Pakistan

Key Insights

1
No approved psychedelic therapies are available in Pakistan; psilocybin remains controlled, with use limited to medical, scientific or industrial purposes under federal law. ([unodc.org](https://www.unodc.org/cld/ru/legislation/pak/control_of_narcotic_substances_act_no._xxv_of_1997/chapter_ii/articles_4-18/act_xxv.html?utm_source=openai))
2
The database shows 1 total trial, 0 active trials, 1 research organisation and only psilocybin studied; ClinicalTrials.gov lists one Pakistan-based psilocybin MDD study. ([clinicaltrials.gov](https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06746441?utm_source=openai))
3
Pakistan’s standout marker is not a legacy programme but a first live clinical footprint: a hospital-based psilocybin trial in major depressive disorder. ([clinicaltrials.gov](https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06746441?utm_source=openai))
4
Momentum is centred on that lone hospital-led psilocybin depression trial; no broader regulatory review, funding wave or multi-site pipeline is visible yet. ([clinicaltrials.gov](https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06746441?utm_source=openai))

Medical Only (Private)

Reimbursed Care Access

Pakistan maintains a restrictive controlled-substance regime under the Control of Narcotic Substances Act, 1997 (CNSA), which broadly prohibits possession, manufacture, distribution and trafficking of narcotic and psychotropic substances except where specifically authorised for medical, scientific or industrial purposes. Ketamine is routinely available and used in medical settings (anesthesia) and is also used off‑label in some private-sector psychiatric settings for depression, but there is no national reimbursement or formal public program for psychedelic-assisted therapies; most other classic psychedelics (psilocybin, MDMA, DMT, 5‑MeO‑DMT, ibogaine, mescaline, 2C‑X, ayahuasca) are treated as controlled/illegal with access limited to authorised clinical research or wholly prohibited. Key enforcement agencies include the Anti‑Narcotics Force (ANF) and provincial drug-control departments, while regulatory oversight for registered medicines sits with the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP). [https://www.legislation.pk/browse-legislation/federation-of-pakistan/28-the-control-of-narcotic-substances-act-1997|Control of Narcotic Substances Act 1997] [https://www.anf.gov.pk/lib-details.php?folder=acts&title=ACTS+%2F+SROs+%2F+RULES+%2F+POLICIES+%2F+INSTRUCTIONS&type=ACTS|Anti‑Narcotics Force (ANF) - Acts] [https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12552226/|Esketamine for TRD in Pakistan - review].

Full guide →