Is Codeine legal in Cayman Islands (UK)?

Legal status

Controlled under the Cayman Islands' own Misuse of Drugs Act (2026 Revision). Codeine is named in Part 2 of Schedule 1, the list of controlled drugs made under section 2(1), so it is a controlled drug but not a hard drug. The Cayman Islands are not governed by the United Kingdom Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.

Consequences if caught

The Cayman Islands do not use the United Kingdom's classes. The words Class A, Class B and Class C appear nowhere in the Act. Severity turns instead on a single defined term: section 2(1) provides that 'hard drug' means any substance or product specified in Part 1 of Schedule 1. A controlled drug is either a hard drug or it is not, and the quantity involved then sets the band. For a controlled drug that is not a hard drug, section 16(2) gives, where the amount is less than one pound in weight, a fine of twenty thousand dollars and imprisonment with hard labour for seven years, rising to ten years on a second or subsequent conviction. Section 16(3) applies where the amount is one pound or more and raises the second or subsequent maximum to fifteen years. Section 16(1) sets the residual penalty at three thousand dollars and three years, and ten thousand dollars and ten years on a third or subsequent conviction. One phrase in those provisions has no counterpart in the United Kingdom statute at all. The Cayman penalties are expressed as imprisonment with hard labour, which the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 never uses. Dihydrocodeine and nicodicodine are in the same part. Codeine is not a hard drug. Sections 16(6) and 16(7) allow a court sentencing under subsections (1) to (4) to make a community service order, with the convicted person's consent, or an attendance order, in addition to or instead of any other disposal. Every statement above about what is and is not on the list is true as at a date, and the date is this. Schedule 1 is amended by regulations rather than by amending the Act, so the list moves on its own. The text read here is the 2026 Revision, revised as at 31 December 2025 and published as Supplement No. 2 with Legislation Gazette No. 8 of 10 February 2026, and it states that it consolidates the Misuse of Drugs (Amendment of Schedule 1) Regulations, 2025. No instrument after that was read, so this cell does not rule out a later amendment of Schedule 1.

If prescribed or medical

Section 2(1) defines lawful administration as administration 'in accordance with a prescription issued by a practitioner authorised in that behalf'. The regulations that set the conditions for a prescribed supply were not read for this cell, so nothing here states what a visitor must carry or how much.

Documentation

Carry any prescribed controlled medicine in its original dispensed packaging with the prescription. The Act defines lawful administration by reference to a prescription from an authorised practitioner and says nothing about a traveller allowance, and no Cayman regulation was read here, so no allowance is asserted.

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