Federal Decree-Law No. 2 of 2025 establishes the National Anti-Narcotics Authority, a federal body headquartered in Abu Dhabi that took over the UAE's anti-narcotics mandate on 1 January 2026. The Authority absorbs the Ministry of Interior's General Department of Anti-Narcotics and concentrates national strategy, cross-emirate enforcement, chemical-precursor licensing and oversight of narcotic-containing medicines in a single institution led by a president of ministerial rank. For businesses that handle controlled substances, precursors or regulated medicines, the practical question is no longer what the rules are but who now administers and enforces them.
Who should read this
Pharmaceutical and medical establishments handling controlled medicines, importers and exporters of chemical precursors, hospitals and pharmacies, and logistics and free-zone operators moving regulated substances. Compliance, regulatory-affairs and general-counsel teams should confirm which of their licences and approvals now sit with the new federal Authority.
Directly affected
Key facts
- Instrument: Federal Decree-Law No. 2 of 2025 establishing the National Anti-Narcotics Authority (also rendered on the legislation portal as the National Drug Enforcement Authority).
- Issued: 2025. In force: 1 January 2026.
- Status of the Authority: a federal body with legal personality and financial and administrative independence, headquartered in Abu Dhabi.
- Replaces: the General Department of Anti-Narcotics of the Ministry of Interior, which is absorbed into the Authority together with its financial and legal rights and obligations.
- Leadership: a president of ministerial rank appointed by federal decree, assisted by a director general drawn from the military cadre.
- Mandate: setting national anti-narcotics strategy and legislation, pursuing trafficking networks, monitoring and inspecting persons, goods and means of transport, and international coordination.
- Licensing role: the Authority authorises the import, export, manufacture, possession and use of chemical precursors for non-medical purposes and oversees medical and pharmaceutical establishments to prevent unlawful dispensing of narcotic-containing products.
Executive summary
The UAE has consolidated its anti-narcotics apparatus into one federal institution. Federal Decree-Law No. 2 of 2025 creates the National Anti-Narcotics Authority, gives it legal personality and financial and administrative independence, and moves the mandate previously exercised by the Ministry of Interior's General Department of Anti-Narcotics into the new body. The Authority took over on 1 January 2026. Its remit is broad: national strategy and law reform, operational enforcement against trafficking, and, importantly for the private sector, the licensing of chemical precursors used for non-medical purposes and the supervision of establishments that handle narcotic-containing medicines. The substantive prohibitions on narcotics and psychotropic substances continue to sit in Federal Decree-Law No. 30 of 2021; this 2025 decree is about who administers and enforces that regime.
What changed
Three shifts matter in practice. First, institutional consolidation: a single federal Authority in Abu Dhabi now holds the powers, staff, assets and obligations that were spread across the Ministry of Interior's anti-narcotics department. References to the former department in existing arrangements should be read as references to the Authority. Second, elevated standing: the Authority is led by a president of ministerial rank appointed by federal decree, assisted by a director general drawn from the military cadre, giving anti-narcotics policy a dedicated seat at federal level rather than a departmental one. Third, an explicit administrative and licensing function alongside the enforcement role — the Authority is not only an investigative agency but also the gatekeeper for precursor authorisations and a supervisor of the medical and pharmaceutical supply chain.
Key provisions
The Authority's statutory tasks include developing national anti-narcotics strategy and proposing related legislation; pursuing and apprehending smuggling and distribution networks and referring offenders to the competent judicial authorities; and monitoring, inspecting and tracking persons, goods and means of transport to prevent narcotics entering or leaving the UAE. It coordinates with other states on cross-border trafficking and is expected to unify data and coordination between security, health and awareness bodies. For regulated businesses, two provisions are decisive: the Authority issues authorisations to bring in, import, export, manufacture, extract, produce, possess, distribute, use or traffic in chemical precursors for non-medical purposes, working with the concerned authorities; and it oversees medical and pharmaceutical establishments to prevent the unlawful sale or dispensing of medicines and products containing narcotics or psychotropic substances. The decree also obliges UAE entities to cooperate and coordinate with the Authority in carrying out its tasks. Specific article numbers, thresholds and procedural detail turn on the enacted Arabic text and any implementing decisions, which prevail over this summary.
Practical implications
If your business already holds precursor permits or handles controlled medicines, the counterparty on the regulatory side has changed even where the underlying rules have not. Existing authorisations, correspondence and reporting channels that named the Ministry of Interior's department should be re-pointed to the Authority, and renewal or variation applications will need to run through the new body. Pharmacies, hospitals, distributors and manufacturers should expect inspection and supervision to be exercised by, or in coordination with, the Authority, which raises the value of clean dispensing records, controlled-drug registers and internal segregation-of-duties controls. Logistics, free-zone and re-export operators handling dual-use chemicals face heightened tracking of goods and transport and should confirm that their classification and licensing of precursor shipments is current. Because the criminal-liability framework under Federal Decree-Law No. 30 of 2021 is unchanged, the consequences of an unlicensed or non-compliant activity remain severe; the reorganisation simply concentrates the enforcement capability.
Action points
- Identify every activity, permit and product in your operations that touches narcotics, psychotropic substances or listed chemical precursors, and confirm which now fall under the Authority.
- Update licence records, regulatory correspondence and internal procedures so that references to the Ministry of Interior's General Department of Anti-Narcotics point to the National Anti-Narcotics Authority.
- Review the validity and scope of existing precursor and controlled-medicine authorisations and diarise renewals under the new administering body.
- Tighten dispensing records, controlled-drug registers and inspection-readiness for pharmacies, hospitals and distributors.
- Take advice before importing, exporting or manufacturing any precursor for a non-medical purpose without a current authorisation from the Authority.
Enforcement and transition
The Authority succeeds the Ministry of Interior's department in its rights and obligations, so ongoing matters, permits and investigations continue rather than lapse — but under a new administering body with elevated federal standing. Businesses facing inspections, licensing decisions or criminal exposure connected to narcotics or precursors should confirm the correct authority, preserve their compliance records, and obtain advice early. Where the English summary and the enacted Arabic text differ, the Arabic text governs.
Sources and authorities
Federal Decree-Law No. 2 of 2025 — Establishment of the National Anti-Narcotics Authority (portal title: National Drug Enforcement Authority / NDEA). Issued 2025; in force 1 January 2026. Establishes a federal authority and transfers to it the mandate, rights and obligations of the General Department of Anti-Narcotics of the Ministry of Interior. Read alongside Federal Decree-Law No. 30 of 2021 on Combating Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances, which remains the substantive offence framework.
UAE Legislation Portal:
https://uaelegislation.gov.ae/en/legislations/3141
Instrument details
Instrument: Federal Decree-Law No. 2 of 2025 Regarding the Establishment of the National Anti-Narcotics Authority (rendered on the legislation portal as the National Drug Enforcement Authority / NDEA).
Type: Federal decree-law (UAE-wide).
Issued: 2025. Entry into force: 1 January 2026.
Seat: Abu Dhabi. Legal status: federal authority with legal personality and financial and administrative independence.
Replaces / absorbs: the General Department of Anti-Narcotics of the Ministry of Interior, in all financial and legal rights and obligations.
Note: the enacted Arabic text is authoritative. This page summarises the instrument for general information and does not reproduce its full articles.
Based on Federal Decree-Law No. 2 of 2025 establishing the National Anti-Narcotics Authority and cross-checked against leading practitioner analyses. General information only — it does not constitute legal advice, and the enacted Arabic text prevails. For advice on a specific matter, please contact us. Last updated: 2 July 2026.