Is Crack Cocaine legal in Dominican Republic?

Legal status

Controlled. Crack is cocaine in its freebase form, and it is reached through the entry «Cocaína» at number 6 of acápite II of Categoría II of article 8 of Ley 50-88 under identification code 9041, read with article 9(d), which reaches «La cocaína, sus derivados o sustitutos sintéticos o cualquier compuesto en el cual entre como base».

Consequences if caught

Because the controlled thing is cocaine, the article 5 gram scale is the scale that applies, and it is written against the weight of the drug rather than against its form. Article 5, as substituted by article 1 of Ley 17-95 of 17 December 1995, sets the scale for cocaine and article 75 sets the prison band that follows from it. One gram or less is simple possession and the person is classified as an aficionado, more than one gram and less than five grams makes them a distributor, and more than five grams makes them a trafficker. Article 75 sets the prison band by the role the case is classified into: six months to two years for simple possession, three to ten years for a distributor, a seller or an intermediary, five to twenty years for a trafficker, and thirty years for a patrocinador. The fines run with the same roles: RD$1,500 to RD$2,500 for simple possession, RD$10,000 to RD$50,000 for a distributor or an intermediary, not less than the value of the drugs seized and never less than RD$50,000 for a trafficker, and not less than RD$1,000,000 for a patrocinador. Simple possession is a lesser classification and it is still a punishable offence, not a decriminalised one. Article 6 prints the only other quantity scale in the law, for marihuana and for hashish, and it has nothing to say about this row. Article 59 adds five to twenty years with a fine of not less than RD$250,000 for taking a controlled drug into or out of the national territory in international traffic, and thirty years with a fine of not less than RD$1,000,000 where the Dominican Republic is the final destination. Article 58 classifies illicit trafficking, the manufacture, distribution or possession of equipment for producing controlled drugs, and the acquisition or laundering of the proceeds, as delitos graves to be punished with the maximum of the penalties and the fines, and its párrafo calls illicit trafficking an international offence. Article 85 doubles the penalty for a reincident trafficker or patrocinador and caps the resulting prison term at thirty years, and article 87 withdraws provisional liberty on bail, conditional liberty and the conditional pardon of the sentence from every offence in this law. Those figures are set out here because they describe the offences that this row's placement brings into play. Ley 50-88 provides no death penalty for any drug offence, and the highest prison term it prints anywhere is thirty years.

If prescribed or medical

Not a prescribed traveller medicine in this form. If you are carrying any other controlled medicine, carry it in its original packaging with the prescription and the dispensing label, and confirm the requirement with your embassy before travel.

Documentation

Ley 50-88 prints no entry and no separate scale for the freebase or smokable form, and it prints no purity rule, so the same gram figures decide a rock and a powder. The words «en el cual entre como base» in article 9(d) are what close the form question on the face of the statute. The United States embassy warns of zero tolerance enforcement in which small quantities can lead to arrest, and it states that United States cannabis or medical marijuana cards are not recognised. There is no medical cannabis programme in the Dominican Republic and CBD is treated the same as THC.

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