Is DXM legal in Dominican Republic?

Legal status

Not listed. Dextromethorphan has no entry, and the instrument goes further than silence: acápite I of Categoría II opens by excluding «la Apomorfina, el Dextrorfan, la Nalbufina y la Naltrexona y sus sales respectivas», which names this substance's active metabolite as expressly outside the Categoría. The two morphinans that are listed, «Levometorfan» at number 26 under code 9210 and «Racemetorfan» at number 38 under code 9732, are the levo isomer and the racemate, and neither is the dextro isomer alone. Article 7 reaches «LSD o cualquier otra sustancia alucinógena» at any quantity, and at high dose this substance is dissociative, so the express exclusion of its metabolite from Categoría II settles the schedule question and not the article 7 one. It is not named in the five Categorías of article 8 of Ley 50-88, which are the only substance schedules the law prints and which no statute has amended since 7 June 1990, nor in the article 2 definitions, nor in the precursor table of Capítulo V of the Reglamento as that chapter was replaced by article 5 of Decreto 275-21 on 26 April 2021, as at 21 September 2026.

Consequences if caught

This is the only row in this batch where the instrument does not merely omit the substance but expressly excludes its metabolite by name. 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 quantity scales that decide which of those roles a case falls into are printed for cocaine in article 5 and for marihuana and hashish in article 6, and Ley 50-88 prints no quantity scale for any other substance. 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. 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 whether the offence reaches this row at all is exactly what was not established. 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

Dextromethorphan is an over the counter cough suppressant in many countries. Because it carries no entry in the Categorías of Ley 50-88 and its metabolite is expressly excluded, its retail position is a matter for the general medicines regime under Ley 42-01. Carry any preparation in its original packaging, with the prescription and the dispensing label where it was dispensed on one, and confirm the requirement with your embassy before travel.with your embassy before travel.

Documentation

The terms searched for this row were «dextrometorfano», «dextromethorphan», «DXM» and «dextrorfano», each checked in the Consejo Nacional de Drogas consolidated text, in the Ministerio de Salud Pública text and in the text of Decreto 275-21 that replaced the precursor chapter, after the dot leaders and the accents were normalised. The listing of the racemate without the dextro isomer is deliberate drafting and not an omission, because the levo isomer is the one with opioid activity. There is no medical cannabis programme in the Dominican Republic and CBD is treated the same as THC. 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.

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.