflict. Active executions are not asserted.
If prescribed / medical: Not a prescribed traveller medicine in this form.
Documentation: In Yemen (Law No. 3 of 1993 on Control of Illicit Trafficking in and Abuse of Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances), trafficking or cultivating schedule-V plants with intent to traffic is punishable by DEATH or 25 years (Art 34); possession not for trafficking draws a lesser penalty (Art 39). The penalty keys on INTENT, not a fixed statutory quantity, there is no fixed gram threshold; there is no medical cannabis. [retained; executions rare amid conflict] Yemen is retentionist, death applies for trafficking or cultivation with intent to traffic, but executions are rare amid the conflict. Active executions are not asserted. Carry any controlled medicine with its prescription and confirm requirements with your embassy before travel.

Methamphetamine in Yemen, full detail →

Methylphenidate

Legal status: Scheduled psychotropic under the Law on Control of Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances (Law No. 3 of 1993); a controlled medicine.
Consequences if caught: Trafficking of a scheduled substance is death/25-years eligible (Art. 34); methylphenidate is a licit medicine, carry documentation. Enforcement is fractured amid conflict.
If prescribed / medical: Prescription ADHD/narcolepsy medicine (e.g. Ritalin/Concerta) via controlled channels; carry the original prescription and any required import permit.

Law No. 3 of 1993, Art. 34 (scheduled psychotropic) · sherloc.unodc.org · Updated July 13, 2026

Methylphenidate in Yemen, full detail →

Pink Cocaine / Tusi

Legal status: Controlled only through what the sample contains. Pink cocaine is not named in Law No. 3 of 1993. In the 1993 text read, neither MDMA nor ketamine is printed in Schedule 1, the narcotic and psychotropic substances (Article 1(c)), or in Schedule 3, the substances subject to some of the restrictions (Article 27). Article 1(c) excludes from Schedule 1 the preparations listed in Schedule 2, and Schedule 2 part (d) is headed "مستحضرات الكوكايين" (cocaine preparations), naming particular pharmaceutical formulations. Schedule 1 prints item 120, "ميثيلين داي أوكسى امفيتامين" (Methylene Di Oxy Amphetamine), known as M.D.A. and it prints amphetamine (item 15), cocaine (item 76) and methamphetamine (item 93). A paragraph after item 111 extends Schedule 1 to any mixture containing one of its substances "وبأي نسبة كانت ما لم ينص على نسبة محددة" (in any proportion, unless a specific proportion is stated). For cocaine a proportion is stated: item 76 covers "كافة مستحضرات الكوكايين المدرجة أو غير المدرجة في دساتير الأدوية والتي تحتوى على أكثر من (٠,١ %) من الكوكايين" (all cocaine preparations, listed in pharmacopoeias or not, containing more than 0.1 per cent cocaine), and "مخففات الكوكايين في مادة غير فعالة سائلة او صلبة أياً كانت درجة تركيزها" (cocaine diluted in an inert liquid or solid substance, whatever the concentration). Schedule 3 prints phencyclidine (part (c) item 9), phenmetrazine and phentermine among others. The answer turns on what the sample is found to contain.
Consequences if caught: These penalties are stated as printed in the 1993 text read, not as confirmed current law. If the sample contains a Schedule 1 substance: Article 38 imposes imprisonment for five years for possession or purchase for consumption or personal use, and lets the court commit a proved addict to a sanatorium instead, while no criminal action is brought against a user who comes for treatment of his own accord; Article 34(a) punishes by death or imprisonment for twenty five years possession, sale, delivery or transport of a narcotic substance with intent to traffic; Article 33 punishes by death import or export with intent to traffic or promote before obtaining the Article 3 licence, and manufacture with intent to traffic; Article 35 punishes by death or twenty five years anyone who offers a narcotic substance for use without payment or facilitates its use. Article 49 exempts from the Article 33, 34 and 35 penalties an offender who reports the offence before the authorities know of it, and one who reports after they know if the report actually leads to the arrest of the other offenders. Article 27 prohibits dealing in Schedule 3 substances; Article 45 punishes production, import, export or possession with intent to traffic of a Schedule 3 substance by imprisonment of up to one year, and Article 46 punishes any other contravention of the Law by up to three months. A sample that contains only substances printed in neither Schedule 1 nor Schedule 3, such as MDMA or ketamine, is not shown by this text to be within the Law.
If prescribed / medical: The Law provides no lawful prescription of an unidentified mixture. Its prescription articles (Articles 14 to 17) concern narcotic substances dispensed by pharmacies against a physician's or dentist's prescription or a licence card, and ketamine is printed in none of the six schedules of the text read.
Documentation: A test result naming the substances present, and for cocaine its proportion, decides which articles, if any, apply. The Arabic text read is the PDF the Yemeni House of Representatives publishes on its website; every page was read as a rendered image because its text layer garbles on extraction, and it is published by a state body but is not an Official Gazette image. Its schedules carry a note citing health decisions of 1976 and 1981 and footnote markers whose footnote text is not printed. The English translation on UNODC SHERLOC agrees on the schedule entries cited, but it differs from the Arabic inside Article 38: the Arabic says a court committal to a sanatorium may not be shorter than six months, the English says it may not exceed six months and adds a paragraph on a committee and repeat committals that the Arabic does not print. So the two are not the same version, and the English is not relied on for Article 38. Article 32 allows the schedules to be amended by a decision published in the Official Gazette, and no such decision was found or read.

