Drugs — Nepal
What travelers need to know about drugs in Nepal. What is legal at home can be a serious crime here — each rule links to its official source.
Drugs in Nepal: prohibited — what is legal at home can be a serious crime here.
Heroin, cocaine, opium and other hard drugs are illegal in Nepal and the sentence is set by quantity: buying, selling, storing, transporting or importing even up to 25 grams of an opium- or coca-derived drug means 5 to 10 years in prison, and more than 100 grams means 15 years to life. Using one is punishable by up to 1 year in prison or a fine of up to NPR 10,000. Cannabis has its own, lighter scale - see the cannabis rule.
Opium, coca or drugs made from them: use - up to 1 year or a fine up to NPR 10,000 (s. 14(1)(ङ)); any other prohibited dealing, including buying, selling, storing, transporting or importing - up to 25 g: 5 to 10 years plus NPR 5,000 to 25,000; 25 g to 100 g: 10 to 15 years plus NPR 75,000 to 200,000; over 100 g: 15 years to life plus NPR 500,000 to 2,500,000 (s. 14(1)(छ)). Cultivating opium or coca: 1 to 3 years up to 25 plants, 3 to 10 years above that (s. 14(1)(च)). Misusing a narcotic or psychotropic substance notified by the Government in the Nepal Gazette: up to 2 months, a fine up to NPR 2,000, or both (s. 14(1)(ज)). For use offences the court may withhold punishment if a person or institution undertakes in writing to keep the user in treatment at a rehabilitation centre and reports on it every fifteen days.
§ Nepal Law Commission (lawcommission.gov.np) - Narcotic Drugs (Control) Act, 2033 (1976), consolidated through the 2072 amendment, s. 14(1)(ङ), (च), (छ), (ज), read in the authoritative NepaliVerified Sep 19, 2026