Is Heroin legal in Trinidad and Tobago?

Also known as: diacetylmorphine, smack

Legal status

Heroin is a dangerous drug under Chap. 11:25 as a narcotic drug in the First Schedule, «LIST OF NARCOTIC DRUGS». It is printed as «(16) Heroin» among the examples under item 1, «Opium Poppy (Papaver somniferum) its preparations, derivatives, alkaloids and salts, as for example:», in the consolidation updated to 31 December 2016, and no later Order read alters that item. The Act names it a second time by its chemical name in section 5(9)(a), «diacetylmorphine (heroin)». The First Schedule's closing lines extend every entry to its isomers, esters, ethers and salts where those can exist.

Consequences if caught

Capital exposure: none. No section of Chap. 11:25, and nothing in Act No. 24 of 2019, prints death as a penalty. The heroin presumption is in section 5(9)(a), which deems a person «other than a person referred to in subsection (2)» found in possession of more than «twenty grammes of diacetylmorphine (heroin)» to have it for the purpose of trafficking unless the contrary is proved, the burden being on the accused. Possession under section 5(1) is punishable upon summary conviction by a fine of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars and imprisonment for five years, and upon conviction on indictment by a fine of one million dollars and imprisonment for fifteen years, the figures section 6(a) of Act No. 24 of 2019 put in («two hundred and fifty» in paragraph (a); «one million dollars and to imprisonment for fifteen years» in paragraph (b)). Trafficking, or possession for the purpose of trafficking, is an offence under section 5(4), and section 5(5) as printed in the consolidation makes the offender «liable upon conviction on indictment to a fine of one hundred thousand dollars or, where there is evidence of the street value of the dangerous drug, three times the street value of the dangerous drug, whichever is greater, and to imprisonment for a term of twenty-five years to life»; section 6(f) of Act No. 24 of 2019 substitutes «three million» for «one hundred thousand» and «ten» for «three», and deletes «a term of twenty-five years to». Section 6 lets the court send a person convicted under section 5 for psychiatric examination before sentence. Section 61 provides that section 68(2) and (3) of the Interpretation Act apply only to «the penalties prescribed for possession of dangerous drugs under this Act»; section 68 was not read for this cell.

If prescribed or medical

The instruments read contain no provision specific to heroin as a medicine. Diacetylmorphine would fall under the same section 5(2) exemptions as every dangerous drug: possession by a medical practitioner, dentist, veterinary surgeon or pharmacist «for any medicinal purpose», or by a patient who obtains it for medicinal purposes on the prescription of a medical practitioner, dentist or veterinary surgeon. The only Regulations under section 57 among the instruments read, the Dangerous Drugs (Fixed Penalty Notice) Regulations, 2019 (Legal Notice No. 395 of 2019), prescribe the form of a fixed penalty notice and say nothing on prescriptions or medicinal possession.

Documentation

No instrument read provides a route specific to heroin. The documents the Act recognises are general: a licence the Minister may issue under section 4(a) for the import of «any dangerous drug», which takes an importation out of the section 3 definition of trafficking, and the section 5(2) exemptions, including a drug obtained for medicinal purposes on a prescription of a medical practitioner, dentist or veterinary surgeon; section 29A places their proof on the person relying on them. Section 29B(c) presumes, until the contrary is proven, that premises where a dangerous drug, or a device designed or generally used for administering or consuming one, is found are used for that purpose and that the occupier permits it. Section 15 separately punishes the possession, «without lawful or reasonable excuse», of «any device, article or apparatus designed, generally used or specifically altered for the purpose of the illegal use of dangerous drugs», upon summary conviction by a fine of ten thousand dollars and six months.

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