Is Crack Cocaine legal in Timor-Leste?

Legal status

Crack cocaine is cocaine's own alkaloid prepared as a freebase, not a separately scheduled compound, and that same alkaloid is named in Table I-B of Lei n.º 2/2017's Anexo II: "Cocaína - éter metílico do ácido (-)-8-metil-3-benzoiloxi-8-aza-biciclo-(1,2,3)-octano-2-carboxílico; éster metílico de benzoilecgonina" (cocaine, the methyl ether of the acid named, methyl ester of benzoylecgonine). The table's own chemical description already names "éster metílico de benzoilecgonina", the technical name for the cocaine molecule before it is formed into a salt, which is exactly the chemical form crack is: cocaine base, freed of the hydrochloride salt by cooking with a base such as sodium bicarbonate, rather than a different drug. Anexo I treats the two preparations of the same entry separately for dosing purposes: item 5 prices "Cocaína (cloridrato)" (cocaine hydrochloride, the powder salt) at 0,2g, and item 6 prices "Cocaína (éster metílico de benzoilecgonina)" (cocaine base, crack's own chemical form) at 0,03g, reflecting a real difference in potency and dosing between the two forms of the same substance rather than two different legal controls. Table I-B's closing clause also reaches all salts of these compounds. Crack cocaine therefore falls inside Table I-B's "Cocaína" entry directly. This reading is as printed 25 January 2017, read on 7 October 2026.

Consequences if caught

Article 7, paragraph 1, of Lei n.º 2/2017 ("Quem, sem se encontrar autorizado, cultivar, produzir, fabricar, extrair, preparar, oferecer, puser à venda, vender, distribuir, comprar, ceder ou por qualquer título receber, proporcionar a outrem, transportar, importar, exportar, fizer transitar ou ilicitamente detiver, fora dos casos previstos no artigo 26.º, plantas, substâncias ou preparados compreendidos nas tabelas I a III é punido com pena de prisão de 5 a 15 anos", whoever, without being authorised, cultivates, produces, manufactures, extracts, prepares, offers, puts up for sale, sells, distributes, buys, transfers or by any title receives, supplies to another, transports, imports, exports, causes to transit or unlawfully holds, outside the cases in article 26, plants, substances or preparations in Tables I to III, is punished with imprisonment of 5 to 15 years) is the base band for crack cocaine, a Table I-B substance. Article 7, paragraph 2, raises this to 6 to 16 years where an authorisation existed and was acted against. Article 9 adds two thirds to both the minimum and maximum of article 7 where a listed aggravating factor applies, and article 10 sets 10 to 25 years, 12 to 25 for a leader, for founding or directing a group formed to commit an article 7 offence. Article 11, paragraph 1, subparagraph a, sets a reduced band of 1 to 5 years where illicitude is considerably diminished, and article 11, paragraph 2, ties that test partly to whether the quantity held does not exceed five times the Anexo I daily reference quantity, here five times 0,03g for the base form, i.e. 0,15g, markedly lower than the 1,0g threshold (five times 0,2g) that applies to the hydrochloride salt form of the same drug. Article 26 answers personal consumption and possession for personal use separately, at imprisonment of up to 1 year or a fine of up to 120 days. Table III item 3 also carries a dilution exemption for preparations of no more than 0,1% cocaine calculated as base, which crack, by design, is never close to.

If prescribed or medical

Lei n.º 2/2017 does not itself create a medical prescription or supply route for cocaine in any form. Article 6, paragraph 1, subjects cultivation, production, manufacture, use, commerce, distribution, import, export, transit, transport, advertising and possession of Table I to IV substances to licensing, conditions and authorisations issued by the Ministério da Saúde, "nos termos a definir em diploma próprio" (on terms to be defined in a separate instrument), which has not been located. Decreto-Lei n.º 2/2025 governs pharmacy retail licensing generally and does not designate which Table I to IV substances a doctor may prescribe, so it is not read as a prescription route for cocaine or crack cocaine.

Documentation

Crack is not a distinct chemical entry in this instrument; it is the base form of the single "Cocaína" entry at Table I-B, and Anexo I's own two-row pricing (hydrochloride at 0,2g, base ester at 0,03g) shows the drafters already anticipated the base form as a separately dosed, but not separately scheduled, preparation of the same drug. The lower reference quantity for the base form means the reduced-gravity threshold under article 11 is reached at a much smaller physical quantity for crack than for powder cocaine.

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.