Is Adderall legal in Samoa?

Also known as: addy, amphetamine salts

Legal status

Controlled as a Class A narcotic through its active ingredients. Adderall is a mixed-salt amphetamine product (dextroamphetamine saccharate, amphetamine aspartate, dextroamphetamine sulfate and amphetamine sulfate). First Schedule item 2 of the Narcotics Act 1967 (official version as at 31 December 2023) names "AMPHETAMINE (2-amino-1-phenylpropane)" as a Class A narcotic, and clause D extends that entry to the salts of the substances the Schedule describes. Each of Adderall's four active ingredients is an amphetamine salt, so the product falls within item 2 read with clause D. This is a finding about the product's constituents only; that Adderall is marketed, registered or sold under that name in Samoa is not documented and is not claimed here.

Consequences if caught

Section 18 makes dealing in, possessing, supplying or using a Class A narcotic punishable by imprisonment for life; sections 17 and 18A carry the same life maximum for unlicensed import, export or manufacture. The section 18 proviso (a fine not exceeding 5 penalty units or imprisonment not exceeding 2 years, or both) applies only to a non-wilful or procedural contravention.

If prescribed or medical

Section 7(2)(c) exempts a narcotic supplied for a person's use by, or on the prescription of, a licensee authorised under this Act to supply or prescribe narcotics for that purpose. On the text read, that exemption turns on the supplier or prescriber holding a Samoan licence under section 11; a prescription issued outside Samoa is not stated to satisfy section 7(2)(c) on its own, and no traveller or personal-import exemption regulation under section 7(2)(e) was located.

Documentation

Import of a Class A narcotic requires a Chief Executive Officer licence under sections 10 and 11, and section 10(3) restricts such a licence to a person already licensed under section 11 to deal in that narcotic; nothing in the text read creates a simplified route for a traveller carrying a personal supply of amphetamine salts.

Drug laws and enforcement change and vary within a country. This is not legal advice. Always confirm with Samoa’s embassy or official drug authority before traveling; penalties can be severe, including imprisonment.