Is Alcohol legal in Dominican Republic?

Legal status

Controlled only as a precursor chemical. Ethanol is not in the Categorías of article 8 of Ley 50-88 and it is not named in the article 2 hallucinogen, stimulant, hypnotic or opiate groups. It is named in the precursor table of Capítulo V of the Reglamento, as that chapter was replaced in full by article 5 of Decreto 275-21 of 26 April 2021, in the entry «Alcohol etílico» under tariff headings 2207.10.00, 2207.20.00 and 2208.90.10, and article 1 of the replaced chapter makes the substances in that table sustancias controladas subject to the provisions of Ley 50-88 and the Reglamento. That listing bears on importation, commercialisation, denaturing and record keeping by licensed businesses. It is not a control on drinking.

Consequences if caught

Alcoholic drinks remain lawful to buy and to consume, and the drug offence route is not the route that governs them. Article 75 sets the prison band by the role the case is classified into: six months to two years for simple possession, three to ten years for a distributor, a seller or an intermediary, five to twenty years for a trafficker, and thirty years for a patrocinador. The quantity scales that decide which of those roles a case falls into are printed for cocaine in article 5 and for marihuana and hashish in article 6, and Ley 50-88 prints no quantity scale for any other substance. The fines run with the same roles: RD$1,500 to RD$2,500 for simple possession, RD$10,000 to RD$50,000 for a distributor or an intermediary, not less than the value of the drugs seized and never less than RD$50,000 for a trafficker, and not less than RD$1,000,000 for a patrocinador. Article 59 adds five to twenty years with a fine of not less than RD$250,000 for taking a controlled drug into or out of the national territory in international traffic, and thirty years with a fine of not less than RD$1,000,000 where the Dominican Republic is the final destination. Article 58 classifies illicit trafficking, the manufacture, distribution or possession of equipment for producing controlled drugs, and the acquisition or laundering of the proceeds, as delitos graves to be punished with the maximum of the penalties and the fines, and its párrafo calls illicit trafficking an international offence. Article 85 doubles the penalty for a reincident trafficker or patrocinador and caps the resulting prison term at thirty years, and article 87 withdraws provisional liberty on bail, conditional liberty and the conditional pardon of the sentence from every offence in this law. Those figures are set out here because this row is placed outside that regime, so they are recorded as the Dominican Republic's published drug penalties and not as this substance's exposure. Ley 50-88 provides no death penalty for any drug offence, and the highest prison term it prints anywhere is thirty years.

If prescribed or medical

Not a prescribed traveller medicine in this form. Where undenatured ethanol is required for pharmaceutical purposes, párrafo V of article 3 of the replaced chapter requires prior authorisation from the Ministerio de Salud Pública y Asistencia Social naming the type and quantity of medicines it is for. Carry any prescription medicine in its original packaging with the prescription and the dispensing label, and confirm the requirement with your embassy before travel.

Documentation

Párrafo IV of article 3 of the replaced Capítulo V allows undenatured ethanol to be imported, commercialised or exported by businesses holding a liquor licence from the Dirección General de Impuestos Internos, which is what keeps the beverage trade outside the denaturing requirement. Where ethanol is handled for purposes other than producing alcoholic drinks it must be denatured with 10 grams of denatonium benzoate per 1,000 kilograms. The whole of Decreto 275-21 was read to its final article and it contains no transitory article and no deferred commencement. There is no medical cannabis programme in the Dominican Republic and CBD is treated the same as THC. The United States embassy warns of zero tolerance enforcement in which small quantities can lead to arrest, and it states that United States cannabis or medical marijuana cards are not recognised.

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