Drug Rules Treat Combined Narcotic and Psychoactive Medicines as Fully Narcotic

A pharmaceutical product that combines a narcotic substance with a psychoactive substance will be treated as a narcotic in full under updated Saudi regulations, exposing it to the stricter rules and penalties applied to narcotic drugs.

A joint committee from the Ministry of Health and the Saudi Food and Drug Authority approved the updates to the system governing narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances. The changes also prohibit the possession or cultivation of banned plants and seeds at every stage of growth and in any form.

The listed plants include cannabis, poppy, coca, khat, kratom and hallucinogenic ergot fungus. The framework covers the movement of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances, chemical precursors and prohibited plants, while regulating legitimate scientific and medical uses.

The updated provisions divide narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances into five main categories each. The international narcotics lists are referred to as the Yellow List, while the psychotropic substances lists are known as the Green List. The fifth category covers substances subject to local control in Saudi Arabia.

The rules also prohibit the circulation, prescription, possession or import of category-four narcotic drugs and category-one psychotropic substances. The source text ends while listing additional substances covered by the restrictions.