Is DXM legal in Timor-Leste?

Also known as: robo, dextromethorphan

Legal status

Expressly excluded, which is a stronger and more citable finding than ordinary absence. Table I-A's own closing note in Anexo II to Lei n.º 2/2017, de 25 de Janeiro, reads: "O dextrometorfano (+)-3-metoxi-N-metilmorfinano e o dextrorfano (+)-3-hidroxi-N-metilmorfinano estão especificamente excluídos desta tabela." (Dextromethorphan, (+)-3-methoxy-N-methylmorphinan, and dextrorphan, (+)-3-hydroxy-N-methylmorphinan, are specifically excluded from this table.) The note exists because Table I-A's own isomer extension clause ("os isómeros das substâncias inscritas nesta tabela em todos os casos em que estes isómeros possam existir com denominação química específica") would otherwise reach dextromethorphan's (+) enantiomer through its chemical relationship to the table's controlled morphinan entries. Table I-A items 65 and 67 name the (-) stereoisomers directly, "Levometorfano - (-)-3-metoxi-N-metilmorfinano [v. nota (*)]" and "Levorfanol - (-)-3-hidroxi-N-metilmorfinano [v. nota (*)]", each carrying a cross-reference to the same closing note; the note's function is to confirm that only the levo-rotatory (-) forms are controlled table entries and that the dextro-rotatory (+) forms, dextromethorphan and dextrorphan, are carved out of the table despite being chemically close to controlled entries. Racemétorfano, item 107, "(mais ou menos)-3-metoxi-N-metilmorfinano" (the racemic, plus or minus, mixture), carries no such exclusion note and remains a named table entry in its own right.

Consequences if caught

Because dextromethorphan is expressly excluded from Table I-A rather than merely absent, and does not appear named or caught by extension in any of Tables I-B, I-C, II-A, II-B, II-C, III or IV, it is not a "droga" under article 2(d) and article 7's trafficking offence (5 to 15 years for tables I to III conduct, or 1 to 5 years under article 7(3) for table IV conduct) does not apply to it on the face of this instrument. Article 26's personal-consumption offence is likewise tied to tables I to IV and does not reach it.

If prescribed or medical

Because dextromethorphan is not a table I to IV substance, article 6's drug-licensing regime (Ministério da Saúde authorisation for table I to IV substances, on terms deferred to a separate instrument not located this session) does not apply to it by that route. No finding is made here about dextromethorphan's status under ordinary medicines or over-the-counter cough-preparation regulation, which is outside this law.

Documentation

This is an express exclusion clause, not an absence requiring the article 3(3) hedge used for other Group 3 absences; the drafters named dextromethorphan and dextrorphan specifically in order to remove them from the table, which is a stronger and dated textual act than simply never listing a substance.

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.