Is Codeine legal in Belize?

Legal status

Codeine is printed in Belize's Misuse of Drugs Regulations at Schedule II paragraph 6, in the Misuse of Drugs Act Chapter 103 volume of the Subsidiary Laws of Belize, Revised Edition 2020, which shows the subsidiary laws as at 31 December 2020. It is printed in the left column of paragraph 6 under Amphetamine, with Nicocodine and Norcodeine in the right column and Dihydrocodeine and Acetyldihydrocodeine in the same list. That schedule's heading reads «CONTROLLED DRUGS SUBJECT TO THE REQUIREMENTS OF REGULATIONS 14, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20, 21, 23, 25 AND 26.» The subsidiary law made under Chapter 103 therefore calls what it lists a controlled drug, and this substance is one of them. Codeine is also one of the nine substances in Schedule V paragraph 1. That paragraph excepts a preparation of codeine that is not for injection, is compounded with other active or inert ingredients, and contains not more than 100 milligrammes calculated as base per dosage unit, or a total concentration of not more than 2.5 per cent calculated as base in an undivided preparation. Schedule V is the one schedule that regulation 4 lifts clear of the possession prohibition altogether. What the volume cannot answer is how heavily this is punished. Section 27 takes the ordinary punishments from the Act's Third Schedule column by column according to class, and neither the Third Schedule nor the Second Schedule that assigns the class was in the material read. The schedule placement in this cell is read off the instrument and is not printed in the quoted dossier extract, which names the Act's schedules only as a range.

Consequences if caught

Section 7(1) of the Act makes it unlawful to have a controlled drug in your possession, section 7(2) makes that an offence, and section 7(3) makes possession with intent to supply a separate offence. Section 17 of the 1990 Act text sets one penalty for drug trafficking and for possession for the purpose of trafficking, and it does not vary by class. On summary conviction it is a fine of not less than twenty five thousand dollars rising to one hundred thousand, or three times the street value of the drug if that is greater, or imprisonment of not less than five years rising to ten, or both. On conviction on indictment it is a fine of not less than one hundred thousand dollars rising to five hundred thousand, or three times the street value, or imprisonment of not less than seven years rising to fourteen, or both. The ordinary possession maximum is not given here. Section 27 takes it from the Act's Third Schedule, column by column, according to whether the drug is Class A, Class B or Class C, and neither that schedule nor the Second Schedule that assigns the class was among the four instruments in the volume read. One caution about section numbers. The Act text read here is the Misuse of Drugs Act 1990, Act 22 of 1990, as UNODC holds it, and the current Chapter 103 has been renumbered since. The Cannabis Violation Tickets Regulations cite section 12 for the smoking offence the 1990 text puts at section 11, and section 18 for the school premises presumption the 1990 text puts at section 17, so the current numbering runs one ahead from about section 11. Section 7 is the possession section in both, which the ticket schedule confirms independently. The same amendments that renumbered the Act may also have changed what these provisions say, so every figure quoted here from the 1990 text is the figure as enacted in 1990 and its currency is not established.

If prescribed or medical

Schedule II is the prescribing schedule for the strong medicines. Its heading brings in regulations 14, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20, 21, 23, 25 and 26, one more than Schedule I, and regulation 7 allows administration of a Schedule II drug, regulation 8 its production and supply and regulation 10 its possession, each on the conditions those regulations set. Regulation 15 prescribes the form of a prescription and regulation 16 what a supplier may do on one. None of that reaches a prescription written outside Belize, and regulation 4 does not exempt Schedule II from the import and export prohibition in section 5(1) of the Act. Schedule V is the exempted preparations schedule. Regulation 4(1) disapplies the import and export prohibition in section 5(1) of the Act for it and regulation 4(2)(b) disapplies the possession prohibition in section 7(1) outright, not merely for a medicinal product form. Only regulations 24 and 25 then apply. A preparation qualifies only if it is inside the printed strength limit for its paragraph.

Documentation

Carry a prescribed medicine in the pharmacy's original labelled packaging with the prescription and a letter from the prescriber naming the patient, the active ingredient, the dose, the quantity and the treatment period. Those papers evidence a therapeutic purpose; they are not an import authorisation, and the Regulations put import and export authorisations on the Minister's forms in Schedules VII to XI, issued to licence holders rather than to travellers. For this row the fact to carry is the printed entry itself: Codeine, at Schedule II paragraph 6. Codeine returned eleven occurrences in the subsidiary volume across Codeine, Norcodeine, Nicocodine, Dihydrocodeine and Acetyldihydrocodeine, and none in the 1990 Act text. The volume was read on 22 September 2026.

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