Is Morphine legal in Kiribati?

Legal status

Controlled. Morphine is named in the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, Cap. 23, Laws of the Gilbert Islands, Revised Edition 1977, as amended by the Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Acts 1995 and 2001. Schedule 2, Part I, paragraph 1, printed page 26, prints the entry "Morphine." and, beside it, "Morphine methobromide, morphine-N-oxide and other pentavalent nitrogen morphine derivatives." Section 13(1), printed page 8, applies Part IV, headed Medicinal Opium, Morphine, Cocaine and Certain Other Drugs, to "the substances for the time being specified in Part I of Schedule 2". Paragraph 8, page 26, reaches "Any preparation, admixture, extract or other substance containing any proportion of a substance" specified in paragraph 1 or in paragraphs 2 to 7. Part II of the Schedule, printed page 27, paragraph 11, prints: "A preparation of medicinal opium or of morphine containing (in either case) not more than 0.2 per cent of morphine calculated as anhydrous morphine base, being a preparation compounded with 1 or more other ingredients in such a way that the preparation has no, or a negligible, risk of abuse and that the opium or, as the case may be, the morphine, cannot be recovered by readily applicable means or in a yield which would constitute a risk to health." Section 30, printed page 12, reads: "The provisions of sections 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28 and 29 shall not apply to any preparation or other substance for the time being falling within Part II of Schedule 2." Section 20 (possession) and the import sections 27 to 29 are in that range, although the heading of Part II of the Schedule speaks only of importation and exportation being excepted from control. Section 30 disapplies section 20 for a preparation within Part II of Schedule 2. Section 30 does not name section 13, section 15 or the Regulations. Whether regulation 6(1) of L.N. 19/80 reaches a Part II preparation is not stated. The Schedule can be altered by ministerial order under section 13(2), printed page 8, so the entry is the 1977 list and not a current one. The Dangerous Drugs Ordinance was read as in force in the 1977 Revised Edition as amended to the Acts of 1995 and 2001, and this text does not rule out a later amendment or a later order under section 13(2).

