Article 31 of the Saudi Anti-Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances Law

المادة 31 من نظام مكافحة المخدرات والمؤثرات العقلية

The article requires the pharmacist or responsible pharmacy technician to record in special registers all medicines containing narcotic or psychotropic substances received by and dispensed from the pharmacy, according to the Regulations.

Official text (Arabic)

This article has not been amended since the law was issued.

يجب على الصيدلي أو فني الصيدلية المسئول تقييد جميع ما يرد إلى الصيدلية من أدوية تحتوي على مواد مخدرة أو مؤثرات عقلية، وما يصرف منها، في سجلات خاصة بذلك، وفق ما تحدده اللائحة .

This is the official Arabic wording, the only legally binding version. We do not translate the law itself; the explanation below is ours. Official source: Bureau of Experts at the Council of Ministers

Article 31 explained in plain English

This article places a direct duty on the pharmacist or the responsible pharmacy technician: to record in special registers everything that enters the pharmacy of medicines containing narcotic substances or psychotropic substances, and everything dispensed of them.

By the definitions of Article One of the Law, narcotic substances are those listed in Table (1) attached to the Law, and psychotropic substances are those listed in Table (2).

What does this mean in practice?

The recording covers both what is received and what is dispensed; recording one without the other is not enough.
The recording is in registers specific to that, that is, separate for these medicines.
The details of how entries are made and the form of the registers are set by the Implementing Regulations, and the article itself does not state them.

This article complements Article 30, which requires the prescription for these medicines to be kept after dispensing, with the date of dispensing and the entry number in the prescription register recorded on it and the pharmacy's stamp applied to show dispensing, the Regulations setting the retention period of prescriptions. Article 32 also requires every treatment institution to review, from time to time, the procedures for prescribing and dispensing these medicines, and to notify the Ministry of Health when it discovers any violation.

The purpose of all this is that the path of every narcotic or psychotropic medicine inside the pharmacy stays clear and traceable. Anyone who works in a pharmacy and needs to know the details of the obligation or the consequences of violation can consult the Regulations or a lawyer specialized in criminal cases and health regulations.

Practical example

A pharmacy in Jeddah receives a shipment of a painkilling medicine containing a substance listed in the table of narcotic substances. The responsible pharmacist records the quantity received in the register specific to these medicines, and whenever he dispenses a pack to a patient on a prescription, he records what was dispensed in the same register, so that the balance matches what was received and dispensed.

Translated from our Arabic explanation with machine assistance. For guidance only; it does not replace advice from a lawyer on your situation.

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