No. As at October 2026, ketum products that contain mitragynine are controlled in Malaysia. Under section 30(3) of the Poisons Act 1952, it is an offence to sell, supply, make, mix, possess or use a psychotropic substance without authority. Mitragynine, the active compound in ketum, is on that list. The maximum penalty is a fine of RM100,000, five years in prison, or both.
Ketum is not listed in the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, so the harsher drug penalties in that Act do not apply to it. Some points, such as drinking ketum water at home or growing one tree, have no clear official answer, and this page says so where that is the case.
What the Poisons Act says
The Poisons Act 1952 (Act 366) controls poisons and a group of substances called psychotropic substances, which change how the mind works. Mitragynine appears in two places:
- The Third Schedule (psychotropic substances), Part 1.
- The poisons list under the First Schedule, as "Mitragynine, all preparations", in Group A. The only exception is Group D, which is preparations for laboratory use.
Section 30(3) then says that no person shall "import, export, manufacture, compound, mix, dispense, sell, supply, administer, possess or use" a psychotropic substance except in line with the regulations. Put simply, doing any of these things with mitragynine, without authority, is an offence. That includes boiling ketum leaves into air ketum and selling it.
The penalty, and how it compares
The penalty for section 30 was raised by the Poisons (Amendment) Act 2022, which came into force on 1 January 2023. Many websites and older news reports still quote the earlier limit. The table shows both, with two Dangerous Drugs Act penalties for comparison.
| Offence | Law | Maximum penalty |
|---|---|---|
| Selling, supplying, making, possessing or using ketum products (mitragynine) without authority, from 1 January 2023 | Poisons Act, section 30(3) | Fine up to RM100,000, or up to 5 years in prison, or both |
| The same offences before 1 January 2023 | Poisons Act, section 30 | Fine up to RM10,000, or up to 4 years in prison, or both |
| For comparison only: consuming a drug listed in the Dangerous Drugs Act | Dangerous Drugs Act, section 15(1)(a) | Fine up to RM5,000, or up to 2 years in prison |
| For comparison only: possessing other dangerous drugs | Dangerous Drugs Act, section 12(3) | Fine up to RM100,000, or up to 5 years in prison, or both |
These are maximums. What a court actually orders depends on the facts of the case, and nobody can predict it from a table.
What about the leaf, drinking and planting?
This is where families get most confused, so here is what is settled and what is not.
What is settled:
- Selling or supplying ketum products, and making them (for example, boiling leaves into ketum water for sale), falls within section 30(3).
- The wording "possess or use" is in the section. On its face, that covers having or drinking a product that contains mitragynine.
What is not settled, because official statements are lacking:
- The ketum leaf. The leaf itself is not named in the schedules we read. Control comes through its mitragynine content. We did not find an official statement saying whether a bare leaf, on its own, counts as a controlled psychotropic substance.
- Personal drinking or possession. We did not find any official statement that personal possession or drinking is allowed, and none that sets out how it is treated in practice. Do not assume it is allowed.
- Planting. We found no provision on growing ketum in the Act as reprinted, and none in the 2022 amendment bill, whose clauses do not mention plants. We also found no official statement on a single tree. We are not able to tell you whether growing one is safe, and we would not advise anyone to rely on it.
If any of these points matter to your situation, ask a lawyer. A general article cannot settle them.
The Poisons (Amendment) Act 2025
The Dewan Rakyat passed the Poisons (Amendment) Bill 2025 on 28 July 2025. Reports describe it as an enforcement update:
- Police of any rank, and people appointed by the Health Minister, can now act as "authorised officers", with powers of inspection and enforcement under the Act.
- The meaning of "premises" now covers land, buildings, and fixed or floating structures.
- It aligns the Act with the 1961 and 1988 United Nations drug conventions.
The Ministry of Health's reprint of the Act lists this amendment as Act A1774, in force on 1 January 2026. That in-force date comes from the reprint, and we did not find it in a news report. We also found no report that this amendment changed any penalty, and the reprint still shows RM100,000 and five years for section 30.
