Are Benzodiazepines legal in Tanzania?

Legal status

Controlled, member by member, for five of the six members checked. The dossier row, citing the First Schedule of the Drug Control and Enforcement Act Cap 95 R.E. 2023, reads: 'The First Schedule names "Alprazolam", "Clonazepam", "Diazepam", "Lorazepam" and "Nimetazepam".' Etizolam, the sixth member checked, was not established in the printed 2023 schedule, and the dossier leaves its own etizolam row open under the section 15(2) drug related effects route, so the range runs across the five named members and does not reach etizolam.

Consequences if caught

Capital exposure: none. The dossier records that no death penalty is stated in Cap 95. For alprazolam, clonazepam, diazepam, lorazepam and nimetazepam, trafficking above 200 g attracts mandatory life imprisonment under section 15, and the dossier's penalty summary records that section 16 sets at least 30 years below that threshold. The class label alone does not settle etizolam, and no band is stated here for it. The previous cell, sourced to the Drug Control and Enforcement Act No. 5 of 2015 as amended by Act No. 15 of 2017, also recorded the Act's cultivation offence under section 11 at not less than 30 years, and small-quantity possession under section 17 and use as carrying imprisonment. Those two points are carried forward from the previous cell, not re-read in this pass against the 2023 Revised Edition. The record this cell rests on states no separate band for import, export, sale or manufacture, and none is given here.

If prescribed or medical

The source this cell rests on, the Cap 95 First Schedule as quoted in the dossier, does not state a prescription route for any of the five named benzodiazepines or for etizolam.

Documentation

The dossier row was checked on 20 September 2026 against the official 2023 Revised Edition at the Office of the Solicitor General eLibrary, and resolves the class member by member rather than from one entry. Section 14(2) lets the Minister amend the First Schedule by notice in the Gazette, and the dossier records that the 2023 Revised Edition does not certify that no later Gazette notice exists. The record does not state a traveller permit or import document rule for benzodiazepines.

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