Are Benzodiazepines legal in Timor-Leste?

Legal status

Benzodiazepines are a class slug. Table IV of Lei 2/2017's Anexo II lists 64 substances in total, a mixed anxiolytic, hypnotic, barbiturate and stimulant schedule, not a benzodiazepine-only one (it also carries seven barbiturates, which are a separate class slug answered elsewhere, and several unrelated stimulants and sedatives, for example amfepramona, aminorex, pemolina and meprobamato). Of the 64, 37 are themselves benzodiazepines or thienodiazepines, confirmed item by item against the table: item 2 Alprazolam, item 7 Bromazepam, item 8 Brotizolam, item 10 Camazepam, item 11 Cetazolam, item 12 Clobazam, item 14 Clonazepam, item 15 Clorazepato, item 16 Clordiazepóxido, item 17 Clordesmetildiazepan, item 18 Clotiazepam, item 19 Cloxazolam, item 20 Delorazepam, item 21 Diazepam, item 22 Estazolam, item 25 Etil-loflazepato, item 30 Fludiazepam, item 31 Flunitrazepam, item 32 Flurazepam, item 33 Halazepam, item 34 Haloxazolam, item 35 Loprazolam, item 36 Lorazepam, item 37 Lormetazepam, item 39 Medazepam, item 45 Midazolam, item 46 Nimetazepam, item 47 Nitrazepam, item 48 Nordazepam, item 49 Oxazepam, item 50 Oxazolam, item 52 Pinazepam, item 55 Prazepam, item 57 Quazepan, item 60 Temazepam, item 61 Tetrazepam, item 62 Triazolam. Brotizolam (item 8) and Clotiazepam (item 18) are thienodiazepines rather than classic 1,4-benzodiazepines, printed Portuguese "tieno" marking the thiophene ring in both; they are included in this range because they are the same pharmacological class as the rest. Item 17, "Clordesmetildiazepan - 7-cloro-5-(2-clorofenil)-1,3-di-hidro-2H-1,4-benzodiazepina-2-ona", and item 20, "Delorazepam - 7-cloro-5-(2-clorofenil)-1,3-di-hidro-2H-1,4-benzodiazepina-2-ona", print the identical chemical name; chlordesmethyldiazepam is itself a recognized synonym for delorazepam, so the table most likely lists one substance twice under two of its names rather than two distinct substances, which would make the true count 36 rather than 37. Both entries are quoted here as printed and neither is treated as the error; which, if either, Timor-Leste intended as a separate line is not resolved by this reading. Zolpidem, item 64 of the same table, is excluded from this range: it is chemically an imidazopyridine Z-drug, not a benzodiazepine, and is answered separately, under zolpidem. Flunitrazepam carries a second, separate listing at Table II-C, item 5, in addition to its Table IV entry at item 31; both listings are the same substance in two different sub-schedules of the same Act, and its penalty band, stated below, is reached through the Table II-C listing.

Consequences if caught

Table IV's own closing clause reaches only salts, "Os sais das substâncias indicadas nesta tabela, sempre que a existência de tais sais seja possível" (English: the salts of the substances listed in this table, whenever the existence of such salts is possible), with no isomer or analogue extension. For the 36 members named only at Table IV, article 7, paragraph 3, sets the band: 1 to 5 years' imprisonment unauthorized, 2 to 8 years where authorized but acting against the authorization; article 9 aggravates both figures by two thirds at the minimum and maximum for listed factors, extending the range to roughly 1 year 8 months to 8 years 4 months unauthorized, and 3 years 4 months to 13 years 4 months authorized-but-violating, where an aggravating factor applies. Flunitrazepam is different: because it is also named at Table II-C, which falls within article 7's "tabelas I a III" band, it carries 5 to 15 years unauthorized and 6 to 16 years authorized-but-violating, aggravating to roughly 8 years 4 months to 25 years, and 10 years to 26 years 8 months, respectively, a materially higher exposure than every other member of this class. Article 10's criminal-association band, 10 to 25 years for a founder and 12 to 25 years for a leader, applies to an organized group trafficking any of these 37 substances regardless of which table governs. Article 12 gives an intermediate band where the sole purpose of the article 7 act was to obtain the substance for personal use: up to 1 year's imprisonment or a fine for the 36 Table-IV-only members, up to 2 years' imprisonment or a fine for flunitrazepam. None of the 37 appears in Annex I's 16 item daily reference quantity table, so article 11's reduced-gravity quantity test has no pinned figure for this class; the reduced band itself is up to 3 years or a fine for the 36 Table-IV-only members (article 11, paragraph 1(b)) and 1 to 5 years for flunitrazepam (article 11, paragraph 1(a)). Article 26 punishes personal consumption or possession for personal use of any Table I to IV substance, this class included, with up to 1 year's imprisonment or a fine of up to 120 days, the same ceiling for all 37 regardless of table. Article 26, paragraph 2, raises this to up to 2 years' imprisonment or a fine of up to 240 days where the quantity found exceeds five times the Annex I reference figure; none of the 16 substances in Annex I's table include this one, so no figure is pinned here specifically. Article 26, paragraph 3, allows an occasional user to be excused penalty entirely in the paragraph 1 case. No death penalty is provided anywhere in Lei 2/2017. The Constitution of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, quoted in Lei 2/2017's own preamble, states that the State "proíbe, em absoluto, a existência da pena de morte" (English: absolutely prohibits the existence of the death penalty); the preamble cites this as part of why Lei 2/2017 replaced Indonesia's Law 5/1997, whose own penalty scheme for drug trafficking included the death penalty.

If prescribed or medical

Article 6, paragraph 1, subjects all 37 named members, as Table I to IV substances, to Ministério da Saúde licensing on terms the article defers to a separate instrument not yet located. Decreto-Lei 2/2025 regulates pharmacy licensing generally without naming which Table I to IV substances a doctor may prescribe, so it is not cited here as a prescription route. No prescription or medical-supply pathway for any named benzodiazepine under Lei 2/2017 has been established by this reading.

Documentation

Decreto-Lei 19/2009, de 8 de Abril, is Timor-Leste's Penal Code, and Lei 2/2017's own preamble states that the Penal Code's third amendment, Lei 5/2013, de 14 de Agosto, "não se traduziu na criminalização do tráfico ilícito e o consumo de estupefacientes e substâncias psicotrópicas" (English: did not result in the criminalization of illicit trafficking and consumption of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances), and that before Lei 2/2017 the operative drug law was Indonesia's Law 5/1997, carried over under article 165 of the Constitution of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste. Lei 2/2017 is accordingly Timor-Leste's first domestic drug-trafficking law; no later one has been found, and no drug-trafficking chapter of the Penal Code has been located. No separate traveller or import-permit rule beyond the Ministério da Saúde licensing regime in article 6 has been found. A benzodiazepine or related substance not on the 37 item list above is a separate question not addressed here.

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