Is MDA legal in Timor-Leste?

Also known as: sass, sally

Legal status

MDA is named directly in Table II-A of Lei n.º 2/2017's Anexo II, item 34: "Tenanfetamina-MDA - (mais ou menos)-3,4 N-metilenodioxi, (alfa)-" (tenamfetamine-MDA, plus-or-minus 3,4 N-methylenedioxy, alpha-). "Tenanfetamina" is the international nonproprietary name for MDA, so the label is unambiguous even though the printed formula itself breaks off mid-word at "(alfa)-", both in the table-formatted extraction and in the plain reading-order extraction of the same gazette page, where the entry runs directly into the next item's number with no further text; comparable entries elsewhere in the same table (for example MMDA at item 27, "5-metoxi-3,4-metilenodioxi-(alfa) metilfeniletilamina") complete the same phrase pattern with a final radical name that item 34's own text never supplies. That looks like a printing or scanning defect in the gazette itself, not something this entry corrects. Separately, and this is the anomaly to flag rather than resolve: item 22 of the same table, labelled "MDMA", reads "MDMA - 3,4-metilenadioxianfetamina" (MDMA, 3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine); that chemical description is literally MDA's own formula, omitting the N-methyl group that chemically distinguishes MDMA from MDA. So the statute carries an internal mismatch at item 22, where the label says MDMA but the printed formula reads as MDA, while item 34, quoted above, separately and unambiguously labels MDA by its own INN, with only its own formula cut short. Both entries are quoted here verbatim; neither is silently corrected. MDA is named by item 34's label regardless of how that item's formula is printed, and this reading is as printed 25 January 2017, read on 7 October 2026.

Consequences if caught

Article 7, paragraph 1, of Lei n.º 2/2017 ("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) is the base band for MDA, a Table II-A substance. Article 7, paragraph 2, raises this to 6 to 16 years where an authorisation existed and was acted against. Article 9 adds two thirds to both the minimum and maximum of article 7 where a listed aggravating factor applies, and article 10 sets 10 to 25 years, 12 to 25 for a leader, for founding or directing a group formed to commit an article 7 offence. Article 11, paragraph 1, subparagraph a, sets a reduced band of 1 to 5 years where illicitude is considerably diminished. Anexo I prints a daily reference quantity of 0,15g against MDMA at item 12 of that annex, but no separate figure against MDA or against item 34, so the fivefold quantity test in article 11, paragraph 2, has no stated figure for MDA itself. 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 prescribed or medical

Lei n.º 2/2017 does not itself create a medical prescription or supply route for MDA. Article 6, paragraph 1, subjects cultivation, production, manufacture, use, commerce, distribution, import, export, transit, transport, advertising and possession of 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 Table I to IV substances a doctor may prescribe, so it is not read as a prescription route for MDA.

Documentation

MDA is named in its own right at item 34 under its INN, tenamfetamine, and that naming does not depend on resolving the separate anomaly at item 22, where the label "MDMA" sits over a formula that reads as MDA's own. Both entries are reproduced verbatim above because the site must not silently pick one reading over the other: a reader relying on item 22's formula alone could mistakenly conclude MDMA and MDA are printed as the same control, which they are not, since each carries its own distinct item number, and MDA's control under item 34 stands independently of what item 22 says. Personal possession and consumption of MDA are answered by article 26 (up to 1 year or a fine up to 120 days); cultivation, production, manufacture, extraction, preparation, offering, sale, distribution, purchase, transfer, transport, import, export and unauthorised possession for any other purpose collapse into article 7's single list, at 5 to 15 years (6 to 16 if an authorisation existed and was breached).

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.