Is DXM legal in South Africa?

Legal status

Not a drug under the Drugs and Drug Trafficking Act 140 of 1992: Schedule 2 Part II excludes dextromethorphan by name from the entry that would otherwise catch it.

Consequences if caught

The printed entry is "Methorphan, including levomethorphan and racemethorphan, but excluding dextromethorphan." The closing words are an express exclusion, which makes this the strongest kind of absence finding available in this jurisdiction: the schedule has considered the substance and put it outside. Its mirror image, levomethorphan, is inside the same entry, so the two enantiomers of one molecule sit on opposite sides of the criminal line. Because the substance is not in any Part of Schedule 2, it is not a drug within the section 1 definition, and sections 4 and 5 do not reach it at all. Capital exposure: none, and life exposure: none. Section 17 sets out the whole penalty scale of this Act and its highest figure is 25 years for dealing; no provision of the Act carries a death sentence or a sentence of life imprisonment.

If prescribed or medical

Nothing in this Act restricts this substance, so the Act's section 4 exceptions do not arise for it. Its pharmacy status in South Africa is governed by the Medicines and Related Substances Control Act 101 of 1965, whose schedules are not held in this repository and were not read for this cell.

Documentation

Search record. The terms searched were dextromethorphan, dxm, methorphan, levomethorphan and racemethorphan. The single entry above is what all five return. This row does not depend on the homologue limb, because paragraph 2 of Part II opens with the words "Unless expressly excluded", and this is an express exclusion. The text read for this cell is the Juta consolidation of the Act downloaded on 29 May 2025, taken from the Department of Justice copy at justice.gov.za whose sha256 begins bc1216a3. It carries the substitution of Schedules 1 and 2 by section 2 of Act 14 of 2022 with effect from 14 December 2022, and it marks section 7 of the Cannabis for Private Purposes Act 7 of 2024, the provision that would amend Schedule 2 again, as not yet put into operation by proclamation. The schedules are stated as at that consolidation and this does not rule out a later amendment made or commenced since. The Schedule and the Part named in this cell are read from the Act itself at the lines quoted; they are nowhere printed in the verbatim quotation supplied for this row.

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