Drugs — Peru
What travelers need to know about drugs in Peru. What is legal at home can be a serious crime here — each rule links to its official source.
Drugs in Peru: prohibited — what is legal at home can be a serious crime here.
Penalties for possessing, using, or trafficking illegal drugs in Peru are severe, with long pre-trial detention and lengthy prison sentences; airports use strict narcotics screening.
Long pre-trial detention and lengthy prison sentences.
§ US State Dept — PeruVerified Jul 12, 2026
Ayahuasca and kambo are marketed to tourists as spiritual rituals but are unregulated; travelers have suffered illness, death, robbery, and assault, and ayahuasca contains DMT (illegal in the US and many countries).
Unregulated facilities; serious health and crime risks.
§ US State Dept — PeruVerified Jul 12, 2026
Do not leave Peru with coca leaves, coca tea bags, or similar coca products — taking them out of the country is illegal.
§ Australian DFAT Smartraveller — PeruVerified Jul 12, 2026