Law No. 3 of 1993, Articles 1(c), 14 to 17, 27, 33 to 35, 38, 45, 46 and 49, Schedule 1 items 15, 76, 93 and 120 and the paragraph after item 111, Schedules 2 and 3, Arabic text published by the House of Representatives, read at https://yemenparliament.gov.ye/uploads/posts/documents/2018/10/1019201893432579.pdf on 3 October 2026 (all 38 pages read as images · cited text on pages 2, 4 to 10, 12, 19, 22, 25 to 28 and 32 to 36) · English translation compared at https://sherloc.unodc.org/cld/uploads/res/document/yem/1993/law_on_control_narcotics_93_html/LAW_3-93control_of_illicit_trafficking_and_abuse_or_narcotics.pdf · neither is an Official Gazette image. The text prints footnote markers on the Schedule 1 and 3 headings and Schedule 4 items 51, 55 and 62 with no footnote text, and a note on page 35 cites Health Decision No. 506 of 1981 and Ministerial Decisions No. 295 and No. 301 of 1976. The 292 law titles in the House of Representatives legislative encyclopedia (1990 to 2013), including the 39 containing تعديل and the four containing المعدل, show no amendment of Law No. 3 of 1993. That encyclopedia is a selection, not a complete list: it lists the 2006 amendment to the Crimes and Penalties Law but not that Law itself, titles are truncated, and the list ends in 2013. So later amending legislation was not ruled out. This reading does not rule out a later amending law or a decision under Article 32. · Updated October 3, 2026

Pink Cocaine / Tusi in Yemen, full detail →

Xanax (Alprazolam)

Legal status: Alprazolam is a scheduled psychotropic prescription medicine under Yemen's narcotics and psychotropics law (regulated under the lower psychotropic provisions, Art. 45).
Consequences if caught: Psychotropic trafficking draws imprisonment (Art. 45); possession/use is non-capital. Yemen's death penalty (Arts. 33-35) applies only to narcotic substances and Schedule-V plants, benzodiazepines sit in the lower psychotropic tier and are not death-eligible (enforcement is opaque amid the conflict).
If prescribed / medical: Dispensed as a scheduled psychotropic prescription medicine.
Documentation: Carry a prescription and original packaging; confirm import rules where possible before travel.

sherloc.unodc.org · Updated July 13, 2026

Xanax (Alprazolam) in Yemen, full detail →

Not individually verified

64 substances are not individually verified for Yemen

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 Yemen’s drug authority or your embassy.

