Is Opium legal in Mexico?

Legal status

Controlled, and named by quantity. Opium appears in the table of maximum doses for strict and immediate personal consumption in article 479 of the Ley General de Salud, at 2 grams. It is the largest figure in that table.

Consequences if caught

The table is the operative rule and it is short. Article 479 opens 'Para los efectos de este capítulo se entiende que el narcótico está destinado para su estricto e inmediato consumo personal, cuando la cantidad del mismo, en cualquiera de sus formas, derivados o preparaciones no exceda de las previstas en el listado siguiente', in translation that for the purposes of this chapter the narcotic is understood to be intended for strict and immediate personal consumption when its quantity, in any of its forms, derivatives or preparations, does not exceed those set out in the following list. The list gives opium at 2 grams, heroin at 50 milligrams, cannabis at 5 grams, cocaine at 500 milligrams and LSD at 0.015 milligrams. Article 478 then provides that the Public Prosecutor shall not bring a criminal action for the article 477 offence against a person who is drug dependent or a consumer and who possesses a listed narcotic in a quantity equal to or below the table figure, for strict personal consumption and outside the places named in article 475 fraction II. Above the table figure but below one thousand times it, and where the circumstances show the possession is not for sale or supply even free of charge, article 477 applies and carries ten months to three years of imprisonment and a fine of up to eighty days. Note what this is and is not. It is a rule about whether a prosecution is brought, not a permission, and the quantity is measured across any form, derivative or preparation.

If prescribed or medical

Article 477 provides that no criminal action is taken for that offence against a person holding medicines containing a listed narcotic whose sale to the public is subject to special acquisition requirements, where by their nature and quantity those medicines are what is needed for the treatment of the holder or of a person in their care or custody.

Documentation

Carry a prescribed opioid medicine in its original packaging with the prescription, and keep the quantity to what the treatment needs. The medicines exception in article 477 turns on the medicine being necessary for the treatment of the person holding it or someone in their care, so quantity and purpose are both part of the test.

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