Is Lorazepam legal in Antigua and Barbuda?

Legal status

Not listed. There is no benzodiazepine anywhere in this Act. This is a positive finding of absence and not a deferral. The terms searched were lorazepam, Ativan, Temesta, each returning nothing in Parts I, II or III of the First Schedule to the Misuse of Drugs Act, Cap. 283. The entries nearest to it were read in full and rejected: 'Levomethorphan.', 'Levomoramide.', 'Levophenacylmorphan.' and 'Levorphanol.'.. The entries around where this name would fall alphabetically in Part I are the four levo opioids, and the next entry after them is 'Lysergamide.' There is no gap in that run into which a benzodiazepine has been omitted by the extraction: the left hand column is alphabetically continuous from 'Acetorphine.' to 'Metazocine.' across three printed pages. The dossier marks this row VERIFIED and gives LORAZEPAM as a printed entry; that string is not in the Act. Stated as at Parts I, II and III of the First Schedule as printed in the Revised Edition read on 22 September 2026, whose amendment list ends at Act 18 of 1989.

Consequences if caught

Capital exposure: none. No provision of the Misuse of Drugs Act, Cap. 283 imposes a capital penalty. The heaviest term printed anywhere in it is 14 years, in the General column of the Second Schedule against section 10, and section 26 gives 10 years on conviction on indictment for import or export of a Class A or Class B drug. This Part placement is not printed in the dossier quotation, which cites only 'First Schedule, Parts I to III' as a search scope; it is read from the Act's own First Schedule. The First Schedule is printed in two columns, so the class is taken from the entry's position within its Part and not from the line it shares with the facing column. Nothing in the Act attaches a punishment to a substance that is not a controlled drug: sections 4, 5, 6 and 8 each operate on a controlled drug or on a plant of the genus Cannabis, and the Second Schedule columns are headed by the three classes. So no figure from the Second Schedule is stated for this row, and that is a consequence of the finding rather than a gap in it. The one route by which an unnamed substance can still be caught is a group rule, and each was tested for this row: paragraph 2 of Part I for a stereoisomeric form, paragraph 3 for an ester or ether, paragraph 4 for a salt, and paragraph 5 for a preparation or other product containing a listed substance. None reaches it. This is stated from the consolidated text of Cap. 283 in the Revised Edition of the Laws of Antigua and Barbuda, whose printed amendment list runs 21 of 1973, 5 of 1975, 10 of 1979, 9 of 1982, 11 of 1987 and 18 of 1989, read on 22 September 2026. Section 3(2) provides that the Minister may by Order make such amendments to the First Schedule or any part thereof as may be necessary, so an Order made after that consolidation is not excluded by this cell.

If prescribed or medical

Section 9 builds the prescribing and dispensing regime around a controlled drug, and this substance is not one on the text read here, so no section 9 route applies to it. Any medicines control on it would come from the Medical Act and the pharmacy law rather than from Cap. 283, and neither was read for this cell. Carry any prescribed medicine in its original pharmacy packaging with the prescription.

Documentation

Antigua and Barbuda is not in the Schengen area, so a Schengen certificate is not the relevant document, and no local traveller certificate was established from Cap. 283. Carry a prescribed medicine in its original pharmacy packaging with the prescribing document.

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