Ketum and the Dangerous Drugs Act
The Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 (Act 234) is the law behind most of the penalties families hear about: whipping, long prison terms and the death penalty for trafficking. Ketum is not listed in it. The Health Minister said in March 2019 that the government did not intend to list ketum or its alkaloids in the Act, and we found no later change.
So the Dangerous Drugs Act penalties do not apply to ketum itself. They can apply to other drugs, and ketum is sometimes mixed with other substances. If someone has been caught with a mix, the law on each ingredient matters, and a lawyer should look at it.
A positive test: Act 283 and AADK
The drug dependants treatment law, Act 283 (first passed in 1983), was amended and came into force on 22 August 2025. It now covers people who misuse drugs and substances, not only people who are dependent. AADK, the National Anti-Drugs Agency, has said this includes ketum.
AADK's Director-General, Datuk Ruslin Jusoh, said on 2 July 2025: "even if they are not addicted, they can still be subject to treatment if they test positive". He said AADK can act even if a person uses once a year.
AADK's own FAQ describes what happens after a suspected positive test. It has not been rewritten for the 2025 changes (the English page is dated November 2021), so treat the steps as the older procedure:
- A person suspected of drug use can be detained under section 3(1) for a drug screening test, within 24 hours.
- While a laboratory confirms the result, the person may be remanded for up to 14 days, at a Magistrate's discretion.
- The court, on AADK's recommendation, decides whether the person goes to a rehabilitation centre or does a programme in the community.
- The whole process may take two weeks or more.
We could not find the amended Act's section numbers or how long the new orders last, so ask AADK or a lawyer for the current position.
The first year of the amended Act: the Home Minister said on 18 August 2026 that 1,109 ketum users had been detected, and 2,145 people had come forward voluntarily for treatment.
AADK has also said publicly that people who come forward voluntarily will not be arrested (19 January 2026). That is a statement of AADK policy. We did not find a section of the law that guarantees it, and the offences above still exist. If police act first, a charge can follow.
What this means for your family
Two tracks run side by side, and it helps to keep them apart. One is the legal track: what the offence is and what a court may decide. The other is the health track: why the person cannot stop, and what would help. A lawyer deals with the first. A clinician deals with the second. Neither replaces the other.
On the health side, ketum dependence is real. It is easy to miss because ketum is drunk openly, and the body builds tolerance, so the amount creeps up. Withdrawal brings poor sleep, restlessness and aches, which is why many people cannot stop alone. Dependence is a health condition, and like other dependencies, it responds to treatment.
What tends to help:
- Withdrawal managed alongside medical care, rather than stopping suddenly alone.
- Treating anything underneath it, such as poor sleep, anxiety or old trauma.
- Therapy that works on the habit, and a daily routine that works without ketum.
- Enough time for the change to hold after the person goes home.
- A family that is part of the plan.
What tends not to help: shouting, shaming, or hoping the person will stop on their own after earlier attempts have failed. Punishment alone does not treat dependence.
Acting early matters. Tolerance builds, so the amount creeps up. A positive test can also lead to AADK action even for occasional use. A calm conversation now is easier than one after a crisis, and our guide to talking to someone you love about getting help may help. Our article on ketum addiction and treatment in Malaysia covers the Universiti Sains Malaysia research, the signs and what treatment involves.
How Salus can help
Salus offers a private, confidential, voluntary 90-day residential programme in Cyberjaya, Selangor, with withdrawal managed alongside medical care. You can read how we treat this on our ketum addiction treatment page, or see drug rehab in Malaysia for the wider picture. Treatment is health care, and it does not change how the law applies to a person.
If you are worried about someone, call or message Salus for a confidential conversation. The person does not need to know at this stage.
This article is general information, not legal advice. If someone has been charged or detained, speak to a lawyer.
