Is Codeine legal in Costa Rica?

Legal status

Codeine is controlled in Costa Rica, and the control arrives by treaty incorporation rather than by a name printed in the Act itself. Article 1 of Ley 8204 reaches substances "incluidos en la Convencion Unica sobre Estupefacientes de las Naciones Unidas, de 30 de mayo de 1961" and in "el Convenio de Viena sobre Sustancias Psicotropicas, de 21 de febrero de 1971", so the convention schedules operate as the national list by incorporation rather than by re-enactment. Codeine is entered in Schedule II of the 1961 Convention, where the printed entry reads «CODEINE». Searching the consolidated Act for the substance name is the wrong test, and a zero there is not an absence of control.

Consequences if caught

Unauthorised trafficking conduct carries eight to fifteen years. Article 58 provides "Se impondra pena de prision de ocho a quince anos a quien, sin autorizacion legal, distribuya, comercie, suministre, fabrique, elabore, refine, transforme, extraiga, prepare, cultive, produzca, transporte, almacene o venda las drogas", which is eight to fifteen years for unauthorised distribution, commerce, supply, manufacture, processing, extraction, preparation, cultivation, production, transport, storage or sale, and the same range for possession for any of those purposes. The article states no numerical weight threshold: the trigger is an unauthorised listed act, or possession for one of those purposes, and never a quantity. Article 77 raises the range to "de ocho a veinte anos" where an enumerated aggravating circumstance is present, so twenty years is the ceiling this Act identifies, and Costa Rica provides no death penalty for any drug offence.

If prescribed or medical

A lawful medical route exists only through the authorisation the Act itself demands. Article 58 opens with the words «sin autorizacion legal», without legal authorisation, so conduct carried out under a Costa Rican authorisation falls outside the offence and conduct without one falls inside it whatever the amount. Decreto 45161-S of 17 June 2025 governs that control administration, and its five annexes are forms rather than a substance schedule. Whether Codeine is actually dispensed in Costa Rica is a different question from whether the schedule reaches it, and the answer given here is to the second.

Documentation

Carry the prescription and the dispensing label, and expect the authorisation rather than the amount to be what is asked about. There is no personal allowance to fall back on, because article 58 fixes no threshold. The placement was read in Schedule II of the 1961 Convention as published by the International Narcotics Control Board, and the incorporating words were read in the current consolidated Act on the Procuraduria General de la Republica SINALEVI system, version 13 of 13, on 18 September 2026.

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