Is Opium legal in Singapore?
- Legal status
- Class A controlled drug. Misuse of Drugs Act 1973 (Singapore), First Schedule, Part 1 (Class A Drugs), entry (111), which reads "Opium". Section 2 defines a controlled drug as "any substance or product which is for the time being specified in Part 1, 2 or 3 of the First Schedule or anything that contains any such substance or product".
- Consequences if caught
- Second Schedule reach: YES. Opium is one of the eight terms the capital rows name. Second Schedule, section 5 row: "Unauthorised traffic in opium where the quantity is"... "more than 1,200 grammes and containing more than 30 grammes of morphine" carries the punishment "Death". The identical band appears for unauthorised import or export under section 7. Section 2 defines opium as "any substance containing in any quantity morphine and one or more of the following, namely, codeine, narcotine, papaverine and thebaine but does not include poppy-straw which is not mixed in any such substance". Poppy straw is separately listed at First Schedule entry (124). Below that band the Second Schedule sets imprisonment and caning rather than death, and unauthorised possession under section 8(a) is never capital, its heaviest band being "Maximum 30 years and 15 strokes".
- If prescribed or medical
- Supply for a genuine medical purpose is authorised only under the Act and the regulations made under it. Do not rely on a foreign prescription without checking with the Health Sciences Authority before travelling. Nothing here authorises possession.
- Documentation
- VERIFIED against the instrument. Instrument: Misuse of Drugs Act 1973 (Singapore). Sections: First Schedule Part 1 entry (111) for the listing, and the Second Schedule (headed "Sections 2, 33(1), (2), (3), (3B) and (4D) and 33B(1)") for the punishment. URL: https://sso.agc.gov.sg/Act/MDA1973. The whole Second Schedule was read, all 20 rows carrying "Death", before this cell was written.
- Misuse of Drugs Act 1973 (Singapore), First Schedule, Second Schedule, Third Schedule and Fifth Schedule, on Singapore Statutes Online at https://sso.agc.gov.sg/Act/MDA1973, read as at the version the page marks "Current version as at 17 Sep 2026", the most recent amendment shown on its own timeline being S 321/2026 with effect from 1 June 2026
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Court records
We publish verified court records for Singapore, but have not verified one involving Opium.
Source checked eLitigation (Singapore Courts) · 2026-08-27
Opium in related jurisdictions
Other substances confirmed in Singapore
Same substance, other countries
Drug laws and enforcement change and vary within a country. This is not legal advice. Always confirm with Singapore’s embassy or official drug authority before traveling; penalties can be severe, including imprisonment.
Before you travel
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If you’re detained or arrested abroad
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