Is Morphine legal in Lesotho?

Legal status

Morphine is a high-risk drug under the Drugs of Abuse Act No. 5 of 2008, printed as 'Morphine' in Schedule 2, printed page 811, from Schedule I of the 1961 Convention. The same pages print 'Morphine-N-oxide', 'Normorphine', 'Dihydromorphine' and 'Morphine methobromide and other pentavalent nitrogen morphine derivatives' as separate entries. Under s3 morphine is therefore a drug of abuse, listed in Schedule 2.

Consequences if caught

For a person without an operator's licence, s9(1)(b) forbids manufacturing, acquiring or administering the drug to another, and s9(6) prints imprisonment not less than 5 years or a fine not less than M20,000 or both. Section 43(1) trafficking covers sale, delivery, dispatch, transport, import and export, with not less than 20 years or a fine not less than M1,000,000 or both. Where a foreigner is convicted of an offence against Part III, s50(3) lets the court order withdrawal of the visa, deportation or a bar on re-entry, and s49(2)(d) has the court weigh that the drug supplied caused death or seriously impaired a person's health. Only minimums are printed.

If prescribed or medical

A person with a pain or palliative prescription is within s10 if 'undergoing treatment of a medical condition, who is entering, leaving or passing through Lesotho', who 'may possess such quantities of a drug of abuse (where prescribed) as may be reasonably expected for the purposes of such treatment.' Whether '(where prescribed)' follows the s3 definition 'prescribed by regulations' or the s3 definition of prescription, 'a written direction by a practitioner that a stated amount of a drug of abuse be dispensed for the person named on it', the Act does not say, and no regulation under s10 was found. Section 29(5) requires the prescribed form, legibility, the practitioner's name, address, qualifications and registration number, the patient's name and address, the drug's name, quantity, form and strength, and a signature and date. Urgent oral prescriptions need written confirmation within 24 hours (s29(6)); s44(6)(b) bars supply on one over 3 months old. Overseas prescriptions are not addressed.

Documentation

Sections used: s3, s9, s10, s29, s43, s44, s49 and s50, with Schedule 2, printed page 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. Not established: the commencement notice, any quantity guidance under s10, or whether the Minister has granted an exemption under s98 for morphine.

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.