Is Methadone legal in Antigua and Barbuda?

Legal status

Controlled. It is a Class A drug. It is printed in Part I of the First Schedule to the Misuse of Drugs Act, Cap. 283, which is the Class A list, and possession of it is an offence under section 6(2).

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. The First Schedule entry read for this row is 'Methadone.', standing in Part I. 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. The dossier marks this row NOT VERIFIED and that is wrong. 'Methadone.' is printed as the first entry of the right hand column of Part I. The Act also carries 'Methadyl acetate.', 'Isomethadone.', 'Normethadone.', 'Noracymethadol.', 'Alphacetylmethadol.' and 'Betacetylmethadol.' as separate entries, which is why a search for the parent has to be read against the column rather than assumed to have failed. The Second Schedule gives the punishments, under section 25. Possession under section 6(2) carries, on summary conviction, 2 years and a fine of not less than 5,000 dollars and not exceeding 200,000 dollars, and on conviction on indictment 7 years and a fine. Production under section 5(2) carries, on summary conviction, 2 years and a fine of not less than 20,000 dollars and not exceeding 500,000 dollars, and on indictment 7 years and a fine. Supplying or offering to supply under section 5(3) carries, on summary conviction, 2 years and a fine of not less than 20,000 dollars and not exceeding 500,000 dollars, and on indictment 7 years and a fine. Possession with intent to supply under section 6(3) takes the same summary figures as section 5(3) and 7 years and a fine on indictment. Import and export are dealt with by section 26: on summary conviction a penalty of six times the value of the goods or not less than 20,000 dollars and not exceeding 200,000 dollars, whichever is the greater, together with 12 months, and on conviction on indictment a pecuniary penalty of such amount as the court may determine together with 10 years. The class decides less here than in the United Kingdom Act this one follows. Production, supply and possession carry the same summary figures for Class A, Class B and Class C, and the classes separate only on the indictment limb and on the money figures and the maximum for import and export. 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(3) requires the Minister to make regulations securing that it is lawful for a practitioner, acting as such, to prescribe, administer, manufacture, compound or supply a controlled drug, and that it is lawful for a practitioner, chemist and druggist or person lawfully conducting a retail chemist and druggist business to have a controlled drug in possession for the purpose of that profession or trade. Section 9(4) lets the Minister take a named drug back out of that protection by Order. The regulations and any such Order are separate instruments and are not in the text read here, so whether an authorised medicinal form of this substance exists in Antigua and Barbuda was not established. 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. Section 7(1) adds a duty that catches travellers: a person who has a controlled drug lawfully in possession and discovers its loss or theft must report it at the nearest police station as soon as possible and in any event within twenty four hours, and section 7(2) makes failure to do so an offence.

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.