Are you planning a holiday in Hungary? Are you attending a music festival? It’s always good to know the drug laws before you visit a country – read our guide and learn more! UPDATED in June 2025!
In Hungary, the purchase, consumption, and possession of illegal drugs are all criminal offences. Note that even if the use of a particular drug is not a criminal offence in your country, you are still obliged to comply with Hungarian law, and will be held accountable to the same standards as a local person. This leaflet aims to give you a brief overview of what you need to know about the regulation of illegal drugs in Hungary. In March 2025 the Hungarian government launched a war on drugs and amended the Constitution and drug laws. The amendments came into effect in June introducing even harsher sanctions and stricter enforcement than before!
What are the illegal drugs?
The most common illegal drugs are marijuana, hash, ecstasy, amphetamines, cocaine, ketamine, opiates, heroin, magic mushroom and LSD. Drugs also include new psychoactive substances, such as synthetic cannabinoids. The consumption or possession of any of these substances is punishable by 2 years’ imprisonment. But if you are caught the first time you will not be imprisoned.
What are the consequences if I am caught by the police?
Hungarian drug laws are pretty harsh by European standards: For the possession or consumption of a small amount of drugs, you can be jailed for up to two years (see more about what counts as marginal amount below). However this is very rarely enforced; and if it is the first time you have been caught, you can avoid court procedure by attending a 6 months diversion (elterelés) program. This means that you have to attend weekly consultations for 6 months at a treatment centre. If you are caught for a second or more time, this option is not available.
According to the 2025 amendment of the Criminal Code, the only those are eligible for diversion who disclose the circumstances of the offense and make it possible to identify the person who sold them the drugs. But if you say that you bought the drug at night from a bearded guy in a hoodie near Budapest’s Keleti Railway Station, and you couldn’t see his face in the dark, they still can’t exclude you from the diversion program.
Note that it is a grey area of the law, whether you can participate in the consultation abroad or you must come back to Hungary, it depends on the prosecutor. Some treatment centers provide online consultations. If, as a foreign citizen, you do not complete the diversion program, the Hungarian authorities may initiate criminal proceedings against you. This rarely leads to an international arrest warrant, but it can cause problems if you return to Hungary in the future (you will have a criminal record).
If you are caught using illegal substances within the premises of a public education institution—such as a school, university dormitory, university party, or event—you may face a more severe punishment: 1 to 5 years of imprisonment.
What constitutes a ‘small’ amount?
It depends on the drug. However, for all drugs, the police will measure the weight of the pure psychoactive ingredient in your sample and the definition of what is a ‘small amount’ is defined in terms of the weight of the active pure substance. The drugs seized by the police are always tested by a foregnsic laboratory to see how much pure substance it contains. So depending on the purity of your drug the same ‘street amount’ could be classified as small amount or not. In the table below you can find what counts as small and also the corresponding street weight, given the typical purity of samples confiscated by the police. If you are found to have distributed a small amount ofi llicit drugs, you are liable to up to 2 years’ imprisonment; if it is bigger than a small amount, the punishment can be up to 20 years’ imprisonment.
|
Drug |
Upper limit of small amount of pure substance |
Approximate upper limits of small amount in street samples |
|
Marijuana |
6g (total THC) |
~ 60g (with 10% purity) |
|
Amphetamines |
0.5g |
~ 5g (with 10% purity) |
|
Cocaine |
2g |
~ 10g (with 20% purity) |
|
Heroin |
0.6g |
~ 3g (with18% purity) |
|
MDMA (crystal) |
1g |
~ 1,6g (with 60% purity) |
What can the police do?
The police can ask for your ID at any time. If there is something suspicious about you, then the police can legally search your clothes, your baggage and your vehicle. Unfortunately, there is no clear definition for what counts as suspicious: In practice, simple physical signs such as red eyes, or a higher than normal pulse-rate can be considered to be suspicious. If the police find drugs or items associated with drug usage on you – like a syringe – this initiates a legal process, during which you will be taken to a police station, where your statement will be taken and you are obliged to provide a urine or blood sample which will later be analysed by a laboratory. Typically, amphetamines leave a trace in your blood for 2-5 days.
You have the right to remain silent and leave the police station without making an official statement, you are not obliged to tell the true but you cannot make false accusations against others. It is important to note that if you state how much of a drug you have used in the past, this can be added to the amount found in your possession. Such ‘totting-up’ following an admission on your part, can easily take you over the small amount, depriving you of the ‘diversion option’. Such a confession is therefore inadvisable.
The police may detain individuals in an altered or intoxicated state of consciousness for up to 72 hours in public safety custody, if deemed necessary to protect the person’s life, physical integrity, health, or to maintain public safety. This is especially applicable if the person has exhibited behavior that seriously harasses others or otherwise seriously disturbs public order, or if they have failed to cooperate with medical personnel. The detention is carried out in a police holding facility, where access to health care is limited.
Above small amount
If you possessed more than the small amount, you will face much harsher penalties: from 2 to 8 years of imprisonment. In aggravated cases—such as when the offense is committed for financial gain, in a criminal organization, or by a public official—the penalty is 5 to 10 years. If you sell drugs that are significant amount (that is, 20 times more than small amount), the penalty ranges from 5 to 20 years, or even life imprisonment.
If you’re involved in selling drugs in Hungary, be aware: the police can seize your money, car, phone, or even your apartment—anything they believe was gained through drug-related activity.
If you get in trouble with the Hungarian police because of your drug use and you have further questions, please consult the legal clinic of the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union (HCLU) at tasz@tasz.hu!
Please visit our English website: drugreporter.net
Posted by Balázs Szigeti and Peter Sarosi
