Alprazolam

Assigned to Schedule IV of the Controlled Substances Act by the Drug Enforcement Administration.⁷⁵ Received FDA approval on October 16, 1981. Illegal to sell without a license and illegal to possess without a valid prescription.

Alprazolam is included in Lista IV by Resolution 518/1985 under Argentina's psychotropic-substances framework. The substance is subject to the special-control regime administered under Law No. 19.303.

Originally classified as Schedule 4 (prescription only), alprazolam was rescheduled to Schedule 8 in January 2014,⁸ subjecting it to more rigorous prescribing requirements. Maximum in-house consumption is limited to 5 mg per day.

Legal for medical use under the Arzneimittelgesetz (AMG). Possession or sale without a valid prescription is prohibited under the Suchtmittelgesetz (SMG).

Benzodiazepines including alprazolam are regulated as prescription medications under Belgian pharmaceutical law.

Alprazolam is included in Lista B1 of Portaria SVS/MS No. 344/1998. Dispensing is subject to the Notificação de Receita B requirement for psychotropic substances under special control.

Controlled under Schedule IV of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.¹⁷ Requires a valid prescription for lawful possession.

Alprazolam is included in China's Catalogue of Medicinal Psychotropic Substances. The 2025 catalogue was jointly issued by the National Medical Products Administration, Ministry of Public Security, and National Health Commission and regulates its medical use as a psychotropic substance.

Controlled substance under Nařízení vlády č. 463/2013 Sb. Available exclusively with a standard prescription (without blue stripe designation).

Alprazolam INN is listed as E003 in List E of Denmark's Executive Order no. 405 of 26 March 2026 on Euphoriant Substances, in force from 29 March 2026. The Order limits euphoriant substances to medical or scientific purposes and permits receipt and possession only through a lawfully issued prescription or other specified authorised channels.

Classified as a List I substance under French pharmaceutical law. Available only by prescription and illegal to purchase without one.

Controlled under Anlage III of the Betäubungsmittelgesetz (Narcotics Act) since August 1, 1986.²⁶ Requires a narcotic prescription form, except for preparations containing up to 1 mg per dosage unit. Maximum of 50 dosage units may be dispensed together.

Classified as a Schedule 4 controlled medicine. Requires a valid prescription for legal possession.

Listed in Tabella 4 under the Testo unico sulla droga (D.P.R. 309/90). For medical prescriptions, falls under Pharmaceuticals section B and E.

Alprazolam and its salts are designated psychotropics by Article 4(45) of the Cabinet Order Designating Narcotics, Narcotic Raw Plants, Psychotropics, and Narcotics/Psychotropics Precursors, made under Appended Table III of the Narcotics and Psychotropics Control Law. Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare identifies alprazolam as a Third Category psychotropic and states that psychotropics require a physician’s prescription for use.

The Ley General de Salud lists alprazolam among the benzodiazepines in Article 245, fraction III. Article 251 provides that psychotropic substances in that group may be acquired only with a medical prescription, which may be dispensed up to three times within six months.

Controlled under List 2 of the Opium Law. Available for legitimate medical use with a valid prescription.

Alprazolam is listed in Part 5 of Schedule 3 to the Misuse of Drugs Act 1975 as a Class C controlled drug. It is therefore subject to New Zealand's controlled-drug regime, under which lawful medical supply is by prescription.

Alprazolam is included in the Philippine Schedule 3 list of dangerous drugs. The Dangerous Drugs Board schedule identifies its corresponding international classification as Schedule IV of the 1971 Convention.

Alprazolam is listed as a psychotropic substance in group IV-P in the Polish ministerial schedule. It is subject to the controls governing psychotropic substances under the Act on Counteracting Drug Addiction.

Alprazolam is listed in the tables annexed to Decree-Law No. 15/93 as a controlled psychotropic substance. INFARMED administers the national controls applicable to substances in Tables I to IV, including their lawful medical handling.

