Is Xanax (Alprazolam) legal in Lesotho?

Legal status

Alprazolam is a risk drug under the Drugs of Abuse Act No. 5 of 2008. It is printed by name as 'Alprazolam' in Schedule 3, Risk Drugs of Abuse, on printed page 812, in the block taken from Schedule IV of the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances. Under s3 a risk drug is 'a substance listed in Schedule 3', and a risk drug is a drug of abuse. Section 4(2) gives Schedule 3 the least strict measures of the three drug Schedules.

Consequences if caught

Acquiring or manufacturing alprazolam without a licence falls under s9(1)(b); s9(6) prints 'imprisonment not less than 5 years or a fine not less than M20,000 or both'. Selling, delivering, importing or exporting it is trafficking under s43(1), with 'not less than 20 years or a fine not less than M1,000,000 or both', and s43(3) prints 10 years or M50,000 for a contravention of that section; the Act does not say how the two combine. Section 47 gives attempt, aiding or inciting the same penalty. For Part III offences such as trafficking, s49(2) lists matters a court takes into account, s50(1) allows house arrest instead of imprisonment, s50(3) lets a court add deportation of a foreigner and s51(1) allows suspension for a first offender or a drug abuser. The penalty clauses printed in the Act set minimums and name no maximum.

If prescribed or medical

Section 10 lets a person undergoing treatment of a medical condition, who is entering, leaving or passing through Lesotho, possess 'such quantities of a drug of abuse (where prescribed) as may be reasonably expected for the purposes of such treatment'. Section 3 defines 'prescribed' as 'prescribed by regulations' and 'prescription' as a practitioner's written direction that a stated amount of a drug of abuse be dispensed, so the bracket may mean either; the Act does not choose and no regulation under s10 was found. Section 28(1) lets a pharmacist supply on prescription. Under s29(5) a prescription must be on a prescribed form, legible, signed and dated, naming the practitioner (address, qualifications, registration number), the patient (address) and the drug (quantity, form, strength). Section 29(6) allows an oral prescription if confirmed in writing within 24 hours, and s44(6)(b) makes supplying on one issued over 3 months before presentation an offence. The Act does not say whether a prescription issued outside Lesotho meets s29(5).

Documentation

Drawn from s3, s4(2), s9(1)(b), s9(6), s10, s28(1), s29(1), s29(5), s29(6), s43(1), s43(3), s44(6), s47 and s49 to s51 (the last three read as Part III provisions), with Schedule 3 at printed page 812, read as printed in the gazette of 27 May 2008. No later amendment to the Schedules was found as at 2 November 2026, which does not prove none exists. Not established: any court decision on alprazolam, any s5(2) exemption of a preparation, or whether a prescription from outside Lesotho satisfies s29(5).

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