Is Methadone legal in Lesotho?

Also known as: dolophine

Legal status

Methadone is a high-risk drug under the Drugs of Abuse Act No. 5 of 2008. It is printed by name as 'Methadone' in Schedule 2, printed page 810, in the block taken from Schedule I of the 1961 Convention, with 'Methadone intermediate' and 'Isomethadone' on the same page and 'Normethadone' and 'Norpipanone' on printed page 811. Under s3 a high-risk drug is a substance listed in Schedule 2, so methadone is a drug of abuse under the Act, listed in Schedule 2.

Consequences if caught

Section 9(1)(b) bars anyone who is not a licensed operator from manufacturing, acquiring or administering to another person any drug of abuse or analogue, and s9(6) prints imprisonment not less than 5 years or a fine not less than M20,000 or both. Selling, delivering, dispatching, transporting, importing or exporting is trafficking under s43(1), at not less than 20 years or a fine not less than M1,000,000 or both. Section 43(3) separately prints not less than 10 years or a fine not less than M50,000 or both, and the Act does not say how the two combine. Section 47 gives attempt and conspiracy the same penalty. The penalty clauses printed in the Act set minimums and name no maximum.

If prescribed or medical

Section 10 reads: 'any person undergoing treatment of a medical condition, who is entering, leaving or passing through Lesotho, may possess such quantities of a drug of abuse (where prescribed) as may be reasonably expected for the purposes of such treatment.' Section 3 defines 'prescribed' as 'prescribed by regulations' and 'prescription' as 'a written direction by a practitioner that a stated amount of a drug of abuse be dispensed for the person named on it', so the bracket may mean either; the Act does not choose, and no regulation under s10 was found. Under s29(5) a prescription must use the prescribed form, be legible, carry the practitioner's name, address, qualifications and registration number, the patient's name and address, and the drug's name, quantity, form and strength, and be signed and dated. Section 29(6) lets an urgent oral prescription stand only if confirmed in writing within 24 hours; s44(6)(b) makes supplying on one issued more than 3 months before presentation an offence. Whether a prescription issued outside Lesotho meets s29(5) is not stated.

Documentation

Drawn from s3, s4(2), s9, s10, s29, s43, s44 and s47 and Schedule 2, printed pages 810 and 811, of the Drugs of Abuse Act No. 5 of 2008. The Schedules were read as printed in the gazette of 27 May 2008 and no later amendment was found as at 2 November 2026, although s6 lets the Minister amend them and a missing amendment is not proof that none exists. Not established: what quantity counts as reasonably expected under s10, the commencement notice under s1, and any court judgment applying the Act to methadone.

Drug laws and enforcement change and vary within a country. This is not legal advice. Always confirm with Lesotho’s embassy or official drug authority before traveling; penalties can be severe, including imprisonment.