Is Heroin legal in Guyana?

Also known as: diacetylmorphine, smack

Legal status

Controlled. The term the dossier records for this row against the First and Second Schedules to the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Control) Act, Cap. 10:10 is «heroína; diacetilmorfina», which is the term the Act was searched under rather than an entry the Act prints, and the dossier records the row as verified on that basis rather than against a class label. The entry prints the common name and the chemical synonym together. The morphine entry is not substituted for it, which keeps the diamorphine question separate from the parent opiate. Placement is all the schedule settles. Authorisation, purpose, preparation exceptions and the conduct charged all stay open, and this dossier resolves none of them. The entry was read on 20 September 2026.

Consequences if caught

Capital exposure: one narrow route. Section 6(1) of Guyana's Cap. 10:10 makes a person who unlawfully supplies or administers a narcotic to a child or young person who dies as a result «liable on conviction on indictment to suffer death as a felon», and section 2 counts a psychotropic substance in the Second Schedule as a narcotic. No per-substance figure is printed for this row, and there is no weight band or tariff attached to «heroína; diacetilmorfina» itself. Section 5(2) prints a presumption: in a prosecution under section 5, a person found in possession of more than two grams of diacetylmorphine (heroin) bears the burden of proving a purpose other than trafficking. Identification as diacetylmorphine rather than as a morphine preparation is the fact in issue. Section 5(1)(a) prints the band for any narcotic held for trafficking: on summary conviction a fine of not less than thirty thousand dollars or three times the market value, whichever is greater, together with imprisonment for not less than three years nor more than five years; on conviction on indictment a fine of not less than seventy-five thousand dollars or three times the market value, whichever is greater, together with imprisonment for life. Section 73(1)(b) provides that where imprisonment for life is required to be imposed, no lesser term may be given unless special reasons are recorded in writing.

If prescribed or medical

Deferred, and the deferral is the honest answer. The dossier carries no Guyanese prescription rule, no import permit route, no personal medicine allowance and no Ministry authorisation procedure at all, so there is no traveller rule here to state and none is invented. What is established is the placement: «heroína; diacetilmorfina» sits in the First and Second Schedules to Cap. 10:10, which is what any authorisation would have to be granted against. Diamorphine is a licensed analgesic in a small number of countries, and the dossier records no Guyanese route for it. Settle the medical route with the Guyanese authorities before travelling rather than from this cell.

Documentation

There is no ordinary traveller route for this substance, and a foreign diamorphine prescription is not a Guyanese authorisation. Carry any controlled medicine in its original dispensing packaging with the prescription and a prescriber's letter naming the patient, the active ingredient, the dose and the treatment period, because the schedule is read against the active ingredient and not against the product name. Nothing in the dossier confirms that Guyana accepts any of that, so treat it as the minimum a traveller can show and not as a permission. The First and Second Schedules were read for this row on 20 September 2026 and the entry the dossier recorded was «heroína; diacetilmorfina».

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