Is Ayahuasca legal in Samoa?

Also known as: yagé, hoasca

Legal status

Controlled through its constituent under the Narcotics Act 1967 (official version as at 31 December 2023). Ayahuasca is a brewed plant preparation, typically combining a DMT-containing leaf with a harmala-alkaloid vine; neither the leaf species nor the vine species sits on the section 2 "prohibited plant" list, which names only cannabis, the opium poppy, coca-genus plants, Lophophora species and specified psilocybin-producing fungi. DMT itself, however, is named directly at First Schedule item 10, "DMT (N, N-dimethyltryptamine)", a Class A narcotic, and clause E of the First Schedule extends that entry to substances containing any proportion of a clause A to D substance. A brewed ayahuasca preparation containing DMT falls within clause E on that wording. Raw, unbrewed plant material from which DMT has not been extracted or concentrated is not separately addressed by the Act, since the source plants are absent from the section 2 list.

Consequences if caught

Section 18 makes dealing in, possessing, supplying or using a Class A narcotic, including a preparation containing any proportion of one, punishable by imprisonment for life; sections 17 and 18A carry the same life maximum for unlicensed import, export or manufacture of such a preparation.

If prescribed or medical

No medical or prescription use of ayahuasca or DMT is documented. Section 7(2)(c) exempts supply by, or on the prescription of, a Chief Executive Officer licensee authorised to supply or prescribe narcotics; no such authorisation was located, and the Act carries no religious, ceremonial or traditional-use exemption for a DMT-containing preparation.

Documentation

Import or export of a preparation containing a Class A narcotic requires a Chief Executive Officer licence under sections 10 and 11; no exemption for a traditional or ceremonial preparation was located.

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.