Consequences if caught

Possession is an offence under section 20, printed page 10, except as to a Part II preparation noted below: a Part IV drug found in the possession of any person or kept in any place other than the appointed store makes that person guilty of an offence against the Ordinance "unless he can prove that such drug was obtained under the authority of this Ordinance, or in accordance with the prescription of a registered medical practitioner, or from a person having authority to sell it, or was deposited there without his knowledge or consent". Regulation 6(1) of the Dangerous Drugs Regulations L.N. 19/80 adds: "A person shall not be in possession of a drug or preparation unless he is duly so authorised." Section 30 disapplies section 20 for a preparation within Part II of Schedule 2. Section 30 does not name section 13, section 15 or the Regulations. Whether regulation 6(1) of L.N. 19/80 reaches a Part II preparation is not stated. Section 39(2), printed page 17, reads: "Every person guilty of an offence under this Ordinance shall, in respect of each offence for which no penalty is otherwise prescribed, be liable (a) on conviction by the High Court, to a fine of $2000 and to imprisonment for 10 years; or (b) on summary conviction by a magistrates' court, to a fine not exceeding $1000 and to imprisonment for 5 years; and shall in every case, on conviction for the offence, forfeit to Her Majesty all articles in respect of which the offence was committed." The fine and the imprisonment are joined by "and", so they are cumulative, and the articles are forfeited on conviction. Section 39(3) requires the Attorney-General's institution or consent for proceedings under section 39(1)(a), and section 39(4) gives the same punishment and forfeiture for an attempt, or for soliciting or inciting another person to commit an offence. Section 39(3) provides that no person convicted of failing to comply with rules on the keeping of books or the issuing or dispensing of prescriptions shall be sentenced to imprisonment without the option of a fine, or to pay a fine exceeding $100, if the court is satisfied that the offence was committed through inadvertence and was not preparatory to or connected with another offence against the Ordinance. The drug legislation read provides no death penalty: none appears in the text read. Supply and sale: regulation 5(1) forbids a person to "supply or procure or offer to supply or procure or prescribe" a drug or preparation, or advertise it for sale, unless authorised, and regulation 4 limits wholesale buying to registered medical practitioners, registered dentists, approved veterinary surgeons and registered pharmacists. Manufacture: regulation 3 forbids manufacture unless duly authorised, on authorised premises and within the terms of the authority, and section 15(1)(a), printed page 8, empowers rules prohibiting manufacture except on licensed premises. Import and export: section 14, printed page 8, forbids import or export of a Part IV substance except in accordance with sections 21 to 29, section 27, printed page 12, forbids import unless the consignee holds a valid import authorisation, section 29 forbids importing, causing to be imported or taking steps preparatory to importing except in accordance with the Ordinance, and section 3, printed page 6, requires dangerous drugs to go through ports approved by the Minister. The text read states no separate offence called trafficking. Regulation 16 reads 'No person shall give, sell, barter or distribute any drug or preparation save as is permitted by these Regulations'. The Regulations are headed as made under section 15(1). Section 39(1)(a), printed page 16, makes guilty of an offence under the Ordinance any person who 'acts in contravention of or fails to comply with any of the provisions of this Ordinance or any rules made under this Ordinance; or'. Whether the Regulations are such rules is not stated. Regulation 17 reads: 'These Regulations shall not apply to the Government Medical Services.' Customs route, read from the Ordinance printed pages 13, 14 and 15 as images. Section 35(1), printed pages 14 and 15, deems articles whose importation is prohibited or restricted by the Ordinance to be goods whose importation is prohibited 'under the Customs Ordinance' (margin note 'Cap. 22'). Section 35(2), printed page 15, reads: 'If any goods the exportation of which is prohibited or restricted by this Ordinance are exported in contravention thereof, or brought to a wharf or other place to be shipped in any conveyance, the exporter or his agent shall be liable for each offence to forfeit either treble the value of the goods or $200, at the option of the Chief Customs Officer.' The word in section 35(2) is 'or'. It is a forfeiture liability of the exporter at the option of the Chief Customs Officer and is not stated as a term of imprisonment. Pages 13 to 15 print no other penalty band for import or export, and section 39(2) applies to 'each offence for which no penalty is otherwise prescribed', so how section 35(2) and section 39(2) combine for an export is not stated. The Customs Act 2019, read from page images (PDF pages 31, 32, 64, 65 and 69), reads: section 64(2) 'The importation of goods listed in the table in Schedule 3 is absolutely prohibited' (note: 'It is an offence to knowingly import prohibited imports (Schedule 8, item 5)'), Schedule 3 item 20 'Goods the importation of which is prohibited by any law of Kiribati', section 66(2) 'The exportation of goods listed in the table in Schedule 5 is absolutely prohibited', Schedule 5 item 1 'Goods of any kind, the exportation of which is prohibited under a law of Kiribati', and Schedule 8 item 5 'Knowingly importing a prohibited import' with maximum penalty 'A fine of $10,000, imprisonment for three years and forfeiture of the goods' and item 7 'Knowingly exporting a prohibited export' with maximum penalty 'A fine of $5000, imprisonment for two years and forfeiture of the goods'. The link from the Customs Ordinance named in section 35 to the Customs Act 2019 is not established: section 156(1) of the 2019 Act (PDF page 59, read as an image) repeals 'The Customs Act 2005', and the Customs Ordinance, Cap. 22, is not named in the pages read. Whether a substance controlled by the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance is a good prohibited 'by any law of Kiribati' for Schedule 3 item 20 and Schedule 5 item 1 is likewise not stated. If it is, the Schedule 8 item 5 and item 7 bands quoted above would follow; the pages read do not settle it. Cultivation and use: the text read states no separate offence of cultivation or of use for a Part IV drug.

