Is Khat legal in Timor-Leste?

Also known as: qat, miraa, quaadka

Legal status

Khat, the plant Catha edulis, is not named by that name anywhere in Lei n.º 2/2017's tables, and a direct search for "khat", "catha edulis" and "qat" returned no match. Its two active alkaloids are named: cathinone at Table II-A item 8 ("Catinona") and cathine at Table II-B item 2 ("Catina"). The reasoning here reaches a different conclusion from ayahuasca's, and the difference is structural, turning on which table cathine sits in, rather than a single answer applied to every plant entry regardless of its own text. Article 2, paragraph 1, subparagraph g, defines "Preparado" (preparation) as "uma solução ou uma mistura, sólida ou líquida, que inclua um ou vários estupefacientes ou substâncias, bem como um ou vários estupefacientes ou substâncias em forma dosificada" (a solution or a mixture, solid or liquid, that includes one or several narcotics or substances, as well as one or several narcotics or substances in dosed form). That definition does not require a deliberate human act of compounding; it only requires that the material be a mixture, solid or liquid, that includes the substance. A chewed khat leaf is, as a matter of plant chemistry, a solid mixture of cellulose, water and numerous alkaloids including cathine, so it falls within article 2(g)'s own wording for "preparado". Table II-B's closing clause extends control to "todos os preparados em que estas substâncias estejam associadas a outros compostos, qualquer que seja a ação destes" (all preparations in which these substances are combined with other compounds, whatever their action), and cathine sits in Table II-B. Reading the two provisions together, khat leaf is a preparation in which cathine is associated with other compounds within the meaning of the Act's own defined terms, so it is reached through Table II-B, via cathine, even without a dedicated leaf entry. That is a different and more affirmative route than the constituent-only reasoning used for ayahuasca, because Table II-A, where cathinone and DMT both sit, carries no equivalent preparations clause; cathine's presence in Table II-B rather than II-A is what makes the difference. Against this, Table I-C shows the drafters do sometimes choose to name raw plant material directly, listing cannabis leaf as its own item distinct from resin and oil, which could suggest a leaf needs its own entry to be caught; but that naming choice does not displace Table II-B's own, textually separate preparations clause, which does not require a dedicated plant entry to operate. This reading is as printed 25 January 2017, read on 7 October 2026; it has not been tested against any Timor-Leste court or regulatory ruling, and it is a closer, more contestable call than the ayahuasca brew question.

Consequences if caught

On the reasoning above, khat leaf is reached through Table II-B's preparations clause via its cathine content, so the Tables I-III band under article 7 applies to it in the same way it applies to cathine itself. Article 7, paragraph 1 ("Quem, sem se encontrar autorizado, cultivar, produzir, fabricar, extrair, preparar, oferecer, puser à venda, vender, distribuir, comprar, ceder ou por qualquer título receber, proporcionar a outrem, transportar, importar, exportar, fizer transitar ou ilicitamente detiver, fora dos casos previstos no artigo 26.º, plantas, substâncias ou preparados compreendidos nas tabelas I a III é punido com pena de prisão de 5 a 15 anos", whoever, without being authorised, cultivates, produces, manufactures, extracts, prepares, offers, puts up for sale, sells, distributes, buys, transfers or by any title receives, supplies to another, transports, imports, exports, causes to transit or unlawfully holds, outside the cases in article 26, plants, substances or preparations in Tables I to III, is punished with imprisonment of 5 to 15 years) sets that band, rising to 6 to 16 years under article 7, paragraph 2, where an authorisation existed and was acted against, with article 9's two-thirds aggravation and article 10's 10 to 25 year organised-group band available on top. Article 11, paragraph 1, subparagraph a, sets a reduced band of 1 to 5 years where illicitude is considerably diminished; Anexo I prints no daily reference quantity for cathine or khat, so the fivefold test has no stated figure here. Article 26 answers personal consumption and possession for personal use separately, at imprisonment of up to 1 year or a fine of up to 120 days. If a court instead read "preparado" to require a deliberate compounding act that a naturally growing leaf does not undergo, none of this band would apply to the raw leaf and only a proved cathine or cathinone extract would carry it.

If prescribed or medical

Lei n.º 2/2017 does not itself create a medical prescription or supply route for khat, cathine or cathinone. Article 6, paragraph 1, subjects Table I to IV substances to licensing, conditions and authorisations issued by the Ministério da Saúde, "nos termos a definir em diploma próprio" (on terms to be defined in a separate instrument), which has not been located. Decreto-Lei n.º 2/2025 governs pharmacy retail licensing generally and does not designate which substances a doctor may prescribe, so it is not read as a prescription route here.

Documentation

Khat and ayahuasca reach different answers in this instrument for a textual reason, not a difference in how plants are treated generally: cathine sits in Table II-B, which carries both a derivatives/salts clause and a preparations clause reaching any mixture combining the substance with other compounds, while DMT sits in Table II-A, which carries neither a preparations clause nor a derivatives clause, only salts and chemical-specific isomers. Article 2, paragraph g's broad definition of "preparado", which does not require deliberate human compounding, is what lets a naturally occurring plant matrix count as a preparation under Table II-B's own wording. This is still a reasoned, contestable reading rather than a certainty, since a court could instead hold that "preparado" implies some processing step a growing or dried leaf never undergoes. Search log: grepped the Anexo II table text for "khat", "catha edulis" and "qat"; none appear.

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.