Is Mescaline legal in Timor-Leste?

Legal status

Mescaline is named directly in Table II-A of Lei n.º 2/2017's Anexo II, item 23: "Mescalina - 3,4,5-trimetoxifenetilamina" (mescaline, 3,4,5-trimethoxyphenethylamine). Table II-A's closing clauses also reach its salts and its chemical-specific isomers. Peyote, the cactus mescaline naturally occurs in, is not separately named in any table, which is a question answered on peyote's own page rather than here: Table II-A carries no preparations clause, the same structural gap recorded for DMT and ayahuasca, so the cactus itself is not reached merely because mescaline, its active alkaloid, is named. Article 2, paragraph 1, subparagraph d, defines "droga" as any plant, substance or preparation covered by Tables I to IV; article 3 makes the tables integral to the law. 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 mescaline, 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 no daily reference quantity for mescaline, so the fivefold quantity test in article 11, paragraph 2, 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 prescribed or medical

Lei n.º 2/2017 does not itself create a medical prescription or supply route for mescaline. 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 mescaline.

Documentation

Mescaline sits in Table II-A by its own name, item 23, so no generic-clause reasoning is needed for the classification itself. Personal possession and consumption 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.