Are Benzodiazepines legal in Macau?

Legal status

Controlled in Macau, member by member. Benzodiazepines is a class, not one compound, and Law 17/2009 lists its members one by one, so the class has no single entry. Each of the six members checked in the dossier's own rows is a Table IV entry: diazepam at item 19, printed «地西泮 / Diazepam»; alprazolam at item 2, printed «阿普唑侖 / Alprazolam»; clonazepam at item 13, printed «氯硝西泮 / Clonazepam»; lorazepam at item 35, printed «勞拉西泮 / Lorazepam»; nimetazepam at item 45, printed «尼美西泮 / Nimetazepam»; and etizolam at item 64, printed «依替唑侖 / Etizolam». The dossier's class row also names Table II-C for the family but quotes no benzodiazepine entry in it. That Table II-C reference is not printed in the quoted extract of this row; it is the dossier's explanation. A benzodiazepine not named here needs its own table match before any band applies to it. The tables are read as amended through Law 12/2026, in force 18 August 2026. Trafficking for the six named members: Article 8(3). Personal use: Article 14.

Consequences if caught

Capital exposure: none. The dossier records that Law 17/2009 has no death penalty provision in these offences. Trafficking, across the six named members, all in Table IV: Article 8(3) sets 1 to 5 years of imprisonment for unauthorized trafficking and 2 to 8 years for a licensed actor who violates the authorization. The dossier's class row also states a band of 5 to 15 years under Article 8(1) for Table II-C; it names no benzodiazepine in Table II-C, so that higher band is stated only as what the class row records, and it would reach a member only if that member's own entry is in Table II-C. Personal use: Article 14(1) makes illicit consumption, and acquisition or possession for exclusively personal use, punishable by 3 months to 1 year of imprisonment or 60 to 240 day-fines, as alternatives. Article 10 raises the minimum and the maximum by one third in stated aggravating circumstances. Quantity: the dossier gives no family wide daily quantity, and the daily reference table prints no figure for any of the six named members, so the fivefold cross reference in Article 14 does not apply to them; Article 14(1) still penalises illicit personal use. The dossier states the trafficking band and the personal use band; it does not set out separate bands for import, export, sale, manufacture or cultivation, so this cell does not give them. The previous version of this cell, citing the Macau anti-drug and Judiciary Police portals, stated that Macau's maximum penalty for any offence is imprisonment capped at 30 years with no life term, and that Macau's criminal law is separate from mainland China's under the Basic Law. Carried forward from the previous cell, not re-read in this pass.

If prescribed or medical

The source this cell rests on, the Macau 88 substance legal dossier of 2 October 2026, does not state a prescription or medical carriage route for any benzodiazepine.

Documentation

The dossier states that a table assignment identifies the statutory route and does not authorize possession, use, transport or trade. It states no traveller permit, import licence or carriage document for any benzodiazepine, and none is given here. The dossier rows for this class and its six members carry no URL, so the instrument is cited by name. The dossier's own search for the class row: Query: benzodiazepine class; named members. Inspected Macau Table I-A/I-B/I-C, II-A/II-B/II-C, III, IV, V and VI by Chinese name, Portuguese name and chemical structure; result: IV named benzodiazepines, including items 2, 13, 19 and 35.

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