Is MDMA legal in Trinidad and Tobago?

Also known as: molly, ecstasy

Legal status

MDMA has been a dangerous drug under Chap. 11:25 since 18 November 2019. Clause 3(a) of Legal Notice No. 345 of 2019 added it to the existing Second Schedule table headed «PSYCHOTROPIC SUBSTANCES LISTED IN SCHEDULE I OF THE CONVENTION ON PSYCHOTROPIC SUBSTANCES, 1971, VIZ:», as a row with no international non-proprietary name, the other name «MDMA» and the chemical name «(±)-N,α-Dimethyl-3,4-(methylenedioxy)phenethylamine». It was not in that table in the consolidation updated to 31 December 2016. The same Order added its relatives as separate rows, among them «TENAMFETAMINE» («MDA») and «MDE, N-Ethyl MDA», and the Act names the drug a second time, as «3, 4 methylene-dioxymethamphetamine (ecstasy)», in section 5(9)(f) as inserted by Act No. 24 of 2019.

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. Section 5(9)(f), inserted by Act No. 24 of 2019, names this drug expressly: a person «other than a person referred to in subsection (2)» found in possession of more than «five grammes or twenty tablets of 3, 4 methylene-dioxymethamphetamine (ecstasy)» is deemed to have it for the purpose of trafficking unless the contrary is proved. 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

The instruments read print no prescription, medical or traveller route for methylenedioxymethamphetamine; the patient exemption in section 5(2)(c) speaks only of a drug obtained for medicinal purposes on a prescription of a «medical practitioner, dentist or veterinary surgeon». 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

Because section 5(9)(f), which applies to a person «other than a person referred to in subsection (2)», counts «tablets» as well as grammes, twenty one pills can raise the trafficking presumption whatever their mass. Section 29B(j) lets the prosecution analyse a sample of not less than ten per cent of seized packages and presume the remainder match the sample.

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.