Substance	What we found
1P-LSD	Not confirmed, status not individually verified; confirm with Yemen's authorities (Law No. 3 of 1993) / your embassy
2-FDCK	Not confirmed, status not individually verified; confirm with Yemen's authorities (Law No. 3 of 1993) / your embassy
25I-NBOMe	Not confirmed, status not individually verified; confirm with Yemen's authorities (Law No. 3 of 1993) / your embassy
2C-B	Not confirmed, status not individually verified; confirm with Yemen's authorities (Law No. 3 of 1993) / your embassy
2C-E	Not confirmed, status not individually verified; confirm with Yemen's authorities (Law No. 3 of 1993) / your embassy
2C-I	Not confirmed, status not individually verified; confirm with Yemen's authorities (Law No. 3 of 1993) / your embassy
2C-T-7	Not confirmed, status not individually verified; confirm with Yemen's authorities (Law No. 3 of 1993) / your embassy
3-MMC	Not confirmed, status not individually verified; confirm with Yemen's authorities (Law No. 3 of 1993) / your embassy
4-AcO-DMT	Not confirmed, status not individually verified; confirm with Yemen's authorities (Law No. 3 of 1993) / your embassy
4-HO-MET	Not confirmed, status not individually verified; confirm with Yemen's authorities (Law No. 3 of 1993) / your embassy
5-MeO-DMT (Bufo / Toad)	Not confirmed, status not individually verified; confirm with Yemen's authorities (Law No. 3 of 1993) / your embassy
6-APB	Not confirmed, status not individually verified; confirm with Yemen's authorities (Law No. 3 of 1993) / your embassy
7-Hydroxymitragynine (7-OH)	Not confirmed, status not individually verified; confirm with Yemen's authorities (Law No. 3 of 1993) / your embassy
Amanita muscaria	Not confirmed, status not individually verified; confirm with Yemen's authorities (Law No. 3 of 1993) / your embassy
Amyl Nitrite	Not confirmed, status not individually verified; confirm with Yemen's authorities (Law No. 3 of 1993) / your embassy
Ayahuasca	Not confirmed, status not individually verified; confirm with Yemen's authorities (Law No. 3 of 1993) / your embassy
Benzodiazepines	Not confirmed, status not individually verified; confirm with Yemen's authorities (Law No. 3 of 1993) / your embassy
Caffeine	Not confirmed, status not individually verified; confirm with Yemen's authorities (Law No. 3 of 1993) / your embassy
Cannabinol	Not confirmed, status not individually verified; confirm with Yemen's authorities (Law No. 3 of 1993) / your embassy
DMT	Not confirmed, status not individually verified; confirm with Yemen's authorities (Law No. 3 of 1993) / your embassy
DOM	Not confirmed, status not individually verified; confirm with Yemen's authorities (Law No. 3 of 1993) / your embassy
DXM	Not confirmed, status not individually verified; confirm with Yemen's authorities (Law No. 3 of 1993) / your embassy
Etizolam	Not confirmed, status not individually verified; confirm with Yemen's authorities (Law No. 3 of 1993) / your embassy
Fentanyl	Not confirmed, status not individually verified; confirm with Yemen's authorities (Law No. 3 of 1993) / your embassy
Gabapentin	Not confirmed, status not individually verified; confirm with Yemen's authorities (Law No. 3 of 1993) / your embassy
GBL	Not confirmed, status not individually verified; confirm with Yemen's authorities (Law No. 3 of 1993) / your embassy
GHB	Not confirmed, status not individually verified; confirm with Yemen's authorities (Law No. 3 of 1993) / your embassy
HHC	Not confirmed, status not individually verified; confirm with Yemen's authorities (Law No. 3 of 1993) / your embassy
Hydrocodone	Not confirmed, status not individually verified; confirm with Yemen's authorities (Law No. 3 of 1993) / your embassy
Ketamine	Not confirmed, status not individually verified; confirm with Yemen's authorities (Law No. 3 of 1993) / your embassy
Kratom	Not confirmed, status not individually verified; confirm with Yemen's authorities (Law No. 3 of 1993) / your embassy
LSA (Morning Glory)	Not confirmed, status not individually verified; confirm with Yemen's authorities (Law No. 3 of 1993) / your embassy
LSD	Not confirmed, status not individually verified; confirm with Yemen's authorities (Law No. 3 of 1993) / your embassy