If prescribed or medical

A doctor's prescription is one of the defences to possession in section 20, and regulation 6(2)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Regulations L.N. 19/80 deems a person to whom a drug is lawfully supplied on a prescription lawfully given by a registered medical practitioner, a registered dentist or an approved veterinary surgeon to be authorised to be in possession of it, with a proviso that this does not protect a patient who did not disclose treatment and supply from another practitioner. Section 19, printed page 10, limits withdrawal of drugs from the appointed store to a registered medical practitioner, licensed pharmacist, registered dentist, qualified veterinary surgeon and certain approved hospital or mission persons. The Medical Services Act 1996, section 42, governs only the form of a written prescription and lists no drug. The Poisons List in the Pharmacy and Poisons Ordinance Cap. 70, 1977 Edition, Schedule 3 Part I, printed page 28, prints "Morphine." Under section 53(2) no person may sell or deal in a listed article except as that Ordinance prescribes, and under section 57(1)(a) a Part I poison may be sold only by an authorised seller on registered premises by or under the supervision of a registered pharmacist. That is a 1977 Edition sale law, its force today is not established, and the Secretary may add to the list by order. For a low strength Part II preparation: s30 disapplies s20 for a preparation within Part II of Schedule 2. s30 does not name s13, s15 or the Regulations. Whether reg 6(1) of L.N. 19/80 reaches a Part II preparation is not stated. Regulation 11(2) reads: 'The prescribed form for prescriptions for a drug or preparation shall be in the form set out in section 37 of the Pharmacy and Poisons Ordinance.' Cap. 70 section 37 (printed pages 13 and 14, read as images) provides that a medical practitioner shall not issue a prescription unless it is 'signed by him with his usual signature' or written on paper printed with his surname and the initials of his Christian names, and 'bears the date on which the prescription was issued'; a veterinary surgeon's prescription must bear the words 'for veterinary purposes only' and a dentist's the words 'for dental purposes only'; and section 37(4) provides that a prescription which does not comply 'shall not be accepted by any pharmacist as authority for the sale or supply of any medicine or drug'. Section 38(2) (page 14) requires every prescription containing any of the drugs to which an Ordinance as to the sale of dangerous drugs relates to be 'retained in the custody of the pharmacist dispensing the same for a period of 2 years and filed in the pharmacy', and section 39(c) (page 14) forbids a pharmacist to 'permit any person, other than a registered pharmacist, to dispense or compound any prescription or supply any medicine or drugs containing any of the dangerous drugs to which section 38 (2) relates'. Those are rules of a 1977 Edition pharmacy law whose force today is not established. The Medical Services Act 1996 section 42(2), PDF page 14 read as an image, provides that a medical practitioner or dentist who contravenes or does not comply with section 42(1) 'commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine of $40'. Section 42 is a separate form rule in a later Act.

Documentation

Read: the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance Cap. 23, Revised Edition 1977 (a scan with no text layer, 27 pages), with printed pages 6, 7, 8, 10, 12, 16, 17, 26 and 27 opened and read as page images and the other pages read from OCR text, which is a finding aid only; the Dangerous Drugs Regulations L.N. 19/80; the Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Acts 1995 and 2001; the Pharmacy and Poisons Ordinance Cap. 70, Poisons List printed pages 27 to 30, read as images; and the Medical Services Act 1996. Model: delegated amendment power, exercise unknown. Section 13(2) lets the Minister modify Schedule 2 by order to follow decisions under the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs signed at New York on 30th March 1961. There is no automatic adoption of the United Nations schedules, and the 1971 Convention is not in the Ordinance. Morphine is named, so this entry does not depend on the open question for absent substances. Not established: whether any order under section 13(2) was made after 1977; whether the 1977 Revised Edition text is still in force apart from the 1995 and 2001 Acts; the assent and commencement year of the 2001 Act, because the year digit is cut off in the scan and only a day and month are legible in handwriting; whether the Dangerous Drugs Regulations are rules made under the Ordinance for the purposes of section 39(1)(a); and the force today of Cap. 70. Page images also read: Dangerous Drugs Ordinance printed pages 6, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 26 and 27; Medical Services Act 1996 PDF page 14; Customs Act 2019 PDF pages 31, 32, 59, 64, 65 and 69; Pharmacy and Poisons Ordinance Cap. 70 printed pages 13, 14, 15, 19, 20, 21 and 22; Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act 1995 page 1. The Dangerous Drugs Regulations L.N. 19/80 were read from the text layer of the PDF, and no page image of them was read. Also not established: whether the Dangerous Drugs Regulations, headed as made under section 15(1), are 'rules made under this Ordinance' within section 39(1)(a); whether the Customs Ordinance named in section 35 of the Ordinance is the Customs Act 2019, whose section 156(1) repeals the Customs Act 2005 and does not name Cap. 22; and how section 35, Schedule 8 of the Customs Act 2019 and section 39(2) combine for import and export.

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