DMT

Anlage I controlled substance. DMT is prohibited.

DMT (N,N-Dimethyltryptamine) is listed in BtMG Anlage I (not marketable). Both DMT and 5-MeO-DMT, the active substances of ayahuasca, are prohibited. Scientific use requires special authorization.

Controlled under BetmG. DMT is a prohibited substance.

DMT is controlled under the Betäubungsmittelgesetz. No medical or religious exemptions exist in Switzerland for ayahuasca use.

List I (hard drug) under the Opiumwet. Ayahuasca banned since 2019 Supreme Court ruling.

DMT is a List I substance under the Opiumwet. Ayahuasca was definitively made illegal by a 2019 Supreme Court ruling (Hoge Raad), overturning an earlier 2001 Amsterdam court decision that had allowed its use by the Santo Daime church. Even plants containing DMT are now banned.

Class A controlled drug — the most serious category.

DMT is a Class A drug in the UK — the most serious category. Both synthetic DMT and ayahuasca (as a DMT-containing preparation) are illegal to distribute or possess. No religious exemptions exist.

Stupéfiant (narcotic). DMT and ayahuasca plant sources specifically banned since 2005.

France specifically banned ayahuasca plant ingredients (Banisteriopsis caapi, Psychotria viridis, and harmala alkaloids) in April 2005, four months after the Santo Daime church won a court case. DMT itself was already classified as a stupéfiant (narcotic).

DMT cannot be possessed, sold, purchased, or imported.

Belgium explicitly prohibits the possession, sale, purchase, and import of DMT. No religious exemptions exist for ayahuasca use.

Controlled narcotic substance.

DMT is controlled in Poland as a narcotic substance. No personal-use tolerance provisions apply.

Schedule I. Religious exemptions for UDV and Santo Daime. Decriminalized in several cities.

DMT is Schedule I. The UDV church won a unanimous Supreme Court ruling (Gonzales v. O Centro Espírita, 2006) allowing religious ayahuasca use. Santo Daime received an Oregon federal court exemption in 2009. Several cities have decriminalized natural psychedelics including DMT-containing plants. Oregon briefly decriminalized all personal possession (2021–2024).

Schedule III under CDSA. Religious exemptions granted to multiple churches.

DMT is Schedule III under the CDSA. In 2017, the Santo Daime Church Céu do Montréal received a religious exemption to use ayahuasca as a sacrament. As of 2020, at least six religious organizations have received similar exemptions across Canada.

Controlled substance. No ayahuasca exceptions.

DMT is controlled in Argentina. No specific exemptions exist for ayahuasca use. The Arriola (2009) Supreme Court ruling offers limited protection for private personal use but is inconsistently applied.

Schedule 9 Prohibited substance under the Poisons Standard.

DMT is Schedule 9 (Prohibited substance) under the Australian Poisons Standard. Both synthetic DMT and ayahuasca are illegal to import, sell, or possess.

Class A controlled drug — the most severe category.

DMT is a Class A drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1975 — the most severe category in New Zealand, alongside methamphetamine and heroin.

Controlled substance under drug control legislation.

DMT is controlled under South African drug legislation. No ayahuasca culture or religious exemptions exist.

Illegal. Production, trade, and possession are prosecuted as crimes.

DMT is illegal in Israel. Production, trade, and possession are prosecuted as crimes under the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance.

Controlled narcotic under the Narcotics and Psychotropics Control Law.

DMT is classified as a controlled narcotic drug in Japan under the Narcotics and Psychotropics Control Law.

MDA controlled drug. Extremely strict enforcement.

DMT is controlled under Singapore's Misuse of Drugs Act. Singapore has some of the strictest drug laws in the world, with the death penalty applicable for trafficking of certain drugs.

Controlled under SMG. Personal use diverted to health system.

DMT is controlled under the Suchtmittelgesetz. Austria's "Therapie statt Strafe" (therapy instead of punishment) approach applies: personal use is diverted to health authorities rather than criminally prosecuted.

Controlled substance. Private personal use not criminally penalized.

DMT is a controlled substance in Spain. Private personal use is not a crime under Spanish law, consistent with treatment of all drugs. The sale of ayahuasca-related plants is restricted under Order SCO/190/2004 (plants prohibited from sale due to toxicity).

Controlled. Personal possession decriminalized under 2001 reform.

DMT is a controlled substance in Portugal. Under the 2001 decriminalization law (Lei 30/2000), personal possession is treated as an administrative matter. Sale, transport, and cultivation remain criminal offenses.

Tabella I substance. Ayahuasca declared illegal in 2022. Personal use: administrative.

Italy declared ayahuasca illegal in a 2022 Ministry of Health decision published in the Gazzetta Ufficiale. DMT is a Tabella I substance. Under Italian drug law, personal use of any controlled substance is an administrative offense rather than a crime.

Controlled. Small amounts for personal use are a misdemeanor.

DMT is a controlled substance in the Czech Republic. As with other controlled substances, possession of small amounts for personal use is treated as a misdemeanor (přestupek) rather than a crime.

Personal use constitutionally protected. Ayahuasca retreats operate widely.

Colombia's Constitutional Court ruling C-221/94 protects personal use of all drugs. Ayahuasca tourism is widespread, with retreat centers operating openly throughout the country, particularly in the Amazon region and near Bogotá.

Ayahuasca is fully legal. Many retreat centers operate openly.

Ayahuasca is fully legal in Mexico. Many private companies and nonprofits offer ayahuasca retreats. Despite this legality, the Mexican navy has occasionally seized ayahuasca shipments at airports (2022). DMT as an isolated synthetic compound may technically be controlled under the Ley General de Salud.

Ayahuasca fully legal since 1992. Religious and ceremonial use protected.

Brazil legalized ayahuasca in 1992 after two official governmental inquiries confirmed its religious and cultural significance. Santo Daime, União do Vegetal (UDV), and Barquinha churches use ayahuasca legally. Many private retreat companies also operate. DMT as an isolated synthetic compound remains Class F2 (prohibited psychotropic) under ANVISA.

Ayahuasca is legal and protected as Cultural Heritage of the Nation since 2008.

Peru declared ayahuasca as Cultural Heritage of the Nation in June 2008 (Resolution Nº 836/INC). It is fully legal and deeply integrated into indigenous and mestizo culture. Ayahuasca tourism is a significant industry, especially in Iquitos. Peru entered a reservation to the 1971 Convention excluding ayahuasca from international control.