MDPV	Not confirmed, status not individually verified; confirm with Yemen's authorities (Law No. 3 of 1993) / your embassy
Memantine	Not confirmed, status not individually verified; confirm with Yemen's authorities (Law No. 3 of 1993) / your embassy
Mephedrone (4-MMC)	Not confirmed, status not individually verified; confirm with Yemen's authorities (Law No. 3 of 1993) / your embassy
Mescaline	Not confirmed, status not individually verified; confirm with Yemen's authorities (Law No. 3 of 1993) / your embassy
Methadone	Not confirmed, status not individually verified; confirm with Yemen's authorities (Law No. 3 of 1993) / your embassy
Methaqualone (Quaaludes)	Not confirmed, status not individually verified; confirm with Yemen's authorities (Law No. 3 of 1993) / your embassy
Methylone	Not confirmed, status not individually verified; confirm with Yemen's authorities (Law No. 3 of 1993) / your embassy
Mitragynine	Not confirmed, status not individually verified; confirm with Yemen's authorities (Law No. 3 of 1993) / your embassy
Modafinil	Not confirmed, status not individually verified; confirm with Yemen's authorities (Law No. 3 of 1993) / your embassy
Morphine	Not confirmed, status not individually verified; confirm with Yemen's authorities (Law No. 3 of 1993) / your embassy
MXE	Not confirmed, status not individually verified; confirm with Yemen's authorities (Law No. 3 of 1993) / your embassy
Nicotine	Not confirmed, status not individually verified; confirm with Yemen's authorities (Law No. 3 of 1993) / your embassy
Nimetazepam	Not confirmed, status not individually verified; confirm with Yemen's authorities (Law No. 3 of 1993) / your embassy
Nitrous Oxide	Not confirmed, status not individually verified; confirm with Yemen's authorities (Law No. 3 of 1993) / your embassy
Opium	Not confirmed, status not individually verified; confirm with Yemen's authorities (Law No. 3 of 1993) / your embassy
Oxycodone	Not confirmed, status not individually verified; confirm with Yemen's authorities (Law No. 3 of 1993) / your embassy
PCP	Not confirmed, status not individually verified; confirm with Yemen's authorities (Law No. 3 of 1993) / your embassy
Peyote	Not confirmed, status not individually verified; confirm with Yemen's authorities (Law No. 3 of 1993) / your embassy
Phenibut	Not confirmed, status not individually verified; confirm with Yemen's authorities (Law No. 3 of 1993) / your embassy
Poppers	Not confirmed, status not individually verified; confirm with Yemen's authorities (Law No. 3 of 1993) / your embassy
Pregabalin	Not confirmed, status not individually verified; confirm with Yemen's authorities (Law No. 3 of 1993) / your embassy
Psilocybin	Not confirmed, status not individually verified; confirm with Yemen's authorities (Law No. 3 of 1993) / your embassy
Quetiapine	Not confirmed, status not individually verified; confirm with Yemen's authorities (Law No. 3 of 1993) / your embassy
Salvia divinorum	Not confirmed, status not individually verified; confirm with Yemen's authorities (Law No. 3 of 1993) / your embassy
Scopolamine (Devil's Breath)	Not confirmed, status not individually verified; confirm with Yemen's authorities (Law No. 3 of 1993) / your embassy
Synthetic Cannabinoids (K2 / Spice)	Not confirmed, status not individually verified; confirm with Yemen's authorities (Law No. 3 of 1993) / your embassy
THC-P	Not confirmed, status not individually verified; confirm with Yemen's authorities (Law No. 3 of 1993) / your embassy
Tobacco	Not confirmed, status not individually verified; confirm with Yemen's authorities (Law No. 3 of 1993) / your embassy
Tramadol	Not confirmed, status not individually verified; confirm with Yemen's authorities (Law No. 3 of 1993) / your embassy
Xylazine	Not confirmed, status not individually verified; confirm with Yemen's authorities (Law No. 3 of 1993) / your embassy
Zolpidem	Not confirmed, status not individually verified; confirm with Yemen's authorities (Law No. 3 of 1993) / your embassy

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.

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 →

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