Roszdravnadzor's current consolidated copy identifies Resolution No. 681 as amended 11 June 2025 and its accompanying PDF lists "Алпразолам" under the heading for List III psychotropic substances. Under current Order No. 1094n, prescriptions for List III psychotropic medicines use form 148-1/u-88 and are valid for 15 days; the order's current text states it remains in force until 1 March 2028. Order No. 100n is the current pharmacy-dispensing order, registered 9 April 2025 and published by Roszdravnadzor 24 July 2025, with application from 1 September 2025. Resolution No. 1002 establishes the significant, large and extra-large quantity thresholds used for Criminal Code Articles 228, 228.1, 229 and 229.1; the exact criminal classification depends on the measured quantity and the applicable table entry. Article 228 covers illegal acquisition, storage, transport, manufacture or processing without intent to sell: for a significant amount, part 1 allows a fine, compulsory or corrective work, restriction of liberty, or imprisonment up to 3 years; a large amount under part 2 carries 3-10 years' imprisonment (with a possible fine up to 500,000 rubles and possible restriction of liberty); an especially large amount under part 3 carries 10-15 years' imprisonment (with a possible fine up to 500,000 rubles and possible restriction of liberty). These are statutory ranges, not a prediction for a particular case; sale or distribution is treated under separate provisions and lawful therapeutic possession requires a valid prescription.

Alprazolam is listed as a psychotropic substance in the First Schedule to the Health Products (Therapeutic Products) Regulations 2016, including preparations containing it. Registered Xanax products containing alprazolam are classified in Singapore's National Drug Formulary as prescription-only medicines. Import and export of therapeutic products containing psychotropic substances require the applicable Health Sciences Authority approval.

Listed as a Schedule 5 substance, making it available by prescription only. Marketed under the brand name Zopax.

Alprazolam is listed in Schedule 6 to the Enforcement Decree of the Narcotics Control Act as a psychotropic drug under Article 2(3)(d) of the Act. Schedule 6 covers drugs used medically with a lower risk of misuse and dependence than the preceding psychotropic category; the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety registers alprazolam products as both prescription medicines and psychotropic drugs. Possession, use, manufacture, sale, and import or export of narcotics and psychotropic drugs are strictly controlled under the Narcotics Control Act.

Alprazolam is included in the Spanish psychotropic-substances regime established by Real Decreto 2829/1977. Its manufacture, distribution, prescription, and dispensing are subject to the controls applicable to listed psychotropic substances.

Regulated as a prescription medication under List IV of the Narcotics Drugs Act (Narkotikastrafflagen) of 1968.

AS 2026 117 amends only BetmVV-EDI Anhang 6, not Anhang 2 Verzeichnis b, and alprazolam remains listed as of 28 August 2026. Swissmedic lists immediate-release Xanax at 0.25, 0.5, 1 and 2 mg and Xanax retard at 0.5, 1, 2 and 3 mg, all as b/B. A physician may prescribe a Verzeichnis b medicine on a simple prescription, normally up to one month's treatment; where circumstances justify it, up to six months may be prescribed with the treatment duration stated. Unauthorized possession, acquisition, storage, sale, supply or other handling is punishable under BetmG Art. 19(1) by imprisonment up to three years or a monetary penalty; unauthorized intentional consumption or an Art. 19 own-use offense is punishable by a fine under Art. 19a. Lawful medical possession and dispensing are therefore prescription-controlled, not over-the-counter or freely possessed.

TİTCK Genelge 2016/3 states that narcotic medicines use red prescriptions and psychotropic medicines use green prescriptions, requires the current lists to be followed for updates, and limits a green prescription to at most two boxes containing the same active ingredient unless a specialist report justifies the excess. The current official Ministry hospital list is revision 7 dated 30 July 2025 and expressly designates alprazolam as a psychotropic active ingredient; it lists Xanax 0.5/1 mg and As-Alpralam 1 mg products. Alprazolam is subject to prescription control, is not available over the counter, and is not separately named in TCK Art. 188(4)(a). Lawful therapeutic possession follows a valid prescription. Unauthorized conduct is fact-specific: TCK Art. 188(6) extends the Art. 188 provisions to substances whose production requires official permission or whose sale requires an authorized physician's prescription; Art. 188(3) covers unauthorized in-country selling, offering, giving, dispatching, transporting, storing, buying, accepting or possessing and carries at least 10 years' imprisonment plus 1,000-20,000 days' judicial fine. Unauthorized manufacture/import/export under Art. 188(1) carries 20-30 years plus 2,000-20,000 days. Where conduct is solely acquisition, possession or use for personal use, Art. 191(1) provides 2-5 years; Art. 191(2)-(7) provide the five-year deferred-prosecution and supervised-release framework, including at least one year of supervision under the 2023 amendment. Law 7445 Arts. 17-18 made the 2023 amendments and entered into force on publication. Penalties are statutory ranges; classification between Arts. 188 and 191 depends on the proven conduct and purpose.

Classified as a Class C drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971⁷² and listed under Schedule 4, Part I (CD Benz POM) of the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001.⁷³ Requires a valid prescription for lawful possession. Not available through the National Health Service.