Is LSD legal in Trinidad and Tobago?

Also known as: acid

Legal status

LSD is a dangerous drug under the Dangerous Drugs Act, Chap. 11:25. The Second Schedule prints it in the table headed «PSYCHOTROPIC SUBSTANCES LISTED IN SCHEDULE I OF THE CONVENTION ON PSYCHOTROPIC SUBSTANCES, 1971, VIZ:» as the row «(+)-LYSERGIDE» in the international non-proprietary name column, «LSD, LSD-25» in the other names column and «(+)-N,N-Diethyllysergamide (d-lysergic acid diethylamide)» in the chemical name column. The consolidation sets the joins in those three entries as en dashes, given here as hyphens, and breaks «diethylamide» across two lines. The row already stood in the consolidation updated to 31 December 2016, and no later Order read for this pass removes or alters it. Section 3 makes a dangerous drug of a psychotropic substance listed in the Second Schedule «or a thing that contains such a substance», so a paper square carrying the drug is caught as well as the pure compound. Lysergic acid is a different entry: it is item 28 of the Fourth Schedule, the precursor list for section 6A, and not a dangerous drug.

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. For LSD the Act carries its own presumption: section 5(9)(g), inserted by the Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, 2019 (Act No. 24 of 2019), deems a person «other than a person referred to in subsection (2)» found in possession of more than «ten grammes or one hundred and seventy squares of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD)» 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 5(7) deems a person «other than a person referred to in subsection (2)» found in possession of a dangerous drug «on any school premises or within five hundred metres thereof» to have it for the purpose of trafficking unless the contrary is proved; the consolidation makes the person «liable upon conviction on indictment to a fine of one hundred and fifty 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 thirty-five years to life», and section 6(h) of Act No. 24 of 2019 substitutes «three million» for «one hundred and fifty thousand» and «ten» for «three» and deletes «a term of thirty-five years to», while section 6(j) inserts «and section 5C» after «subsection (7)» in the section 5(8) definition of school premises and adds «nursery, kindergarten, day care centre, early childhood care and education centre, Children’s Home,» to the premises counted. Under section 5(7A) the Director of Public Prosecutions may, at the preliminary enquiry, «elect to proceed with the matter summarily», and if the accused consents section 5(7B) makes the person liable to a fine of seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars or, where there is evidence of the street value of the dangerous drug, three times the street value, whichever is greater, and to imprisonment for a term of ten years, the fine being the figure section 6(i) of Act No. 24 of 2019 put in. 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

No prescription, permit or traveller route for LSD is printed in the instruments read. Section 5(2) exempts a licence holder under section 4, a medical practitioner, dentist, veterinary surgeon or pharmacist holding a dangerous drug «for any medicinal purpose», a person who obtains one for medicinal purposes on the prescription of a «medical practitioner, dentist or veterinary surgeon», and a person authorised under the Regulations; nothing read says whether any authorisation reaches lysergide. Section 5(2)(c) speaks of a prescription of a medical practitioner, dentist or veterinary surgeon, and section 3 defines each by registration under a Trinidad and Tobago Act: a medical practitioner «means a person registered under the Medical Board Act», a dentist is registered under the Dental Profession Act and a veterinary surgeon under the Veterinary Surgeons (Registration) Act. The Act says nothing about a prescriber registered abroad, and those three registration Acts were not read. 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

The Act places the proof of any licence or authority on the person who relies on it (sections 19 and 29A), so for lysergide the paper is the defence and its absence is not something the prosecution must prove. Section 5(9)(g), which applies to a person «other than a person referred to in subsection (2)», counts LSD in «ten grammes» or in «squares», so the number of units carried, and not only their mass, is what the presumption reads. Section 17 makes it an indictable offence knowingly to enclose a dangerous drug in a letter or packet sent by post or courier.

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.