Legal status in Sri Lanka

Per-substance legal status for Sri Lanka, from sourced statutes where available. Legal information, not legal advice; drug laws change, so confirm with the destination’s embassy or drug authority before you travel.

84 confirmed substances4 not individually verifiedLast updated October 3, 2026

Confirmed legal status

1P-LSD

Legal status: Dangerous drug under Sri Lanka's Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218): Third Schedule, Part I, Group B, Section 2 item 11, which reaches 「(+)-Lysergide and other substances structurally derived from lysergamide by substitution of any of the atoms」. 1P-LSD is not named, and it does not need to be. The lysergide entry is itself generic: it extends to any substance structurally derived from lysergamide by substitution of any of the atoms, and 1-propionyl-LSD is lysergamide with a propionyl group on the indole nitrogen. The model: the list is inside the Ordinance and the power to change it is delegated, with a parliamentary lock on the delegation. Section 48 provides that 「the drugs, substances, articles or preparations, specified for the time being in Groups A, B, C, D and E in Part I of the Third Schedule, shall be deemed to be dangerous drugs」. Section 2(1) then provides that 「regulation」 means a regulation made under this Ordinance and published in the Gazette, 「and includes the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Schedules」, so the Third Schedule is itself a regulation. The empowering section is section 80. Section 80(2)(b) lets the Minister make regulations 「for adding any item to or deleting any item from, or altering, varying or amending in any other way, any of the lists or Groups of poisons and dangerous drugs set out in the First and Third Schedules」, and section 80(3) then provides that 「No regulation so made shall have effect unless it has been approved by Parliament and notification of such approval has been published in the Gazette」. So the delegation is real but it is locked to an affirmative vote, and in practice the 2022 changes were made by primary legislation rather than by regulation. The Act was last amended by the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026. The Third Schedule was last amended by section 6 of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022 and published as a supplement to Part II of the Gazette of 25 November 2022, which substituted Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III. Act No. 7 of 2026 does not touch the Third Schedule.
Consequences if caught: Capital exposure: none. Section 54A(1) has four limbs and they do not carry the same exposure. Limb (a) punishes any person who 「manufactures any of the following dangerous drugs, namely heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 with 「a sentence of death or life imprisonment」, with no quantity stated. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) punish trafficking, importing or exporting, and possession, of 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule in excess of the amount set out in the said Column II」, with the penalty in Column III. Part III Column II is headed 「Pure Quantities」, and Column I is headed 「Traffics, possess, imports or exports」, so possession is inside the same ladder as trafficking. Section 54B extends the same punishment to abetting, attempting and acts preparatory to or in furtherance of a section 54A offence. Since Act No. 7 of 2026 a parallel section 54AA applies the same two structures on the high seas, aboard a ship registered in Sri Lanka or a stateless ship. For a dangerous drug that is not in Part III, section 54A never engages, because limbs (b), (c) and (d) operate only on a drug 「set out in Column II of Part III」. The charge is the general penalty in section 78(5): on summary conviction by a Magistrate a fine of one thousand to ten thousand rupees or up to five years or both, and on conviction before the High Court a fine of ten thousand to twenty five thousand rupees or six months to seven years or both. Section 78(6) requires the written consent of the Attorney-General before non-summary proceedings. That generic limb sits inside a named entry rather than in the analogue section, so it operates without the 「high abuse potential」 rider that Section 2 clauses 4 and 5 carry. Neither reaches this substance, at any quantity, and the reason is structural rather than a matter of degree. The death and life penalties in this Ordinance live in exactly two places. Section 54A(1)(a) attaches them to the manufacture of 「heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 and names no other drug. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) attach the Column III penalties to 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule」, and Column II names only opium, 「Morphine, Cocaine, Heroin and Methamphetamine」, and cannabis. This substance is in none of those, so section 54A cannot engage however much of it is involved, and section 54AA cannot either, because it is built on the same two structures. Being a dangerous drug under section 48 is not the same thing as being in Part III, and the corpus this cell replaces repeatedly ran the two together.
If prescribed / medical: No lysergamide has a licensed medicine or a prescribing route in Sri Lanka.
Documentation: Do not read the absence of a name as permission. The lysergide entry is written generically for exactly this case.

Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218), as last amended by Act No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026 · Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III were substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022, and the entry relied on is read from that Act · the entry relied on is Third Schedule, Part I, Group B, Section 2 item 11, which reaches 「(+)-Lysergide and other substances structurally derived from lysergamide by substitution of any of the atoms」 · Third Schedule Part I Group B as substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, with sections 48, 54A and 78. Principal Ordinance read from the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board's own copy. Read 2026-09-17 · nddcb.gov.lk · nddcb.gov.lk · parliament.lk · Updated September 21, 2026

1P-LSD in Sri Lanka, full detail →

2-FDCK

Legal status: Dangerous drug under Sri Lanka's Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218): Third Schedule, Part I, Group B, Section 3, clause 3, 「Phencyclidine analogues」, reaching chemical substances with the 1-alkylamino-1-arylcyclohexane structure. 2-FDCK is not named. Ketamine is Section 2 item 56 and methoxetamine is named too, but the fluoro deschloro analogue is left to clause 3. The model: the list is inside the Ordinance and the power to change it is delegated, with a parliamentary lock on the delegation. Section 48 provides that 「the drugs, substances, articles or preparations, specified for the time being in Groups A, B, C, D and E in Part I of the Third Schedule, shall be deemed to be dangerous drugs」. Section 2(1) then provides that 「regulation」 means a regulation made under this Ordinance and published in the Gazette, 「and includes the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Schedules」, so the Third Schedule is itself a regulation. The empowering section is section 80. Section 80(2)(b) lets the Minister make regulations 「for adding any item to or deleting any item from, or altering, varying or amending in any other way, any of the lists or Groups of poisons and dangerous drugs set out in the First and Third Schedules」, and section 80(3) then provides that 「No regulation so made shall have effect unless it has been approved by Parliament and notification of such approval has been published in the Gazette」. So the delegation is real but it is locked to an affirmative vote, and in practice the 2022 changes were made by primary legislation rather than by regulation. The Act was last amended by the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026. The Third Schedule was last amended by section 6 of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022 and published as a supplement to Part II of the Gazette of 25 November 2022, which substituted Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III. Act No. 7 of 2026 does not touch the Third Schedule.
Consequences if caught: Capital exposure: none. Section 54A(1) has four limbs and they do not carry the same exposure. Limb (a) punishes any person who 「manufactures any of the following dangerous drugs, namely heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 with 「a sentence of death or life imprisonment」, with no quantity stated. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) punish trafficking, importing or exporting, and possession, of 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule in excess of the amount set out in the said Column II」, with the penalty in Column III. Part III Column II is headed 「Pure Quantities」, and Column I is headed 「Traffics, possess, imports or exports」, so possession is inside the same ladder as trafficking. Section 54B extends the same punishment to abetting, attempting and acts preparatory to or in furtherance of a section 54A offence. Since Act No. 7 of 2026 a parallel section 54AA applies the same two structures on the high seas, aboard a ship registered in Sri Lanka or a stateless ship. For a dangerous drug that is not in Part III, section 54A never engages, because limbs (b), (c) and (d) operate only on a drug 「set out in Column II of Part III」. The charge is the general penalty in section 78(5): on summary conviction by a Magistrate a fine of one thousand to ten thousand rupees or up to five years or both, and on conviction before the High Court a fine of ten thousand to twenty five thousand rupees or six months to seven years or both. Section 78(6) requires the written consent of the Attorney-General before non-summary proceedings. Clause 3 sets out the permitted alkylamino substituents, the permitted aryl substituents and the permitted ring substitutions, and a 2-fluorophenyl ring with a methylamino group is inside all three lists. It is a chemistry test, not a resemblance test. Neither reaches this substance, at any quantity, and the reason is structural rather than a matter of degree. The death and life penalties in this Ordinance live in exactly two places. Section 54A(1)(a) attaches them to the manufacture of 「heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 and names no other drug. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) attach the Column III penalties to 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule」, and Column II names only opium, 「Morphine, Cocaine, Heroin and Methamphetamine」, and cannabis. This substance is in none of those, so section 54A cannot engage however much of it is involved, and section 54AA cannot either, because it is built on the same two structures. Being a dangerous drug under section 48 is not the same thing as being in Part III, and the corpus this cell replaces repeatedly ran the two together.
If prescribed / medical: 2-FDCK has no licensed medicine and no prescribing route in Sri Lanka.
Documentation: No personal import route. Material sold as ketamine may in fact be this compound.

Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218), as last amended by Act No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026 · Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III were substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022, and the entry relied on is read from that Act · the entry relied on is Third Schedule, Part I, Group B, Section 3, clause 3, 「Phencyclidine analogues」, reaching chemical substances with the 1-alkylamino-1-arylcyclohexane structure · Third Schedule Part I Group B as substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, with sections 48, 54A and 78. Principal Ordinance read from the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board's own copy. Read 2026-09-17 · nddcb.gov.lk · nddcb.gov.lk · parliament.lk · Updated September 21, 2026

2-FDCK in Sri Lanka, full detail →

25I-NBOMe

Legal status: Dangerous drug under Sri Lanka's Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218): Group B Section 2 item 23, 「25I-NBOMe 2-(4-iodo-2,5-dimethoxyphenyl)-N-(2-methoxybenzyl)ethanamine」. 25I-NBOMe is named individually, and so are its chloro and bromo relatives: 25C-NBOMe at item 22 and 25B-NBOMe at item 21. Three adjacent entries, three compounds. The model: the list is inside the Ordinance and the power to change it is delegated, with a parliamentary lock on the delegation. Section 48 provides that 「the drugs, substances, articles or preparations, specified for the time being in Groups A, B, C, D and E in Part I of the Third Schedule, shall be deemed to be dangerous drugs」. Section 2(1) then provides that 「regulation」 means a regulation made under this Ordinance and published in the Gazette, 「and includes the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Schedules」, so the Third Schedule is itself a regulation. The empowering section is section 80. Section 80(2)(b) lets the Minister make regulations 「for adding any item to or deleting any item from, or altering, varying or amending in any other way, any of the lists or Groups of poisons and dangerous drugs set out in the First and Third Schedules」, and section 80(3) then provides that 「No regulation so made shall have effect unless it has been approved by Parliament and notification of such approval has been published in the Gazette」. So the delegation is real but it is locked to an affirmative vote, and in practice the 2022 changes were made by primary legislation rather than by regulation. The Act was last amended by the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026. The Third Schedule was last amended by section 6 of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022 and published as a supplement to Part II of the Gazette of 25 November 2022, which substituted Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III. Act No. 7 of 2026 does not touch the Third Schedule.
Consequences if caught: Capital exposure: none. Section 54A(1) has four limbs and they do not carry the same exposure. Limb (a) punishes any person who 「manufactures any of the following dangerous drugs, namely heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 with 「a sentence of death or life imprisonment」, with no quantity stated. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) punish trafficking, importing or exporting, and possession, of 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule in excess of the amount set out in the said Column II」, with the penalty in Column III. Part III Column II is headed 「Pure Quantities」, and Column I is headed 「Traffics, possess, imports or exports」, so possession is inside the same ladder as trafficking. Section 54B extends the same punishment to abetting, attempting and acts preparatory to or in furtherance of a section 54A offence. Since Act No. 7 of 2026 a parallel section 54AA applies the same two structures on the high seas, aboard a ship registered in Sri Lanka or a stateless ship. For a dangerous drug that is not in Part III, section 54A never engages, because limbs (b), (c) and (d) operate only on a drug 「set out in Column II of Part III」. The charge is the general penalty in section 78(5): on summary conviction by a Magistrate a fine of one thousand to ten thousand rupees or up to five years or both, and on conviction before the High Court a fine of ten thousand to twenty five thousand rupees or six months to seven years or both. Section 78(6) requires the written consent of the Attorney-General before non-summary proceedings. Section 3 clause 9 additionally reaches phenethylamine substances outside Section 2, expressly including the 2C series that these compounds derive from. Neither reaches this substance, at any quantity, and the reason is structural rather than a matter of degree. The death and life penalties in this Ordinance live in exactly two places. Section 54A(1)(a) attaches them to the manufacture of 「heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 and names no other drug. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) attach the Column III penalties to 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule」, and Column II names only opium, 「Morphine, Cocaine, Heroin and Methamphetamine」, and cannabis. This substance is in none of those, so section 54A cannot engage however much of it is involved, and section 54AA cannot either, because it is built on the same two structures. Being a dangerous drug under section 48 is not the same thing as being in Part III, and the corpus this cell replaces repeatedly ran the two together.
If prescribed / medical: No NBOMe compound has a licensed medicine or a prescribing route in Sri Lanka.
Documentation: No documentation route. NBOMe compounds are active at microgramme doses and are commonly sold as LSD.

Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218), as last amended by Act No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026 · Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III were substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022, and the entry relied on is read from that Act · the entry relied on is Group B Section 2 item 23, 「25I-NBOMe 2-(4-iodo-2,5-dimethoxyphenyl)-N-(2-methoxybenzyl)ethanamine」 · Third Schedule Part I Group B as substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, with sections 48, 54A and 78. Principal Ordinance read from the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board's own copy. Read 2026-09-17 · nddcb.gov.lk · nddcb.gov.lk · parliament.lk · Updated September 21, 2026

25I-NBOMe in Sri Lanka, full detail →

2C-B

Legal status: Dangerous drug under Sri Lanka's Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218): Group B Section 2 item 40, 「2C-B 4-bromo-2,5-dimethoxyphenethylamine」. 2C-B has its own entry and is not reached through the compound it is most often confused with. DOB, item 8, is 「(plus or minus)-4-bromo-2,5-dimethoxy-alpha-methylphenethylamine」, and 25B-NBOMe, item 21, is a third separate entry. The three share the bromo dimethoxy fragment and differ by the alpha methyl group and by the N-benzyl group. The model: the list is inside the Ordinance and the power to change it is delegated, with a parliamentary lock on the delegation. Section 48 provides that 「the drugs, substances, articles or preparations, specified for the time being in Groups A, B, C, D and E in Part I of the Third Schedule, shall be deemed to be dangerous drugs」. Section 2(1) then provides that 「regulation」 means a regulation made under this Ordinance and published in the Gazette, 「and includes the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Schedules」, so the Third Schedule is itself a regulation. The empowering section is section 80. Section 80(2)(b) lets the Minister make regulations 「for adding any item to or deleting any item from, or altering, varying or amending in any other way, any of the lists or Groups of poisons and dangerous drugs set out in the First and Third Schedules」, and section 80(3) then provides that 「No regulation so made shall have effect unless it has been approved by Parliament and notification of such approval has been published in the Gazette」. So the delegation is real but it is locked to an affirmative vote, and in practice the 2022 changes were made by primary legislation rather than by regulation. The Act was last amended by the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026. The Third Schedule was last amended by section 6 of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022 and published as a supplement to Part II of the Gazette of 25 November 2022, which substituted Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III. Act No. 7 of 2026 does not touch the Third Schedule.
Consequences if caught: Capital exposure: none. Section 54A(1) has four limbs and they do not carry the same exposure. Limb (a) punishes any person who 「manufactures any of the following dangerous drugs, namely heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 with 「a sentence of death or life imprisonment」, with no quantity stated. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) punish trafficking, importing or exporting, and possession, of 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule in excess of the amount set out in the said Column II」, with the penalty in Column III. Part III Column II is headed 「Pure Quantities」, and Column I is headed 「Traffics, possess, imports or exports」, so possession is inside the same ladder as trafficking. Section 54B extends the same punishment to abetting, attempting and acts preparatory to or in furtherance of a section 54A offence. Since Act No. 7 of 2026 a parallel section 54AA applies the same two structures on the high seas, aboard a ship registered in Sri Lanka or a stateless ship. For a dangerous drug that is not in Part III, section 54A never engages, because limbs (b), (c) and (d) operate only on a drug 「set out in Column II of Part III」. The charge is the general penalty in section 78(5): on summary conviction by a Magistrate a fine of one thousand to ten thousand rupees or up to five years or both, and on conviction before the High Court a fine of ten thousand to twenty five thousand rupees or six months to seven years or both. Section 78(6) requires the written consent of the Attorney-General before non-summary proceedings. Any search of this schedule on the shared fragment returns all three, so the discriminator is the alpha methyl in DOB's systematic name and the N-(2-methoxybenzyl) in the NBOMe entry. Neither reaches this substance, at any quantity, and the reason is structural rather than a matter of degree. The death and life penalties in this Ordinance live in exactly two places. Section 54A(1)(a) attaches them to the manufacture of 「heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 and names no other drug. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) attach the Column III penalties to 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule」, and Column II names only opium, 「Morphine, Cocaine, Heroin and Methamphetamine」, and cannabis. This substance is in none of those, so section 54A cannot engage however much of it is involved, and section 54AA cannot either, because it is built on the same two structures. Being a dangerous drug under section 48 is not the same thing as being in Part III, and the corpus this cell replaces repeatedly ran the two together.
If prescribed / medical: 2C-B has no licensed medicine and no prescribing route in Sri Lanka.
Documentation: No personal import route. Pills sold under this name frequently contain something else.

Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218), as last amended by Act No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026 · Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III were substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022, and the entry relied on is read from that Act · the entry relied on is Group B Section 2 item 40, 「2C-B 4-bromo-2,5-dimethoxyphenethylamine」 · Third Schedule Part I Group B as substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, with sections 48, 54A and 78. Principal Ordinance read from the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board's own copy. Read 2026-09-17 · nddcb.gov.lk · nddcb.gov.lk · parliament.lk · Updated September 21, 2026

2C-B in Sri Lanka, full detail →

2C-E

Legal status: Dangerous drug under Sri Lanka's Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218): Third Schedule, Part I, Group B, Section 3, clause 9, which reaches 「Any phenethylamine substance (other than a substance listed in the above Section 2)... substituted substances such as the '2C series'」. 2C-E has no entry of its own. Only one member of the series is separately named, 2C-B at Section 2 item 40, and clause 9 then names the series itself. So the route is a clause that names the family in terms, not a resemblance argument. The model: the list is inside the Ordinance and the power to change it is delegated, with a parliamentary lock on the delegation. Section 48 provides that 「the drugs, substances, articles or preparations, specified for the time being in Groups A, B, C, D and E in Part I of the Third Schedule, shall be deemed to be dangerous drugs」. Section 2(1) then provides that 「regulation」 means a regulation made under this Ordinance and published in the Gazette, 「and includes the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Schedules」, so the Third Schedule is itself a regulation. The empowering section is section 80. Section 80(2)(b) lets the Minister make regulations 「for adding any item to or deleting any item from, or altering, varying or amending in any other way, any of the lists or Groups of poisons and dangerous drugs set out in the First and Third Schedules」, and section 80(3) then provides that 「No regulation so made shall have effect unless it has been approved by Parliament and notification of such approval has been published in the Gazette」. So the delegation is real but it is locked to an affirmative vote, and in practice the 2022 changes were made by primary legislation rather than by regulation. The Act was last amended by the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026. The Third Schedule was last amended by section 6 of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022 and published as a supplement to Part II of the Gazette of 25 November 2022, which substituted Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III. Act No. 7 of 2026 does not touch the Third Schedule.
Consequences if caught: Capital exposure: none. Section 54A(1) has four limbs and they do not carry the same exposure. Limb (a) punishes any person who 「manufactures any of the following dangerous drugs, namely heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 with 「a sentence of death or life imprisonment」, with no quantity stated. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) punish trafficking, importing or exporting, and possession, of 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule in excess of the amount set out in the said Column II」, with the penalty in Column III. Part III Column II is headed 「Pure Quantities」, and Column I is headed 「Traffics, possess, imports or exports」, so possession is inside the same ladder as trafficking. Section 54B extends the same punishment to abetting, attempting and acts preparatory to or in furtherance of a section 54A offence. Since Act No. 7 of 2026 a parallel section 54AA applies the same two structures on the high seas, aboard a ship registered in Sri Lanka or a stateless ship. For a dangerous drug that is not in Part III, section 54A never engages, because limbs (b), (c) and (d) operate only on a drug 「set out in Column II of Part III」. The charge is the general penalty in section 78(5): on summary conviction by a Magistrate a fine of one thousand to ten thousand rupees or up to five years or both, and on conviction before the High Court a fine of ten thousand to twenty five thousand rupees or six months to seven years or both. Section 78(6) requires the written consent of the Attorney-General before non-summary proceedings. Clause 9 is objective in its operation here because it identifies the series by name rather than asking whether a substance resembles a listed one. The resemblance test lives in Section 2 clause 4 and is not needed for a 2C compound. Neither reaches this substance, at any quantity, and the reason is structural rather than a matter of degree. The death and life penalties in this Ordinance live in exactly two places. Section 54A(1)(a) attaches them to the manufacture of 「heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 and names no other drug. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) attach the Column III penalties to 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule」, and Column II names only opium, 「Morphine, Cocaine, Heroin and Methamphetamine」, and cannabis. This substance is in none of those, so section 54A cannot engage however much of it is involved, and section 54AA cannot either, because it is built on the same two structures. Being a dangerous drug under section 48 is not the same thing as being in Part III, and the corpus this cell replaces repeatedly ran the two together.
If prescribed / medical: 2C-E has no registration and no prescribing route in Sri Lanka, and neither does any member of the 2C series.
Documentation: No documentation route. The 2C series is dosed in low milligramme quantities.

Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218), as last amended by Act No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026 · Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III were substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022, and the entry relied on is read from that Act · the entry relied on is Third Schedule, Part I, Group B, Section 3, clause 9, which reaches 「Any phenethylamine substance (other than a substance listed in the above Section 2)... substituted substances such as the '2C series'」 · Third Schedule Part I Group B as substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, with sections 48, 54A and 78. Principal Ordinance read from the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board's own copy. Read 2026-09-17 · nddcb.gov.lk · nddcb.gov.lk · parliament.lk · Updated September 21, 2026

2C-E in Sri Lanka, full detail →

2C-I

Legal status: Dangerous drug under Sri Lanka's Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218): Third Schedule, Part I, Group B, Section 3, clause 9, the phenethylamine clause naming the 「2C series」. 2C-I is not named, although its N-benzyl derivative is: 25I-NBOMe is Section 2 item 23. The parent is reached by clause 9 and the derivative by its own entry, which is the reverse of the usual pattern. The model: the list is inside the Ordinance and the power to change it is delegated, with a parliamentary lock on the delegation. Section 48 provides that 「the drugs, substances, articles or preparations, specified for the time being in Groups A, B, C, D and E in Part I of the Third Schedule, shall be deemed to be dangerous drugs」. Section 2(1) then provides that 「regulation」 means a regulation made under this Ordinance and published in the Gazette, 「and includes the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Schedules」, so the Third Schedule is itself a regulation. The empowering section is section 80. Section 80(2)(b) lets the Minister make regulations 「for adding any item to or deleting any item from, or altering, varying or amending in any other way, any of the lists or Groups of poisons and dangerous drugs set out in the First and Third Schedules」, and section 80(3) then provides that 「No regulation so made shall have effect unless it has been approved by Parliament and notification of such approval has been published in the Gazette」. So the delegation is real but it is locked to an affirmative vote, and in practice the 2022 changes were made by primary legislation rather than by regulation. The Act was last amended by the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026. The Third Schedule was last amended by section 6 of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022 and published as a supplement to Part II of the Gazette of 25 November 2022, which substituted Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III. Act No. 7 of 2026 does not touch the Third Schedule.
Consequences if caught: Capital exposure: none. Section 54A(1) has four limbs and they do not carry the same exposure. Limb (a) punishes any person who 「manufactures any of the following dangerous drugs, namely heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 with 「a sentence of death or life imprisonment」, with no quantity stated. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) punish trafficking, importing or exporting, and possession, of 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule in excess of the amount set out in the said Column II」, with the penalty in Column III. Part III Column II is headed 「Pure Quantities」, and Column I is headed 「Traffics, possess, imports or exports」, so possession is inside the same ladder as trafficking. Section 54B extends the same punishment to abetting, attempting and acts preparatory to or in furtherance of a section 54A offence. Since Act No. 7 of 2026 a parallel section 54AA applies the same two structures on the high seas, aboard a ship registered in Sri Lanka or a stateless ship. For a dangerous drug that is not in Part III, section 54A never engages, because limbs (b), (c) and (d) operate only on a drug 「set out in Column II of Part III」. The charge is the general penalty in section 78(5): on summary conviction by a Magistrate a fine of one thousand to ten thousand rupees or up to five years or both, and on conviction before the High Court a fine of ten thousand to twenty five thousand rupees or six months to seven years or both. Section 78(6) requires the written consent of the Attorney-General before non-summary proceedings. Because 25I-NBOMe has a named entry and 2C-I does not, a search that finds the derivative and stops would report the parent as uncontrolled. It is not. Neither reaches this substance, at any quantity, and the reason is structural rather than a matter of degree. The death and life penalties in this Ordinance live in exactly two places. Section 54A(1)(a) attaches them to the manufacture of 「heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 and names no other drug. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) attach the Column III penalties to 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule」, and Column II names only opium, 「Morphine, Cocaine, Heroin and Methamphetamine」, and cannabis. This substance is in none of those, so section 54A cannot engage however much of it is involved, and section 54AA cannot either, because it is built on the same two structures. Being a dangerous drug under section 48 is not the same thing as being in Part III, and the corpus this cell replaces repeatedly ran the two together.
If prescribed / medical: 2C-I has no registration and no prescribing route. Its named derivative 25I-NBOMe has none either.
Documentation: No personal import route. Blotter sold as 2C-I may be the named NBOMe derivative instead.

Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218), as last amended by Act No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026 · Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III were substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022, and the entry relied on is read from that Act · the entry relied on is Third Schedule, Part I, Group B, Section 3, clause 9, the phenethylamine clause naming the 「2C series」 · Section 3 clause 9 read for the 2C series, with Section 2 item 23 read and distinguished as the named N-benzyl derivative. Principal Ordinance read from the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board's own copy. Read 2026-09-17 · nddcb.gov.lk · nddcb.gov.lk · parliament.lk · Updated September 21, 2026

2C-I in Sri Lanka, full detail →

2C-T-7

Legal status: Dangerous drug under Sri Lanka's Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218): Third Schedule, Part I, Group B, Section 3, clause 9, the phenethylamine clause naming the 「2C series」. 2C-T-7 is not named anywhere in Sections 1 or 2, and neither is any other sulphur substituted member of the series. Clause 9 is the whole of the route. The model: the list is inside the Ordinance and the power to change it is delegated, with a parliamentary lock on the delegation. Section 48 provides that 「the drugs, substances, articles or preparations, specified for the time being in Groups A, B, C, D and E in Part I of the Third Schedule, shall be deemed to be dangerous drugs」. Section 2(1) then provides that 「regulation」 means a regulation made under this Ordinance and published in the Gazette, 「and includes the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Schedules」, so the Third Schedule is itself a regulation. The empowering section is section 80. Section 80(2)(b) lets the Minister make regulations 「for adding any item to or deleting any item from, or altering, varying or amending in any other way, any of the lists or Groups of poisons and dangerous drugs set out in the First and Third Schedules」, and section 80(3) then provides that 「No regulation so made shall have effect unless it has been approved by Parliament and notification of such approval has been published in the Gazette」. So the delegation is real but it is locked to an affirmative vote, and in practice the 2022 changes were made by primary legislation rather than by regulation. The Act was last amended by the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026. The Third Schedule was last amended by section 6 of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022 and published as a supplement to Part II of the Gazette of 25 November 2022, which substituted Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III. Act No. 7 of 2026 does not touch the Third Schedule.
Consequences if caught: Capital exposure: none. Section 54A(1) has four limbs and they do not carry the same exposure. Limb (a) punishes any person who 「manufactures any of the following dangerous drugs, namely heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 with 「a sentence of death or life imprisonment」, with no quantity stated. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) punish trafficking, importing or exporting, and possession, of 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule in excess of the amount set out in the said Column II」, with the penalty in Column III. Part III Column II is headed 「Pure Quantities」, and Column I is headed 「Traffics, possess, imports or exports」, so possession is inside the same ladder as trafficking. Section 54B extends the same punishment to abetting, attempting and acts preparatory to or in furtherance of a section 54A offence. Since Act No. 7 of 2026 a parallel section 54AA applies the same two structures on the high seas, aboard a ship registered in Sri Lanka or a stateless ship. For a dangerous drug that is not in Part III, section 54A never engages, because limbs (b), (c) and (d) operate only on a drug 「set out in Column II of Part III」. The charge is the general penalty in section 78(5): on summary conviction by a Magistrate a fine of one thousand to ten thousand rupees or up to five years or both, and on conviction before the High Court a fine of ten thousand to twenty five thousand rupees or six months to seven years or both. Section 78(6) requires the written consent of the Attorney-General before non-summary proceedings. Clause 9 reaches a phenethylamine substance modified 「in any of the atom by any substitution by an atom or a specific group of atoms」, which covers a propylthio substituent as readily as a halogen. Neither reaches this substance, at any quantity, and the reason is structural rather than a matter of degree. The death and life penalties in this Ordinance live in exactly two places. Section 54A(1)(a) attaches them to the manufacture of 「heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 and names no other drug. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) attach the Column III penalties to 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule」, and Column II names only opium, 「Morphine, Cocaine, Heroin and Methamphetamine」, and cannabis. This substance is in none of those, so section 54A cannot engage however much of it is involved, and section 54AA cannot either, because it is built on the same two structures. Being a dangerous drug under section 48 is not the same thing as being in Part III, and the corpus this cell replaces repeatedly ran the two together.
If prescribed / medical: 2C-T-7 has no registration and no prescribing route in Sri Lanka.
Documentation: No personal import route for a substance reached by the clause 9 series naming.

Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218), as last amended by Act No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026 · Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III were substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022, and the entry relied on is read from that Act · the entry relied on is Third Schedule, Part I, Group B, Section 3, clause 9, the phenethylamine clause naming the 「2C series」 · Section 3 clause 9 read for the 2C series, with the sulphur substituted members confirmed absent from Sections 1 and 2. Principal Ordinance read from the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board's own copy. Read 2026-09-17 · nddcb.gov.lk · nddcb.gov.lk · parliament.lk · Updated September 21, 2026

2C-T-7 in Sri Lanka, full detail →

3-MMC

Legal status: Dangerous drug under Sri Lanka's Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218): Third Schedule, Part I, Group B, Section 3, clause 7, 「Synthetic Cathinones and their analogues」, reaching any substance structurally derived from 2-amino-1-phenylpropan-1-one other than one listed in Section 2 or bupropion. 3-MMC has no entry of its own. Mephedrone, its para isomer, is Section 2 item 65, and 3-MMC is reached by clause 7 as a cathinone derivative and by Section 2 clause 1 as a positional isomer of a listed drug. The model: the list is inside the Ordinance and the power to change it is delegated, with a parliamentary lock on the delegation. Section 48 provides that 「the drugs, substances, articles or preparations, specified for the time being in Groups A, B, C, D and E in Part I of the Third Schedule, shall be deemed to be dangerous drugs」. Section 2(1) then provides that 「regulation」 means a regulation made under this Ordinance and published in the Gazette, 「and includes the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Schedules」, so the Third Schedule is itself a regulation. The empowering section is section 80. Section 80(2)(b) lets the Minister make regulations 「for adding any item to or deleting any item from, or altering, varying or amending in any other way, any of the lists or Groups of poisons and dangerous drugs set out in the First and Third Schedules」, and section 80(3) then provides that 「No regulation so made shall have effect unless it has been approved by Parliament and notification of such approval has been published in the Gazette」. So the delegation is real but it is locked to an affirmative vote, and in practice the 2022 changes were made by primary legislation rather than by regulation. The Act was last amended by the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026. The Third Schedule was last amended by section 6 of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022 and published as a supplement to Part II of the Gazette of 25 November 2022, which substituted Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III. Act No. 7 of 2026 does not touch the Third Schedule.
Consequences if caught: Capital exposure: none. Section 54A(1) has four limbs and they do not carry the same exposure. Limb (a) punishes any person who 「manufactures any of the following dangerous drugs, namely heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 with 「a sentence of death or life imprisonment」, with no quantity stated. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) punish trafficking, importing or exporting, and possession, of 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule in excess of the amount set out in the said Column II」, with the penalty in Column III. Part III Column II is headed 「Pure Quantities」, and Column I is headed 「Traffics, possess, imports or exports」, so possession is inside the same ladder as trafficking. Section 54B extends the same punishment to abetting, attempting and acts preparatory to or in furtherance of a section 54A offence. Since Act No. 7 of 2026 a parallel section 54AA applies the same two structures on the high seas, aboard a ship registered in Sri Lanka or a stateless ship. For a dangerous drug that is not in Part III, section 54A never engages, because limbs (b), (c) and (d) operate only on a drug 「set out in Column II of Part III」. The charge is the general penalty in section 78(5): on summary conviction by a Magistrate a fine of one thousand to ten thousand rupees or up to five years or both, and on conviction before the High Court a fine of ten thousand to twenty five thousand rupees or six months to seven years or both. Section 78(6) requires the written consent of the Attorney-General before non-summary proceedings. Two objective routes reach the same answer. Clause 10 repeats the definition with an enumerated substituent list and expressly excludes bupropion, cathinone, diethylpropion and pyrovalerone, none of which is 3-MMC. Neither reaches this substance, at any quantity, and the reason is structural rather than a matter of degree. The death and life penalties in this Ordinance live in exactly two places. Section 54A(1)(a) attaches them to the manufacture of 「heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 and names no other drug. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) attach the Column III penalties to 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule」, and Column II names only opium, 「Morphine, Cocaine, Heroin and Methamphetamine」, and cannabis. This substance is in none of those, so section 54A cannot engage however much of it is involved, and section 54AA cannot either, because it is built on the same two structures. Being a dangerous drug under section 48 is not the same thing as being in Part III, and the corpus this cell replaces repeatedly ran the two together.
If prescribed / medical: 3-MMC has no registration and no prescribing route. No synthetic cathinone is a registered medicine here.
Documentation: No personal import route. The specific isomer is what the case turns on.

Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218), as last amended by Act No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026 · Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III were substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022, and the entry relied on is read from that Act · the entry relied on is Third Schedule, Part I, Group B, Section 3, clause 7, 「Synthetic Cathinones and their analogues」, reaching any substance structurally derived from 2-amino-1-phenylpropan-1-one other than one listed in Section 2 or bupropion · Third Schedule Part I Group B as substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, with sections 48, 54A and 78. Principal Ordinance read from the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board's own copy. Read 2026-09-17 · nddcb.gov.lk · nddcb.gov.lk · parliament.lk · Updated September 21, 2026

3-MMC in Sri Lanka, full detail →

4-AcO-DMT

Legal status: Dangerous drug under Sri Lanka's Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218): Third Schedule, Part I, Group B, Section 3, clause 6, 「Tryptamines analogues」, reaching any substance other than one listed in Section 2 or serotonin that is structurally derived from 2-(1H-indol-3-yl)ethanamine. 4-AcO-DMT is not named. DMT is Section 2 item 5 and DET item 3, and the substituted tryptamines are covered by clause 6 rather than one at a time. The model: the list is inside the Ordinance and the power to change it is delegated, with a parliamentary lock on the delegation. Section 48 provides that 「the drugs, substances, articles or preparations, specified for the time being in Groups A, B, C, D and E in Part I of the Third Schedule, shall be deemed to be dangerous drugs」. Section 2(1) then provides that 「regulation」 means a regulation made under this Ordinance and published in the Gazette, 「and includes the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Schedules」, so the Third Schedule is itself a regulation. The empowering section is section 80. Section 80(2)(b) lets the Minister make regulations 「for adding any item to or deleting any item from, or altering, varying or amending in any other way, any of the lists or Groups of poisons and dangerous drugs set out in the First and Third Schedules」, and section 80(3) then provides that 「No regulation so made shall have effect unless it has been approved by Parliament and notification of such approval has been published in the Gazette」. So the delegation is real but it is locked to an affirmative vote, and in practice the 2022 changes were made by primary legislation rather than by regulation. The Act was last amended by the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026. The Third Schedule was last amended by section 6 of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022 and published as a supplement to Part II of the Gazette of 25 November 2022, which substituted Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III. Act No. 7 of 2026 does not touch the Third Schedule.
Consequences if caught: Capital exposure: none. Section 54A(1) has four limbs and they do not carry the same exposure. Limb (a) punishes any person who 「manufactures any of the following dangerous drugs, namely heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 with 「a sentence of death or life imprisonment」, with no quantity stated. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) punish trafficking, importing or exporting, and possession, of 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule in excess of the amount set out in the said Column II」, with the penalty in Column III. Part III Column II is headed 「Pure Quantities」, and Column I is headed 「Traffics, possess, imports or exports」, so possession is inside the same ladder as trafficking. Section 54B extends the same punishment to abetting, attempting and acts preparatory to or in furtherance of a section 54A offence. Since Act No. 7 of 2026 a parallel section 54AA applies the same two structures on the high seas, aboard a ship registered in Sri Lanka or a stateless ship. For a dangerous drug that is not in Part III, section 54A never engages, because limbs (b), (c) and (d) operate only on a drug 「set out in Column II of Part III」. The charge is the general penalty in section 78(5): on summary conviction by a Magistrate a fine of one thousand to ten thousand rupees or up to five years or both, and on conviction before the High Court a fine of ten thousand to twenty five thousand rupees or six months to seven years or both. Section 78(6) requires the written consent of the Attorney-General before non-summary proceedings. Clause 6 expressly includes derivation 「from a ring-hydroxy by modification in any of the atom」 and covers 「any ether, salt or stereoisomeric form」, so an acetylated 4-hydroxy tryptamine is inside it on the text. Neither reaches this substance, at any quantity, and the reason is structural rather than a matter of degree. The death and life penalties in this Ordinance live in exactly two places. Section 54A(1)(a) attaches them to the manufacture of 「heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 and names no other drug. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) attach the Column III penalties to 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule」, and Column II names only opium, 「Morphine, Cocaine, Heroin and Methamphetamine」, and cannabis. This substance is in none of those, so section 54A cannot engage however much of it is involved, and section 54AA cannot either, because it is built on the same two structures. Being a dangerous drug under section 48 is not the same thing as being in Part III, and the corpus this cell replaces repeatedly ran the two together.
If prescribed / medical: 4-AcO-DMT has no registration and no prescribing route. No tryptamine is a registered medicine in Sri Lanka.
Documentation: No personal import route for a tryptamine reached by the clause 6 structural test.

Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218), as last amended by Act No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026 · Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III were substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022, and the entry relied on is read from that Act · the entry relied on is Third Schedule, Part I, Group B, Section 3, clause 6, 「Tryptamines analogues」, reaching any substance other than one listed in Section 2 or serotonin that is structurally derived from 2-(1H-indol-3-yl)ethanamine · Third Schedule Part I Group B as substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, with sections 48, 54A and 78. Principal Ordinance read from the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board's own copy. Read 2026-09-17 · nddcb.gov.lk · nddcb.gov.lk · parliament.lk · Updated September 21, 2026

4-AcO-DMT in Sri Lanka, full detail →

4-HO-MET

Legal status: Dangerous drug under Sri Lanka's Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218): Third Schedule, Part I, Group B, Section 3, clause 6, the tryptamine analogue clause. 4-HO-MET is not named. Clause 6 reaches it through substitution at the side chain nitrogen with alkyl substituents, limb (a), and through the ring hydroxy wording in the opening words of the clause. The model: the list is inside the Ordinance and the power to change it is delegated, with a parliamentary lock on the delegation. Section 48 provides that 「the drugs, substances, articles or preparations, specified for the time being in Groups A, B, C, D and E in Part I of the Third Schedule, shall be deemed to be dangerous drugs」. Section 2(1) then provides that 「regulation」 means a regulation made under this Ordinance and published in the Gazette, 「and includes the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Schedules」, so the Third Schedule is itself a regulation. The empowering section is section 80. Section 80(2)(b) lets the Minister make regulations 「for adding any item to or deleting any item from, or altering, varying or amending in any other way, any of the lists or Groups of poisons and dangerous drugs set out in the First and Third Schedules」, and section 80(3) then provides that 「No regulation so made shall have effect unless it has been approved by Parliament and notification of such approval has been published in the Gazette」. So the delegation is real but it is locked to an affirmative vote, and in practice the 2022 changes were made by primary legislation rather than by regulation. The Act was last amended by the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026. The Third Schedule was last amended by section 6 of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022 and published as a supplement to Part II of the Gazette of 25 November 2022, which substituted Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III. Act No. 7 of 2026 does not touch the Third Schedule.
Consequences if caught: Capital exposure: none. Section 54A(1) has four limbs and they do not carry the same exposure. Limb (a) punishes any person who 「manufactures any of the following dangerous drugs, namely heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 with 「a sentence of death or life imprisonment」, with no quantity stated. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) punish trafficking, importing or exporting, and possession, of 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule in excess of the amount set out in the said Column II」, with the penalty in Column III. Part III Column II is headed 「Pure Quantities」, and Column I is headed 「Traffics, possess, imports or exports」, so possession is inside the same ladder as trafficking. Section 54B extends the same punishment to abetting, attempting and acts preparatory to or in furtherance of a section 54A offence. Since Act No. 7 of 2026 a parallel section 54AA applies the same two structures on the high seas, aboard a ship registered in Sri Lanka or a stateless ship. For a dangerous drug that is not in Part III, section 54A never engages, because limbs (b), (c) and (d) operate only on a drug 「set out in Column II of Part III」. The charge is the general penalty in section 78(5): on summary conviction by a Magistrate a fine of one thousand to ten thousand rupees or up to five years or both, and on conviction before the High Court a fine of ten thousand to twenty five thousand rupees or six months to seven years or both. Section 78(6) requires the written consent of the Attorney-General before non-summary proceedings. The clause carves out serotonin by name, which is a hydroxytryptamine, and carves out nothing else. That express carve out is evidence the drafters meant the ring hydroxy tryptamines to be inside. Neither reaches this substance, at any quantity, and the reason is structural rather than a matter of degree. The death and life penalties in this Ordinance live in exactly two places. Section 54A(1)(a) attaches them to the manufacture of 「heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 and names no other drug. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) attach the Column III penalties to 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule」, and Column II names only opium, 「Morphine, Cocaine, Heroin and Methamphetamine」, and cannabis. This substance is in none of those, so section 54A cannot engage however much of it is involved, and section 54AA cannot either, because it is built on the same two structures. Being a dangerous drug under section 48 is not the same thing as being in Part III, and the corpus this cell replaces repeatedly ran the two together.
If prescribed / medical: 4-HO-MET has no registration and no prescribing route, and nothing in the hydroxytryptamine family is registered here.
Documentation: No documentation route. There is no lawful supply to document.

Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218), as last amended by Act No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026 · Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III were substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022, and the entry relied on is read from that Act · the entry relied on is Third Schedule, Part I, Group B, Section 3, clause 6, the tryptamine analogue clause · Section 3 clause 6 read for the tryptamine analogues, limb (a) and the ring hydroxy opening words. Principal Ordinance read from the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board's own copy. Read 2026-09-17 · nddcb.gov.lk · nddcb.gov.lk · parliament.lk · Updated September 21, 2026

4-HO-MET in Sri Lanka, full detail →

5-MeO-DMT (Bufo / Toad)

Legal status: Dangerous drug under Sri Lanka's Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218): Third Schedule, Part I, Group B, Section 3, clause 6, the tryptamine analogue clause. 5-MeO-DMT is not named and a search of the schedule for the string returns nothing. It is reached by clause 6, limb (c), 「by substitution in the 6-membered ring to any extent with alkyl, alkoxy, haloalkyl, thioalkyl, alkylenedioxy, or halide substituents」, a 5-methoxy group being an alkoxy substituent on that ring. The model: the list is inside the Ordinance and the power to change it is delegated, with a parliamentary lock on the delegation. Section 48 provides that 「the drugs, substances, articles or preparations, specified for the time being in Groups A, B, C, D and E in Part I of the Third Schedule, shall be deemed to be dangerous drugs」. Section 2(1) then provides that 「regulation」 means a regulation made under this Ordinance and published in the Gazette, 「and includes the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Schedules」, so the Third Schedule is itself a regulation. The empowering section is section 80. Section 80(2)(b) lets the Minister make regulations 「for adding any item to or deleting any item from, or altering, varying or amending in any other way, any of the lists or Groups of poisons and dangerous drugs set out in the First and Third Schedules」, and section 80(3) then provides that 「No regulation so made shall have effect unless it has been approved by Parliament and notification of such approval has been published in the Gazette」. So the delegation is real but it is locked to an affirmative vote, and in practice the 2022 changes were made by primary legislation rather than by regulation. The Act was last amended by the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026. The Third Schedule was last amended by section 6 of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022 and published as a supplement to Part II of the Gazette of 25 November 2022, which substituted Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III. Act No. 7 of 2026 does not touch the Third Schedule.
Consequences if caught: Capital exposure: none. Section 54A(1) has four limbs and they do not carry the same exposure. Limb (a) punishes any person who 「manufactures any of the following dangerous drugs, namely heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 with 「a sentence of death or life imprisonment」, with no quantity stated. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) punish trafficking, importing or exporting, and possession, of 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule in excess of the amount set out in the said Column II」, with the penalty in Column III. Part III Column II is headed 「Pure Quantities」, and Column I is headed 「Traffics, possess, imports or exports」, so possession is inside the same ladder as trafficking. Section 54B extends the same punishment to abetting, attempting and acts preparatory to or in furtherance of a section 54A offence. Since Act No. 7 of 2026 a parallel section 54AA applies the same two structures on the high seas, aboard a ship registered in Sri Lanka or a stateless ship. For a dangerous drug that is not in Part III, section 54A never engages, because limbs (b), (c) and (d) operate only on a drug 「set out in Column II of Part III」. The charge is the general penalty in section 78(5): on summary conviction by a Magistrate a fine of one thousand to ten thousand rupees or up to five years or both, and on conviction before the High Court a fine of ten thousand to twenty five thousand rupees or six months to seven years or both. Section 78(6) requires the written consent of the Attorney-General before non-summary proceedings. This is the place a careless search produces a false answer of not controlled. The substance is a dangerous drug and the route is a clause that spells out the permitted substituents. Neither reaches this substance, at any quantity, and the reason is structural rather than a matter of degree. The death and life penalties in this Ordinance live in exactly two places. Section 54A(1)(a) attaches them to the manufacture of 「heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 and names no other drug. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) attach the Column III penalties to 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule」, and Column II names only opium, 「Morphine, Cocaine, Heroin and Methamphetamine」, and cannabis. This substance is in none of those, so section 54A cannot engage however much of it is involved, and section 54AA cannot either, because it is built on the same two structures. Being a dangerous drug under section 48 is not the same thing as being in Part III, and the corpus this cell replaces repeatedly ran the two together.
If prescribed / medical: 5-MeO-DMT has no registration and no prescribing route. The toad secretion that contains it is not separately named.
Documentation: No documentation route. Neither the toad nor the plant sources are named, and the substance is reached by structure.

Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218), as last amended by Act No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026 · Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III were substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022, and the entry relied on is read from that Act · the entry relied on is Third Schedule, Part I, Group B, Section 3, clause 6, the tryptamine analogue clause · Section 3 clause 6 read for the tryptamine analogues, limb (c) alkoxy substitution in the six membered ring. Principal Ordinance read from the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board's own copy. Read 2026-09-17 · nddcb.gov.lk · nddcb.gov.lk · parliament.lk · Updated September 21, 2026

5-MeO-DMT (Bufo / Toad) in Sri Lanka, full detail →

6-APB

Legal status: Dangerous drug under Sri Lanka's Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218): Third Schedule, Part I, Group B, Section 3, clause 9, which reaches any phenethylamine substance outside Section 2 and expressly includes 「any benzodifurans or its substituent」. 6-APB is not named. Clause 9 names benzodifurans expressly, and 6-APB is a benzofuran rather than a benzodifuran, so the express words cover its close relatives and the general words cover it. The model: the list is inside the Ordinance and the power to change it is delegated, with a parliamentary lock on the delegation. Section 48 provides that 「the drugs, substances, articles or preparations, specified for the time being in Groups A, B, C, D and E in Part I of the Third Schedule, shall be deemed to be dangerous drugs」. Section 2(1) then provides that 「regulation」 means a regulation made under this Ordinance and published in the Gazette, 「and includes the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Schedules」, so the Third Schedule is itself a regulation. The empowering section is section 80. Section 80(2)(b) lets the Minister make regulations 「for adding any item to or deleting any item from, or altering, varying or amending in any other way, any of the lists or Groups of poisons and dangerous drugs set out in the First and Third Schedules」, and section 80(3) then provides that 「No regulation so made shall have effect unless it has been approved by Parliament and notification of such approval has been published in the Gazette」. So the delegation is real but it is locked to an affirmative vote, and in practice the 2022 changes were made by primary legislation rather than by regulation. The Act was last amended by the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026. The Third Schedule was last amended by section 6 of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022 and published as a supplement to Part II of the Gazette of 25 November 2022, which substituted Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III. Act No. 7 of 2026 does not touch the Third Schedule.
Consequences if caught: Capital exposure: none. Section 54A(1) has four limbs and they do not carry the same exposure. Limb (a) punishes any person who 「manufactures any of the following dangerous drugs, namely heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 with 「a sentence of death or life imprisonment」, with no quantity stated. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) punish trafficking, importing or exporting, and possession, of 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule in excess of the amount set out in the said Column II」, with the penalty in Column III. Part III Column II is headed 「Pure Quantities」, and Column I is headed 「Traffics, possess, imports or exports」, so possession is inside the same ladder as trafficking. Section 54B extends the same punishment to abetting, attempting and acts preparatory to or in furtherance of a section 54A offence. Since Act No. 7 of 2026 a parallel section 54AA applies the same two structures on the high seas, aboard a ship registered in Sri Lanka or a stateless ship. For a dangerous drug that is not in Part III, section 54A never engages, because limbs (b), (c) and (d) operate only on a drug 「set out in Column II of Part III」. The charge is the general penalty in section 78(5): on summary conviction by a Magistrate a fine of one thousand to ten thousand rupees or up to five years or both, and on conviction before the High Court a fine of ten thousand to twenty five thousand rupees or six months to seven years or both. Section 78(6) requires the written consent of the Attorney-General before non-summary proceedings. The general limb is what does the work: clause 9 reaches 「Any phenethylamine substance」 outside Section 2 including 「any type of positional isomer in the phenyl ring」, and 6-APB is a ring fused phenethylamine. Neither reaches this substance, at any quantity, and the reason is structural rather than a matter of degree. The death and life penalties in this Ordinance live in exactly two places. Section 54A(1)(a) attaches them to the manufacture of 「heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 and names no other drug. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) attach the Column III penalties to 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule」, and Column II names only opium, 「Morphine, Cocaine, Heroin and Methamphetamine」, and cannabis. This substance is in none of those, so section 54A cannot engage however much of it is involved, and section 54AA cannot either, because it is built on the same two structures. Being a dangerous drug under section 48 is not the same thing as being in Part III, and the corpus this cell replaces repeatedly ran the two together.
If prescribed / medical: 6-APB has no registration and no prescribing route. The benzofurans exist here only as a street chemistry family.
Documentation: No documentation route. Benzofurans are sold as MDMA substitutes.

Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218), as last amended by Act No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026 · Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III were substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022, and the entry relied on is read from that Act · the entry relied on is Third Schedule, Part I, Group B, Section 3, clause 9, which reaches any phenethylamine substance outside Section 2 and expressly includes 「any benzodifurans or its substituent」 · Third Schedule Part I Group B as substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, with sections 48, 54A and 78. Principal Ordinance read from the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board's own copy. Read 2026-09-17 · nddcb.gov.lk · nddcb.gov.lk · parliament.lk · Updated September 21, 2026

6-APB in Sri Lanka, full detail →

7-Hydroxymitragynine (7-OH)

Legal status: Dangerous drug under Sri Lanka's Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218): Third Schedule, Part I, Group B, Section 3, clause 15(b), 「Kratom (Mitragyna speciosa)」, reached as an extract of the named plant. The 7-hydroxy metabolite is not named in Sections 1 or 2 and has no entry of its own. Like mitragynine it is reached as an extract or preparation of the named plant under clause 15. The model: the list is inside the Ordinance and the power to change it is delegated, with a parliamentary lock on the delegation. Section 48 provides that 「the drugs, substances, articles or preparations, specified for the time being in Groups A, B, C, D and E in Part I of the Third Schedule, shall be deemed to be dangerous drugs」. Section 2(1) then provides that 「regulation」 means a regulation made under this Ordinance and published in the Gazette, 「and includes the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Schedules」, so the Third Schedule is itself a regulation. The empowering section is section 80. Section 80(2)(b) lets the Minister make regulations 「for adding any item to or deleting any item from, or altering, varying or amending in any other way, any of the lists or Groups of poisons and dangerous drugs set out in the First and Third Schedules」, and section 80(3) then provides that 「No regulation so made shall have effect unless it has been approved by Parliament and notification of such approval has been published in the Gazette」. So the delegation is real but it is locked to an affirmative vote, and in practice the 2022 changes were made by primary legislation rather than by regulation. The Act was last amended by the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026. The Third Schedule was last amended by section 6 of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022 and published as a supplement to Part II of the Gazette of 25 November 2022, which substituted Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III. Act No. 7 of 2026 does not touch the Third Schedule.
Consequences if caught: Capital exposure: none. Section 54A(1) has four limbs and they do not carry the same exposure. Limb (a) punishes any person who 「manufactures any of the following dangerous drugs, namely heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 with 「a sentence of death or life imprisonment」, with no quantity stated. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) punish trafficking, importing or exporting, and possession, of 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule in excess of the amount set out in the said Column II」, with the penalty in Column III. Part III Column II is headed 「Pure Quantities」, and Column I is headed 「Traffics, possess, imports or exports」, so possession is inside the same ladder as trafficking. Section 54B extends the same punishment to abetting, attempting and acts preparatory to or in furtherance of a section 54A offence. Since Act No. 7 of 2026 a parallel section 54AA applies the same two structures on the high seas, aboard a ship registered in Sri Lanka or a stateless ship. For a dangerous drug that is not in Part III, section 54A never engages, because limbs (b), (c) and (d) operate only on a drug 「set out in Column II of Part III」. The charge is the general penalty in section 78(5): on summary conviction by a Magistrate a fine of one thousand to ten thousand rupees or up to five years or both, and on conviction before the High Court a fine of ten thousand to twenty five thousand rupees or six months to seven years or both. Section 78(6) requires the written consent of the Attorney-General before non-summary proceedings. Products marketed abroad as enhanced kratom are enriched in this compound, and enrichment is a preparation of the plant, so the clause reaches them on their face. Neither reaches this substance, at any quantity, and the reason is structural rather than a matter of degree. The death and life penalties in this Ordinance live in exactly two places. Section 54A(1)(a) attaches them to the manufacture of 「heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 and names no other drug. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) attach the Column III penalties to 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule」, and Column II names only opium, 「Morphine, Cocaine, Heroin and Methamphetamine」, and cannabis. This substance is in none of those, so section 54A cannot engage however much of it is involved, and section 54AA cannot either, because it is built on the same two structures. Being a dangerous drug under section 48 is not the same thing as being in Part III, and the corpus this cell replaces repeatedly ran the two together.
If prescribed / medical: No licensed medicine and no prescribing route in Sri Lanka.
Documentation: No personal import route for leaf, extract or an enriched product.

Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218), as last amended by Act No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026 · Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III were substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022, and the entry relied on is read from that Act · the entry relied on is Third Schedule, Part I, Group B, Section 3, clause 15(b), 「Kratom (Mitragyna speciosa)」, reached as an extract of the named plant · Section 3 clause 15(b) read for the named plant and its preparations, with Sections 1 and 2 searched for the metabolite and returning nothing. Principal Ordinance read from the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board's own copy. Read 2026-09-17 · nddcb.gov.lk · nddcb.gov.lk · parliament.lk · Updated September 21, 2026

7-Hydroxymitragynine (7-OH) in Sri Lanka, full detail →

Adderall

Legal status: Dangerous drug under Sri Lanka's Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218): Group B Section 2 items 35, 45 and 57, reached through its components rather than by a name of its own. Adderall is a brand of mixed amphetamine salts. Amphetamine is item 35, dexamphetamine item 45 and levamphetamine item 57, and Section 2 clause 3 catches the salts of any of them, so every component of the product is separately listed. The model: the list is inside the Ordinance and the power to change it is delegated, with a parliamentary lock on the delegation. Section 48 provides that 「the drugs, substances, articles or preparations, specified for the time being in Groups A, B, C, D and E in Part I of the Third Schedule, shall be deemed to be dangerous drugs」. Section 2(1) then provides that 「regulation」 means a regulation made under this Ordinance and published in the Gazette, 「and includes the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Schedules」, so the Third Schedule is itself a regulation. The empowering section is section 80. Section 80(2)(b) lets the Minister make regulations 「for adding any item to or deleting any item from, or altering, varying or amending in any other way, any of the lists or Groups of poisons and dangerous drugs set out in the First and Third Schedules」, and section 80(3) then provides that 「No regulation so made shall have effect unless it has been approved by Parliament and notification of such approval has been published in the Gazette」. So the delegation is real but it is locked to an affirmative vote, and in practice the 2022 changes were made by primary legislation rather than by regulation. The Act was last amended by the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026. The Third Schedule was last amended by section 6 of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022 and published as a supplement to Part II of the Gazette of 25 November 2022, which substituted Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III. Act No. 7 of 2026 does not touch the Third Schedule.
Consequences if caught: Capital exposure: none. Section 54A(1) has four limbs and they do not carry the same exposure. Limb (a) punishes any person who 「manufactures any of the following dangerous drugs, namely heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 with 「a sentence of death or life imprisonment」, with no quantity stated. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) punish trafficking, importing or exporting, and possession, of 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule in excess of the amount set out in the said Column II」, with the penalty in Column III. Part III Column II is headed 「Pure Quantities」, and Column I is headed 「Traffics, possess, imports or exports」, so possession is inside the same ladder as trafficking. Section 54B extends the same punishment to abetting, attempting and acts preparatory to or in furtherance of a section 54A offence. Since Act No. 7 of 2026 a parallel section 54AA applies the same two structures on the high seas, aboard a ship registered in Sri Lanka or a stateless ship. For a dangerous drug that is not in Part III, section 54A never engages, because limbs (b), (c) and (d) operate only on a drug 「set out in Column II of Part III」. The charge is the general penalty in section 78(5): on summary conviction by a Magistrate a fine of one thousand to ten thousand rupees or up to five years or both, and on conviction before the High Court a fine of ten thousand to twenty five thousand rupees or six months to seven years or both. Section 78(6) requires the written consent of the Attorney-General before non-summary proceedings. A mixed salt product is also caught by Section 2 clause 6, which reaches 「Substances, preparations or mixtures containing any proportion」 of a listed drug together with its isomers, esters and salts. Neither reaches this substance, at any quantity, and the reason is structural rather than a matter of degree. The death and life penalties in this Ordinance live in exactly two places. Section 54A(1)(a) attaches them to the manufacture of 「heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 and names no other drug. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) attach the Column III penalties to 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule」, and Column II names only opium, 「Morphine, Cocaine, Heroin and Methamphetamine」, and cannabis. This substance is in none of those, so section 54A cannot engage however much of it is involved, and section 54AA cannot either, because it is built on the same two structures. Being a dangerous drug under section 48 is not the same thing as being in Part III, and the corpus this cell replaces repeatedly ran the two together.
If prescribed / medical: No Adderall product holds a Sri Lankan registration. Methylphenidate, Section 2 item 130, is the stimulant that is actually prescribed here.
Documentation: A visitor holding a foreign Adderall prescription is carrying a dangerous drug. Confirm the position with the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board before travelling rather than relying on the foreign prescription.

Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218), as last amended by Act No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026 · Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III were substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022, and the entry relied on is read from that Act · the entry relied on is Group B Section 2 items 35, 45 and 57, reached through its components rather than by a name of its own · Third Schedule Part I Group B as substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, with sections 48, 54A and 78. Principal Ordinance read from the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board's own copy. Read 2026-09-17 · nddcb.gov.lk · nddcb.gov.lk · parliament.lk · Updated September 21, 2026

Adderall in Sri Lanka, full detail →

Alcohol

Legal status: Not a dangerous drug under Sri Lanka's Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218): absent from Groups A, B, C, D and E of the Third Schedule. Alcohol is not in any Group of the Third Schedule and is not a dangerous drug. It is a licensed excisable article under the Excise Ordinance, and the National Authority on Tobacco and Alcohol Act, No. 27 of 2006 governs its marketing and sale to young people. The model: the list is inside the Ordinance and the power to change it is delegated, with a parliamentary lock on the delegation. Section 48 provides that 「the drugs, substances, articles or preparations, specified for the time being in Groups A, B, C, D and E in Part I of the Third Schedule, shall be deemed to be dangerous drugs」. Section 2(1) then provides that 「regulation」 means a regulation made under this Ordinance and published in the Gazette, 「and includes the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Schedules」, so the Third Schedule is itself a regulation. The empowering section is section 80. Section 80(2)(b) lets the Minister make regulations 「for adding any item to or deleting any item from, or altering, varying or amending in any other way, any of the lists or Groups of poisons and dangerous drugs set out in the First and Third Schedules」, and section 80(3) then provides that 「No regulation so made shall have effect unless it has been approved by Parliament and notification of such approval has been published in the Gazette」. So the delegation is real but it is locked to an affirmative vote, and in practice the 2022 changes were made by primary legislation rather than by regulation. The Act was last amended by the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026. The Third Schedule was last amended by section 6 of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022 and published as a supplement to Part II of the Gazette of 25 November 2022, which substituted Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III. Act No. 7 of 2026 does not touch the Third Schedule.
Consequences if caught: Capital exposure: none. There is no offence under the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance for alcohol at any quantity. The National Authority on Tobacco and Alcohol Act, No. 27 of 2006 prohibits sale to a person under twenty one and regulates advertising and sponsorship, and the Excise Ordinance licences manufacture and sale. Neither reaches this substance, and not because the penalty is low but because no dangerous drug offence in this Ordinance engages at all. Section 48 makes a substance a dangerous drug only if it is specified in Groups A to E of Part I of the Third Schedule, and this substance is in none of them. Section 54A(1)(a) names four drugs for the manufacture limb and Part III Column II names five substances for the quantity limbs; this is neither, so no capital or life sentence is available for it on any facts. Saying that much does not dispose of the whole Ordinance, and the corpus this cell replaces never reached the rest of it. Chapter II runs a separate poisons regime over the First Schedule, whose Parts I to V were read in full for this cell, and this substance is named nowhere in them, so sections 5, 17, 18 and 19 create no offence for it either. The instrument that does govern it is named in the status above.
If prescribed / medical: Alcohol is not a medicine and there is no prescribing route.
Documentation: Personal import allowances are a customs and excise matter, not drug law.

Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218), as last amended by Act No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026 · absence was established by reading Groups A, B, C, D and E of Part I in full, Group B from Act No. 41 of 2022 and Groups A, C, D and E from a private consolidation to 2024, and by reading Parts I to V of the First Schedule and all four Parts of the Second Schedule in that same consolidation · the finding is that the substance is absent from Groups A, B, C, D and E of the Third Schedule · National Authority on Tobacco and Alcohol Act, No. 27 of 2006, and the Excise Ordinance. Principal Ordinance read from the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board's own copy. Read 2026-09-17 · nddcb.gov.lk · nddcb.gov.lk · parliament.lk · Updated September 21, 2026

Alcohol in Sri Lanka, full detail →

Amanita muscaria

Legal status: Not a dangerous drug under Sri Lanka's Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218): absent from Groups A, B, C, D and E of the Third Schedule. Amanita muscaria is not controlled in Sri Lanka. Neither the species nor its active compounds muscimol and ibotenic acid appears in any Group of the Third Schedule, and the species is not in the Section 3 plant list. The model: the list is inside the Ordinance and the power to change it is delegated, with a parliamentary lock on the delegation. Section 48 provides that 「the drugs, substances, articles or preparations, specified for the time being in Groups A, B, C, D and E in Part I of the Third Schedule, shall be deemed to be dangerous drugs」. Section 2(1) then provides that 「regulation」 means a regulation made under this Ordinance and published in the Gazette, 「and includes the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Schedules」, so the Third Schedule is itself a regulation. The empowering section is section 80. Section 80(2)(b) lets the Minister make regulations 「for adding any item to or deleting any item from, or altering, varying or amending in any other way, any of the lists or Groups of poisons and dangerous drugs set out in the First and Third Schedules」, and section 80(3) then provides that 「No regulation so made shall have effect unless it has been approved by Parliament and notification of such approval has been published in the Gazette」. So the delegation is real but it is locked to an affirmative vote, and in practice the 2022 changes were made by primary legislation rather than by regulation. The Act was last amended by the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026. The Third Schedule was last amended by section 6 of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022 and published as a supplement to Part II of the Gazette of 25 November 2022, which substituted Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III. Act No. 7 of 2026 does not touch the Third Schedule.
Consequences if caught: Capital exposure: none. The absence is meaningful rather than accidental, because Section 3 clause 15 does name seven psychoactive plants and this is not one of them. There is no drugs offence and no Part III question. Neither reaches this substance, and not because the penalty is low but because no dangerous drug offence in this Ordinance engages at all. Section 48 makes a substance a dangerous drug only if it is specified in Groups A to E of Part I of the Third Schedule, and this substance is in none of them. Section 54A(1)(a) names four drugs for the manufacture limb and Part III Column II names five substances for the quantity limbs; this is neither, so no capital or life sentence is available for it on any facts. Saying that much does not dispose of the whole Ordinance, and the corpus this cell replaces never reached the rest of it. Chapter II runs a separate poisons regime over the First Schedule, whose Parts I to V were read in full for this cell, and this substance is named nowhere in them, so sections 5, 17, 18 and 19 create no offence for it either. The instrument that does govern it is named in the status above.
If prescribed / medical: No registered medicine contains muscimol or ibotenic acid in Sri Lanka.
Documentation: Dried caps and capsules are not scheduled. Import as a food or supplement is a separate food safety question that was not reached for this cell.

Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218), as last amended by Act No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026 · absence was established by reading Groups A, B, C, D and E of Part I in full, Group B from Act No. 41 of 2022 and Groups A, C, D and E from a private consolidation to 2024, and by reading Parts I to V of the First Schedule and all four Parts of the Second Schedule in that same consolidation · the finding is that the substance is absent from Groups A, B, C, D and E of the Third Schedule · Third Schedule Groups A to E and the Section 3 clause 15 plant list read in full to establish absence. Principal Ordinance read from the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board's own copy. Read 2026-09-17 · nddcb.gov.lk · nddcb.gov.lk · parliament.lk · Updated September 21, 2026

Amanita muscaria in Sri Lanka, full detail →

Amphetamine

Legal status: Dangerous drug under Sri Lanka's Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218): Group B Section 2 item 35, 「Amphetamine (plus or minus)-alpha-methylphenethylamine」. Dexamphetamine is separately named at item 45 and levamphetamine at item 57, so all three forms are listed rather than left to the isomer clause. The model: the list is inside the Ordinance and the power to change it is delegated, with a parliamentary lock on the delegation. Section 48 provides that 「the drugs, substances, articles or preparations, specified for the time being in Groups A, B, C, D and E in Part I of the Third Schedule, shall be deemed to be dangerous drugs」. Section 2(1) then provides that 「regulation」 means a regulation made under this Ordinance and published in the Gazette, 「and includes the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Schedules」, so the Third Schedule is itself a regulation. The empowering section is section 80. Section 80(2)(b) lets the Minister make regulations 「for adding any item to or deleting any item from, or altering, varying or amending in any other way, any of the lists or Groups of poisons and dangerous drugs set out in the First and Third Schedules」, and section 80(3) then provides that 「No regulation so made shall have effect unless it has been approved by Parliament and notification of such approval has been published in the Gazette」. So the delegation is real but it is locked to an affirmative vote, and in practice the 2022 changes were made by primary legislation rather than by regulation. The Act was last amended by the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026. The Third Schedule was last amended by section 6 of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022 and published as a supplement to Part II of the Gazette of 25 November 2022, which substituted Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III. Act No. 7 of 2026 does not touch the Third Schedule.
Consequences if caught: Capital exposure: none. Section 54A(1) has four limbs and they do not carry the same exposure. Limb (a) punishes any person who 「manufactures any of the following dangerous drugs, namely heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 with 「a sentence of death or life imprisonment」, with no quantity stated. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) punish trafficking, importing or exporting, and possession, of 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule in excess of the amount set out in the said Column II」, with the penalty in Column III. Part III Column II is headed 「Pure Quantities」, and Column I is headed 「Traffics, possess, imports or exports」, so possession is inside the same ladder as trafficking. Section 54B extends the same punishment to abetting, attempting and acts preparatory to or in furtherance of a section 54A offence. Since Act No. 7 of 2026 a parallel section 54AA applies the same two structures on the high seas, aboard a ship registered in Sri Lanka or a stateless ship. For a dangerous drug that is not in Part III, section 54A never engages, because limbs (b), (c) and (d) operate only on a drug 「set out in Column II of Part III」. The charge is the general penalty in section 78(5): on summary conviction by a Magistrate a fine of one thousand to ten thousand rupees or up to five years or both, and on conviction before the High Court a fine of ten thousand to twenty five thousand rupees or six months to seven years or both. Section 78(6) requires the written consent of the Attorney-General before non-summary proceedings. Section 3 clause 1 then reaches amphetamine analogues that are not already in Section 2, by reference to the 1-amino-2-phenylethane nucleus and an enumerated list of permitted substituents. That is a structural test and not a resemblance test. Neither reaches this substance, at any quantity, and the reason is structural rather than a matter of degree. The death and life penalties in this Ordinance live in exactly two places. Section 54A(1)(a) attaches them to the manufacture of 「heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 and names no other drug. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) attach the Column III penalties to 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule」, and Column II names only opium, 「Morphine, Cocaine, Heroin and Methamphetamine」, and cannabis. This substance is in none of those, so section 54A cannot engage however much of it is involved, and section 54AA cannot either, because it is built on the same two structures. Being a dangerous drug under section 48 is not the same thing as being in Part III, and the corpus this cell replaces repeatedly ran the two together.
If prescribed / medical: Amphetamine has no ordinary prescribing route in Sri Lanka.
Documentation: No traveller route. A foreign stimulant prescription does not authorise possession of a dangerous drug here.

Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218), as last amended by Act No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026 · Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III were substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022, and the entry relied on is read from that Act · the entry relied on is Group B Section 2 item 35, 「Amphetamine (plus or minus)-alpha-methylphenethylamine」 · Third Schedule Part I Group B as substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, with sections 48, 54A and 78. Principal Ordinance read from the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board's own copy. Read 2026-09-17 · nddcb.gov.lk · nddcb.gov.lk · parliament.lk · Updated September 21, 2026

Amphetamine in Sri Lanka, full detail →

Amyl Nitrite

Legal status: Not a dangerous drug under Sri Lanka's Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218): absent from Groups A, B, C, D and E of the Third Schedule. Amyl nitrite is not in any Group of the Third Schedule and is not a dangerous drug. No alkyl nitrite appears anywhere in the schedule. The model: the list is inside the Ordinance and the power to change it is delegated, with a parliamentary lock on the delegation. Section 48 provides that 「the drugs, substances, articles or preparations, specified for the time being in Groups A, B, C, D and E in Part I of the Third Schedule, shall be deemed to be dangerous drugs」. Section 2(1) then provides that 「regulation」 means a regulation made under this Ordinance and published in the Gazette, 「and includes the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Schedules」, so the Third Schedule is itself a regulation. The empowering section is section 80. Section 80(2)(b) lets the Minister make regulations 「for adding any item to or deleting any item from, or altering, varying or amending in any other way, any of the lists or Groups of poisons and dangerous drugs set out in the First and Third Schedules」, and section 80(3) then provides that 「No regulation so made shall have effect unless it has been approved by Parliament and notification of such approval has been published in the Gazette」. So the delegation is real but it is locked to an affirmative vote, and in practice the 2022 changes were made by primary legislation rather than by regulation. The Act was last amended by the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026. The Third Schedule was last amended by section 6 of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022 and published as a supplement to Part II of the Gazette of 25 November 2022, which substituted Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III. Act No. 7 of 2026 does not touch the Third Schedule.
Consequences if caught: Capital exposure: none. No drug offence reaches it. Amyl nitrite has a historical medical use and any product presented for human use needs registration under the National Medicines Regulatory Authority Act, No. 5 of 2015, so an unregistered import is a medicines offence rather than a drugs offence. Neither reaches this substance, and not because the penalty is low but because no dangerous drug offence in this Ordinance engages at all. Section 48 makes a substance a dangerous drug only if it is specified in Groups A to E of Part I of the Third Schedule, and this substance is in none of them. Section 54A(1)(a) names four drugs for the manufacture limb and Part III Column II names five substances for the quantity limbs; this is neither, so no capital or life sentence is available for it on any facts. Saying that much does not dispose of the whole Ordinance, and the corpus this cell replaces never reached the rest of it. Chapter II runs a separate poisons regime over the First Schedule, whose Parts I to V were read in full for this cell, and this substance is named nowhere in them, so sections 5, 17, 18 and 19 create no offence for it either. The instrument that does govern it is named in the status above.
If prescribed / medical: No amyl nitrite product holds a Sri Lankan registration, so there is no prescribing route in practice.
Documentation: A bottle bought abroad is an unregistered medicine on arrival rather than a dangerous drug.

Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218), as last amended by Act No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026 · absence was established by reading Groups A, B, C, D and E of Part I in full, Group B from Act No. 41 of 2022 and Groups A, C, D and E from a private consolidation to 2024, and by reading Parts I to V of the First Schedule and all four Parts of the Second Schedule in that same consolidation · the finding is that the substance is absent from Groups A, B, C, D and E of the Third Schedule · Third Schedule Groups A to E searched for the alkyl nitrites and returning nothing, and National Medicines Regulatory Authority Act, No. 5 of 2015. Principal Ordinance read from the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board's own copy. Read 2026-09-17 · nddcb.gov.lk · nddcb.gov.lk · parliament.lk · Updated September 21, 2026

Amyl Nitrite in Sri Lanka, full detail →

Ayahuasca

Legal status: Dangerous drug under Sri Lanka's Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218): Third Schedule, Part I, Group B, Section 3, clause 15(d) 「Chacruna (Psychiotria viridis)」 and clause 15(e) 「Mimosa hostilis (Mimosa tenuiflora)」, with DMT separately at Section 2 item 5. The brew has no entry of its own and is reached through both halves. The two common DMT bearing plants are named in the clause 15 list. Banisteriopsis caapi, the vine that supplies the harmala alkaloids, is not named, and harmine and harmaline are not named either. The model: the list is inside the Ordinance and the power to change it is delegated, with a parliamentary lock on the delegation. Section 48 provides that 「the drugs, substances, articles or preparations, specified for the time being in Groups A, B, C, D and E in Part I of the Third Schedule, shall be deemed to be dangerous drugs」. Section 2(1) then provides that 「regulation」 means a regulation made under this Ordinance and published in the Gazette, 「and includes the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Schedules」, so the Third Schedule is itself a regulation. The empowering section is section 80. Section 80(2)(b) lets the Minister make regulations 「for adding any item to or deleting any item from, or altering, varying or amending in any other way, any of the lists or Groups of poisons and dangerous drugs set out in the First and Third Schedules」, and section 80(3) then provides that 「No regulation so made shall have effect unless it has been approved by Parliament and notification of such approval has been published in the Gazette」. So the delegation is real but it is locked to an affirmative vote, and in practice the 2022 changes were made by primary legislation rather than by regulation. The Act was last amended by the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026. The Third Schedule was last amended by section 6 of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022 and published as a supplement to Part II of the Gazette of 25 November 2022, which substituted Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III. Act No. 7 of 2026 does not touch the Third Schedule.
Consequences if caught: Capital exposure: none. Section 54A(1) has four limbs and they do not carry the same exposure. Limb (a) punishes any person who 「manufactures any of the following dangerous drugs, namely heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 with 「a sentence of death or life imprisonment」, with no quantity stated. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) punish trafficking, importing or exporting, and possession, of 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule in excess of the amount set out in the said Column II」, with the penalty in Column III. Part III Column II is headed 「Pure Quantities」, and Column I is headed 「Traffics, possess, imports or exports」, so possession is inside the same ladder as trafficking. Section 54B extends the same punishment to abetting, attempting and acts preparatory to or in furtherance of a section 54A offence. Since Act No. 7 of 2026 a parallel section 54AA applies the same two structures on the high seas, aboard a ship registered in Sri Lanka or a stateless ship. For a dangerous drug that is not in Part III, section 54A never engages, because limbs (b), (c) and (d) operate only on a drug 「set out in Column II of Part III」. The charge is the general penalty in section 78(5): on summary conviction by a Magistrate a fine of one thousand to ten thousand rupees or up to five years or both, and on conviction before the High Court a fine of ten thousand to twenty five thousand rupees or six months to seven years or both. Section 78(6) requires the written consent of the Attorney-General before non-summary proceedings. So the DMT side is doubly covered, by the named plants and by the Section 2 DMT entry, and the vine side is not covered at all unless the clause 15 residual is argued. Sri Lanka recognises no religious or ceremonial exemption in the Ordinance. Neither reaches this substance, at any quantity, and the reason is structural rather than a matter of degree. The death and life penalties in this Ordinance live in exactly two places. Section 54A(1)(a) attaches them to the manufacture of 「heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 and names no other drug. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) attach the Column III penalties to 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule」, and Column II names only opium, 「Morphine, Cocaine, Heroin and Methamphetamine」, and cannabis. This substance is in none of those, so section 54A cannot engage however much of it is involved, and section 54AA cannot either, because it is built on the same two structures. Being a dangerous drug under section 48 is not the same thing as being in Part III, and the corpus this cell replaces repeatedly ran the two together.
If prescribed / medical: Neither component has a licensed medicine and there is no prescribing route.
Documentation: No personal import route for the plant material that is named.

Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218), as last amended by Act No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026 · Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III were substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022, and the entry relied on is read from that Act · the entry relied on is Third Schedule, Part I, Group B, Section 3, clause 15(d) 「Chacruna (Psychiotria viridis)」 and clause 15(e) 「Mimosa hostilis (Mimosa tenuiflora)」, with DMT separately at Section 2 item 5 · Third Schedule Part I Group B as substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, with sections 48, 54A and 78. Principal Ordinance read from the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board's own copy. Read 2026-09-17 · nddcb.gov.lk · nddcb.gov.lk · parliament.lk · Updated September 21, 2026

Ayahuasca in Sri Lanka, full detail →

Barbiturates

Legal status: Dangerous drug under Sri Lanka's Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218): Group B Section 2, eleven named barbiturates including 「Amobarbital」 at item 89 and 「Butalbital」 at item 90. The class is enumerated compound by compound. Amobarbital, butalbital, secobarbital, pentobarbital and phenobarbital among others each have their own entry, and there is no clause anywhere in the schedule that controls barbiturates as a class. The model: the list is inside the Ordinance and the power to change it is delegated, with a parliamentary lock on the delegation. Section 48 provides that 「the drugs, substances, articles or preparations, specified for the time being in Groups A, B, C, D and E in Part I of the Third Schedule, shall be deemed to be dangerous drugs」. Section 2(1) then provides that 「regulation」 means a regulation made under this Ordinance and published in the Gazette, 「and includes the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Schedules」, so the Third Schedule is itself a regulation. The empowering section is section 80. Section 80(2)(b) lets the Minister make regulations 「for adding any item to or deleting any item from, or altering, varying or amending in any other way, any of the lists or Groups of poisons and dangerous drugs set out in the First and Third Schedules」, and section 80(3) then provides that 「No regulation so made shall have effect unless it has been approved by Parliament and notification of such approval has been published in the Gazette」. So the delegation is real but it is locked to an affirmative vote, and in practice the 2022 changes were made by primary legislation rather than by regulation. The Act was last amended by the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026. The Third Schedule was last amended by section 6 of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022 and published as a supplement to Part II of the Gazette of 25 November 2022, which substituted Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III. Act No. 7 of 2026 does not touch the Third Schedule.
Consequences if caught: Capital exposure: none. Section 54A(1) has four limbs and they do not carry the same exposure. Limb (a) punishes any person who 「manufactures any of the following dangerous drugs, namely heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 with 「a sentence of death or life imprisonment」, with no quantity stated. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) punish trafficking, importing or exporting, and possession, of 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule in excess of the amount set out in the said Column II」, with the penalty in Column III. Part III Column II is headed 「Pure Quantities」, and Column I is headed 「Traffics, possess, imports or exports」, so possession is inside the same ladder as trafficking. Section 54B extends the same punishment to abetting, attempting and acts preparatory to or in furtherance of a section 54A offence. Since Act No. 7 of 2026 a parallel section 54AA applies the same two structures on the high seas, aboard a ship registered in Sri Lanka or a stateless ship. For a dangerous drug that is not in Part III, section 54A never engages, because limbs (b), (c) and (d) operate only on a drug 「set out in Column II of Part III」. The charge is the general penalty in section 78(5): on summary conviction by a Magistrate a fine of one thousand to ten thousand rupees or up to five years or both, and on conviction before the High Court a fine of ten thousand to twenty five thousand rupees or six months to seven years or both. Section 78(6) requires the written consent of the Attorney-General before non-summary proceedings. So no single sentence about barbiturates is true of all of them. A barbiturate not on the list is reached only through the analogue and resemblance clauses, which is a weaker answer than a named entry. Barbiturates are also the one substance in this set that sits in two Schedules of this Ordinance at once. 「Barbituric Acid; its salts; derivatives of barbituric acid; their salts; compounds of barbituric acid」 is in Part III of the First Schedule, the list of poisons sellable by retail only on a prescription under section 18, so Chapter II bites on retail supply in parallel with the dangerous drug regime in Chapter III. Neither reaches this substance, at any quantity, and the reason is structural rather than a matter of degree. The death and life penalties in this Ordinance live in exactly two places. Section 54A(1)(a) attaches them to the manufacture of 「heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 and names no other drug. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) attach the Column III penalties to 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule」, and Column II names only opium, 「Morphine, Cocaine, Heroin and Methamphetamine」, and cannabis. This substance is in none of those, so section 54A cannot engage however much of it is involved, and section 54AA cannot either, because it is built on the same two structures. Being a dangerous drug under section 48 is not the same thing as being in Part III, and the corpus this cell replaces repeatedly ran the two together.
If prescribed / medical: Phenobarbital is a registered antiepileptic and a World Health Organization essential medicine, dispensed on prescription while also being a dangerous drug.
Documentation: Carry a prescribed barbiturate in its dispensed packaging with the prescription.

Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218), as last amended by Act No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026 · Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III were substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022, and the entry relied on is read from that Act · the entry relied on is Group B Section 2, eleven named barbiturates including 「Amobarbital」 at item 89 and 「Butalbital」 at item 90 · Third Schedule Part I Group B as substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, with sections 48, 54A and 78. Principal Ordinance read from the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board's own copy. Read 2026-09-17 · nddcb.gov.lk · nddcb.gov.lk · parliament.lk · Updated September 21, 2026

Barbiturates in Sri Lanka, full detail →

Benzodiazepines

Legal status: Dangerous drug under Sri Lanka's Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218): Group B Section 2, which names the benzodiazepines individually and nowhere controls them as a class. Alprazolam, diazepam, lorazepam, clonazepam, nitrazepam, flunitrazepam, nimetazepam, midazolam, chlordiazepoxide, lormetazepam, tetrazepam and others each appear as their own numbered entry. Etizolam, a thienodiazepine, is listed among them. The model: the list is inside the Ordinance and the power to change it is delegated, with a parliamentary lock on the delegation. Section 48 provides that 「the drugs, substances, articles or preparations, specified for the time being in Groups A, B, C, D and E in Part I of the Third Schedule, shall be deemed to be dangerous drugs」. Section 2(1) then provides that 「regulation」 means a regulation made under this Ordinance and published in the Gazette, 「and includes the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Schedules」, so the Third Schedule is itself a regulation. The empowering section is section 80. Section 80(2)(b) lets the Minister make regulations 「for adding any item to or deleting any item from, or altering, varying or amending in any other way, any of the lists or Groups of poisons and dangerous drugs set out in the First and Third Schedules」, and section 80(3) then provides that 「No regulation so made shall have effect unless it has been approved by Parliament and notification of such approval has been published in the Gazette」. So the delegation is real but it is locked to an affirmative vote, and in practice the 2022 changes were made by primary legislation rather than by regulation. The Act was last amended by the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026. The Third Schedule was last amended by section 6 of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022 and published as a supplement to Part II of the Gazette of 25 November 2022, which substituted Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III. Act No. 7 of 2026 does not touch the Third Schedule.
Consequences if caught: Capital exposure: none. Section 54A(1) has four limbs and they do not carry the same exposure. Limb (a) punishes any person who 「manufactures any of the following dangerous drugs, namely heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 with 「a sentence of death or life imprisonment」, with no quantity stated. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) punish trafficking, importing or exporting, and possession, of 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule in excess of the amount set out in the said Column II」, with the penalty in Column III. Part III Column II is headed 「Pure Quantities」, and Column I is headed 「Traffics, possess, imports or exports」, so possession is inside the same ladder as trafficking. Section 54B extends the same punishment to abetting, attempting and acts preparatory to or in furtherance of a section 54A offence. Since Act No. 7 of 2026 a parallel section 54AA applies the same two structures on the high seas, aboard a ship registered in Sri Lanka or a stateless ship. For a dangerous drug that is not in Part III, section 54A never engages, because limbs (b), (c) and (d) operate only on a drug 「set out in Column II of Part III」. The charge is the general penalty in section 78(5): on summary conviction by a Magistrate a fine of one thousand to ten thousand rupees or up to five years or both, and on conviction before the High Court a fine of ten thousand to twenty five thousand rupees or six months to seven years or both. Section 78(6) requires the written consent of the Attorney-General before non-summary proceedings. The absence of a class clause is the operative fact. A designer benzodiazepine that is not named is reached only through Section 2 clause 4 or clause 5, both of which carry the rider 「which typically exhibiting high abuse potential」, so the answer for an unlisted member is a court's assessment rather than a reading of the list. Neither reaches this substance, at any quantity, and the reason is structural rather than a matter of degree. The death and life penalties in this Ordinance live in exactly two places. Section 54A(1)(a) attaches them to the manufacture of 「heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 and names no other drug. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) attach the Column III penalties to 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule」, and Column II names only opium, 「Morphine, Cocaine, Heroin and Methamphetamine」, and cannabis. This substance is in none of those, so section 54A cannot engage however much of it is involved, and section 54AA cannot either, because it is built on the same two structures. Being a dangerous drug under section 48 is not the same thing as being in Part III, and the corpus this cell replaces repeatedly ran the two together.
If prescribed / medical: Most named benzodiazepines are registered prescription medicines under the National Medicines Regulatory Authority Act, No. 5 of 2015. Several, including nimetazepam, hold no registration.
Documentation: Carry a prescribed benzodiazepine in its dispensed packaging with the prescription. Which benzodiazepine it is decides whether it is a named entry.

Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218), as last amended by Act No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026 · Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III were substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022, and the entry relied on is read from that Act · the entry relied on is Group B Section 2, which names the benzodiazepines individually and nowhere controls them as a class · Third Schedule Part I Group B as substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, with sections 48, 54A and 78. Principal Ordinance read from the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board's own copy. Read 2026-09-17 · nddcb.gov.lk · nddcb.gov.lk · parliament.lk · Updated September 21, 2026

Benzodiazepines in Sri Lanka, full detail →

Buprenorphine

Legal status: Dangerous drug under Sri Lanka's Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218): Group B Section 2, 「Buprenorphine」. Buprenorphine is named in Section 2, not Section 1, which puts it in a different Section from methadone. Both are dangerous drugs under section 48 and neither is in Part III. The model: the list is inside the Ordinance and the power to change it is delegated, with a parliamentary lock on the delegation. Section 48 provides that 「the drugs, substances, articles or preparations, specified for the time being in Groups A, B, C, D and E in Part I of the Third Schedule, shall be deemed to be dangerous drugs」. Section 2(1) then provides that 「regulation」 means a regulation made under this Ordinance and published in the Gazette, 「and includes the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Schedules」, so the Third Schedule is itself a regulation. The empowering section is section 80. Section 80(2)(b) lets the Minister make regulations 「for adding any item to or deleting any item from, or altering, varying or amending in any other way, any of the lists or Groups of poisons and dangerous drugs set out in the First and Third Schedules」, and section 80(3) then provides that 「No regulation so made shall have effect unless it has been approved by Parliament and notification of such approval has been published in the Gazette」. So the delegation is real but it is locked to an affirmative vote, and in practice the 2022 changes were made by primary legislation rather than by regulation. The Act was last amended by the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026. The Third Schedule was last amended by section 6 of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022 and published as a supplement to Part II of the Gazette of 25 November 2022, which substituted Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III. Act No. 7 of 2026 does not touch the Third Schedule.
Consequences if caught: Capital exposure: none. Section 54A(1) has four limbs and they do not carry the same exposure. Limb (a) punishes any person who 「manufactures any of the following dangerous drugs, namely heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 with 「a sentence of death or life imprisonment」, with no quantity stated. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) punish trafficking, importing or exporting, and possession, of 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule in excess of the amount set out in the said Column II」, with the penalty in Column III. Part III Column II is headed 「Pure Quantities」, and Column I is headed 「Traffics, possess, imports or exports」, so possession is inside the same ladder as trafficking. Section 54B extends the same punishment to abetting, attempting and acts preparatory to or in furtherance of a section 54A offence. Since Act No. 7 of 2026 a parallel section 54AA applies the same two structures on the high seas, aboard a ship registered in Sri Lanka or a stateless ship. For a dangerous drug that is not in Part III, section 54A never engages, because limbs (b), (c) and (d) operate only on a drug 「set out in Column II of Part III」. The charge is the general penalty in section 78(5): on summary conviction by a Magistrate a fine of one thousand to ten thousand rupees or up to five years or both, and on conviction before the High Court a fine of ten thousand to twenty five thousand rupees or six months to seven years or both. Section 78(6) requires the written consent of the Attorney-General before non-summary proceedings. Because Group B is flat and neither drug is in Part III, the difference of Section carries no difference of penalty. Both fall to the general penalty in section 78. Neither reaches this substance, at any quantity, and the reason is structural rather than a matter of degree. The death and life penalties in this Ordinance live in exactly two places. Section 54A(1)(a) attaches them to the manufacture of 「heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 and names no other drug. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) attach the Column III penalties to 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule」, and Column II names only opium, 「Morphine, Cocaine, Heroin and Methamphetamine」, and cannabis. This substance is in none of those, so section 54A cannot engage however much of it is involved, and section 54AA cannot either, because it is built on the same two structures. Being a dangerous drug under section 48 is not the same thing as being in Part III, and the corpus this cell replaces repeatedly ran the two together.
If prescribed / medical: Buprenorphine is dispensed for opioid substitution and for pain through licensed medical channels.
Documentation: Carry a prescribed buprenorphine supply in its dispensed packaging with the prescription. Supply is programme based rather than retail.

Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218), as last amended by Act No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026 · Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III were substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022, and the entry relied on is read from that Act · the entry relied on is Group B Section 2, 「Buprenorphine」 · Third Schedule Part I Group B as substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, with sections 48, 54A and 78. Principal Ordinance read from the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board's own copy. Read 2026-09-17 · nddcb.gov.lk · nddcb.gov.lk · parliament.lk · Updated September 21, 2026

Buprenorphine in Sri Lanka, full detail →

Caffeine

Legal status: Not a dangerous drug under Sri Lanka's Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218): absent from Groups A, B, C, D and E of the Third Schedule. Caffeine is not in any Group of the Third Schedule, is not a dangerous drug, and is not a scheduled poison for these purposes. It is a food and medicine ingredient. The model: the list is inside the Ordinance and the power to change it is delegated, with a parliamentary lock on the delegation. Section 48 provides that 「the drugs, substances, articles or preparations, specified for the time being in Groups A, B, C, D and E in Part I of the Third Schedule, shall be deemed to be dangerous drugs」. Section 2(1) then provides that 「regulation」 means a regulation made under this Ordinance and published in the Gazette, 「and includes the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Schedules」, so the Third Schedule is itself a regulation. The empowering section is section 80. Section 80(2)(b) lets the Minister make regulations 「for adding any item to or deleting any item from, or altering, varying or amending in any other way, any of the lists or Groups of poisons and dangerous drugs set out in the First and Third Schedules」, and section 80(3) then provides that 「No regulation so made shall have effect unless it has been approved by Parliament and notification of such approval has been published in the Gazette」. So the delegation is real but it is locked to an affirmative vote, and in practice the 2022 changes were made by primary legislation rather than by regulation. The Act was last amended by the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026. The Third Schedule was last amended by section 6 of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022 and published as a supplement to Part II of the Gazette of 25 November 2022, which substituted Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III. Act No. 7 of 2026 does not touch the Third Schedule.
Consequences if caught: Capital exposure: none. There is no criminal exposure for caffeine under the Ordinance in any form or quantity. Caffeine in a finished medicine is regulated through product registration under the National Medicines Regulatory Authority Act, No. 5 of 2015. Neither reaches this substance, and not because the penalty is low but because no dangerous drug offence in this Ordinance engages at all. Section 48 makes a substance a dangerous drug only if it is specified in Groups A to E of Part I of the Third Schedule, and this substance is in none of them. Section 54A(1)(a) names four drugs for the manufacture limb and Part III Column II names five substances for the quantity limbs; this is neither, so no capital or life sentence is available for it on any facts. Saying that much does not dispose of the whole Ordinance, and the corpus this cell replaces never reached the rest of it. Chapter II runs a separate poisons regime over the First Schedule, whose Parts I to V were read in full for this cell, and this substance is named nowhere in them. One residual is recorded here rather than resolved. Part I carries an entry whose surviving text reads 「Schedule, and their salts, and all poisonous derivatives of vegetable alkaloids and glucosides」, and the opening words of that entry, which are the words that say what class it covers, are absent from the text layer of the only copy of the First Schedule reached, a clipped scan, so the class cannot be read. Caffeine is a vegetable alkaloid and that entry may reach it. Chapter II is a sale and dispensing regime under sections 5, 17, 18 and 19 and carries no capital or life exposure, so the answer above is unchanged whichever way the missing words read. The instrument that does govern it is named in the status above.
If prescribed / medical: Caffeine appears as an active ingredient in registered analgesic combinations.
Documentation: No permit, prescription or declaration is needed for caffeine in any quantity a traveller would carry.

Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218), as last amended by Act No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026 · absence was established by reading Groups A, B, C, D and E of Part I in full, Group B from Act No. 41 of 2022 and Groups A, C, D and E from a private consolidation to 2024, and by reading Parts I to V of the First Schedule and all four Parts of the Second Schedule in that same consolidation · the finding is that the substance is absent from Groups A, B, C, D and E of the Third Schedule · Third Schedule Groups A to E searched for caffeine and the xanthines and returning nothing, and National Medicines Regulatory Authority Act, No. 5 of 2015. Principal Ordinance read from the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board's own copy. Read 2026-09-17 · nddcb.gov.lk · nddcb.gov.lk · parliament.lk · Updated September 21, 2026

Caffeine in Sri Lanka, full detail →

Cannabinol

Legal status: Dangerous drug under Sri Lanka's Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218): Group B Section 2 item 1, 「Cannabinol and cannabinol derivatives (CBN) 6,6,9-Trimethyl-3-pentyl-benzo[c]chromen-1-ol」. Cannabinol is the first entry in Section 2 and the entry covers 「cannabinol derivatives」 as well as cannabinol itself, which is a generic limb built into the entry. The model: the list is inside the Ordinance and the power to change it is delegated, with a parliamentary lock on the delegation. Section 48 provides that 「the drugs, substances, articles or preparations, specified for the time being in Groups A, B, C, D and E in Part I of the Third Schedule, shall be deemed to be dangerous drugs」. Section 2(1) then provides that 「regulation」 means a regulation made under this Ordinance and published in the Gazette, 「and includes the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Schedules」, so the Third Schedule is itself a regulation. The empowering section is section 80. Section 80(2)(b) lets the Minister make regulations 「for adding any item to or deleting any item from, or altering, varying or amending in any other way, any of the lists or Groups of poisons and dangerous drugs set out in the First and Third Schedules」, and section 80(3) then provides that 「No regulation so made shall have effect unless it has been approved by Parliament and notification of such approval has been published in the Gazette」. So the delegation is real but it is locked to an affirmative vote, and in practice the 2022 changes were made by primary legislation rather than by regulation. The Act was last amended by the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026. The Third Schedule was last amended by section 6 of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022 and published as a supplement to Part II of the Gazette of 25 November 2022, which substituted Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III. Act No. 7 of 2026 does not touch the Third Schedule.
Consequences if caught: Capital exposure: none. Section 54A(1) has four limbs and they do not carry the same exposure. Limb (a) punishes any person who 「manufactures any of the following dangerous drugs, namely heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 with 「a sentence of death or life imprisonment」, with no quantity stated. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) punish trafficking, importing or exporting, and possession, of 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule in excess of the amount set out in the said Column II」, with the penalty in Column III. Part III Column II is headed 「Pure Quantities」, and Column I is headed 「Traffics, possess, imports or exports」, so possession is inside the same ladder as trafficking. Section 54B extends the same punishment to abetting, attempting and acts preparatory to or in furtherance of a section 54A offence. Since Act No. 7 of 2026 a parallel section 54AA applies the same two structures on the high seas, aboard a ship registered in Sri Lanka or a stateless ship. For a dangerous drug that is not in Part III, section 54A never engages, because limbs (b), (c) and (d) operate only on a drug 「set out in Column II of Part III」. The charge is the general penalty in section 78(5): on summary conviction by a Magistrate a fine of one thousand to ten thousand rupees or up to five years or both, and on conviction before the High Court a fine of ten thousand to twenty five thousand rupees or six months to seven years or both. Section 78(6) requires the written consent of the Attorney-General before non-summary proceedings. Tetrahydrocannabinol is a separate entry at item 33 with its own list of six named isomers, and dronabinol is separate again at item 46, so the cannabinoids are enumerated rather than gathered under one heading. Neither reaches this substance, at any quantity, and the reason is structural rather than a matter of degree. The death and life penalties in this Ordinance live in exactly two places. Section 54A(1)(a) attaches them to the manufacture of 「heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 and names no other drug. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) attach the Column III penalties to 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule」, and Column II names only opium, 「Morphine, Cocaine, Heroin and Methamphetamine」, and cannabis. This substance is in none of those, so section 54A cannot engage however much of it is involved, and section 54AA cannot either, because it is built on the same two structures. Being a dangerous drug under section 48 is not the same thing as being in Part III, and the corpus this cell replaces repeatedly ran the two together.
If prescribed / medical: Cannabinol has no licensed medicine and no prescribing route in Sri Lanka.
Documentation: No personal import route. Hemp derived products carrying cannabinol are within the entry.

Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218), as last amended by Act No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026 · Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III were substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022, and the entry relied on is read from that Act · the entry relied on is Group B Section 2 item 1, 「Cannabinol and cannabinol derivatives (CBN) 6,6,9-Trimethyl-3-pentyl-benzo[c]chromen-1-ol」 · Third Schedule Part I Group B as substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, with sections 48, 54A and 78. Principal Ordinance read from the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board's own copy. Read 2026-09-17 · nddcb.gov.lk · nddcb.gov.lk · parliament.lk · Updated September 21, 2026

Cannabinol in Sri Lanka, full detail →

Cannabis / THC

Legal status: Dangerous drug under Sri Lanka's Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218): Third Schedule, Part I, Group B, Section 1, item 26, 「Cannabis the flowering or fruiting tops of the cannabis plant (resin not extracted)」, with item 27 「Cannabis Resin, Extracts and Tinctures」. The entry is confined to the flowering or fruiting tops with the resin not extracted, so stalk and seed are outside it, and the separated resin, extracts and tinctures are caught by item 27 instead. The model: the list is inside the Ordinance and the power to change it is delegated, with a parliamentary lock on the delegation. Section 48 provides that 「the drugs, substances, articles or preparations, specified for the time being in Groups A, B, C, D and E in Part I of the Third Schedule, shall be deemed to be dangerous drugs」. Section 2(1) then provides that 「regulation」 means a regulation made under this Ordinance and published in the Gazette, 「and includes the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Schedules」, so the Third Schedule is itself a regulation. The empowering section is section 80. Section 80(2)(b) lets the Minister make regulations 「for adding any item to or deleting any item from, or altering, varying or amending in any other way, any of the lists or Groups of poisons and dangerous drugs set out in the First and Third Schedules」, and section 80(3) then provides that 「No regulation so made shall have effect unless it has been approved by Parliament and notification of such approval has been published in the Gazette」. So the delegation is real but it is locked to an affirmative vote, and in practice the 2022 changes were made by primary legislation rather than by regulation. The Act was last amended by the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026. The Third Schedule was last amended by section 6 of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022 and published as a supplement to Part II of the Gazette of 25 November 2022, which substituted Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III. Act No. 7 of 2026 does not touch the Third Schedule.
Consequences if caught: Capital exposure: none. [Certain] Re-derived in this pass: section 54A was read at nddcb.gov.lk on 21 September 2026. 54A(a) names only «heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium», and cannabis is not among them. [Likely] Carried from the published entry and not re-derived: cannabis has its own ladder in Part III of the Third Schedule whose top band is 100 kilogrammes or above and carries a fine, so the ladder stops short of a capital tier. Section 54A(1) has four limbs and they do not carry the same exposure. Limb (a) punishes any person who 「manufactures any of the following dangerous drugs, namely heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 with 「a sentence of death or life imprisonment」, with no quantity stated. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) punish trafficking, importing or exporting, and possession, of 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule in excess of the amount set out in the said Column II」, with the penalty in Column III. Part III Column II is headed 「Pure Quantities」, and Column I is headed 「Traffics, possess, imports or exports」, so possession is inside the same ladder as trafficking. Section 54B extends the same punishment to abetting, attempting and acts preparatory to or in furtherance of a section 54A offence. Since Act No. 7 of 2026 a parallel section 54AA applies the same two structures on the high seas, aboard a ship registered in Sri Lanka or a stateless ship. Part III, as substituted in 2022, sets only two capital bands. Opium at 1 kilogramme or above is 「Death or life imprisonment」, and 「Morphine, Cocaine, Heroin and Methamphetamine」 at 5 grammes or above is 「Death or life imprisonment」. Cannabis has a ladder in Part III whose top band is 100 kilogrammes or above and carries ten to fifteen years, with no capital band at all. No other substance appears in Column II anywhere. Cannabis is the one substance in Part III with a quantity ladder and no capital band at the top of it. Sri Lanka also runs a licensed Ayurvedic route: cannabis is used in registered Ayurvedic preparations under licence, which is a carve out no other Part III substance has. Neither reaches cannabis, and this is the one substance where that statement rests on Part III itself rather than on absence from it. Cannabis has its own ladder in Part III and the ladder stops short: the top band is 「100 kilogrammes or above」 and carries a fine of two hundred thousand to five hundred thousand rupees and ten to fifteen years, then 5 to less than 100 kilogrammes at five to ten years, 1 to less than 5 kilogrammes at two to five years, and under 1 kilogramme at one to two years. There is no death band and no life band anywhere on it. Cannabis is also outside section 54A(1)(a), which names only heroin, cocaine, morphine and opium, so no quantity and no conduct reaches a capital sentence for cannabis under this Ordinance. What a hundred kilogrammes does reach is fifteen years.
If prescribed / medical: Cannabis is supplied for licensed Ayurvedic preparation. There is no Western medical cannabis programme and no licensed cannabis medicine.
Documentation: The Ayurvedic route is institutional and licensed. It is not a traveller route, and it does not extend to an isolated cannabinoid.

Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218), as last amended by Act No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026 · Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III were substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022, and the entry relied on is read from that Act · the entry relied on is Third Schedule, Part I, Group B, Section 1, item 26, 「Cannabis the flowering or fruiting tops of the cannabis plant (resin not extracted)」, with item 27 「Cannabis Resin, Extracts and Tinctures」 · Group B Section 1 items 26 and 27, and the Part III cannabis ladder. Principal Ordinance read from the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board's own copy. Read 2026-09-17 · nddcb.gov.lk · nddcb.gov.lk · parliament.lk · Updated September 21, 2026

Cannabis / THC in Sri Lanka, full detail →

Cathinone

Legal status: Dangerous drug under Sri Lanka's Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218): Group B Section 2 item 2, 「Cathinone (-)-(S)-2-aminopropiophenone」. Cathinone is the parent the whole synthetic cathinone family is defined from. Cathine, its milder relative, is named separately at item 93 as 「(+)-Norpseudoephedrine (including Cathine)」. The model: the list is inside the Ordinance and the power to change it is delegated, with a parliamentary lock on the delegation. Section 48 provides that 「the drugs, substances, articles or preparations, specified for the time being in Groups A, B, C, D and E in Part I of the Third Schedule, shall be deemed to be dangerous drugs」. Section 2(1) then provides that 「regulation」 means a regulation made under this Ordinance and published in the Gazette, 「and includes the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Schedules」, so the Third Schedule is itself a regulation. The empowering section is section 80. Section 80(2)(b) lets the Minister make regulations 「for adding any item to or deleting any item from, or altering, varying or amending in any other way, any of the lists or Groups of poisons and dangerous drugs set out in the First and Third Schedules」, and section 80(3) then provides that 「No regulation so made shall have effect unless it has been approved by Parliament and notification of such approval has been published in the Gazette」. So the delegation is real but it is locked to an affirmative vote, and in practice the 2022 changes were made by primary legislation rather than by regulation. The Act was last amended by the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026. The Third Schedule was last amended by section 6 of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022 and published as a supplement to Part II of the Gazette of 25 November 2022, which substituted Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III. Act No. 7 of 2026 does not touch the Third Schedule.
Consequences if caught: Capital exposure: none. Section 54A(1) has four limbs and they do not carry the same exposure. Limb (a) punishes any person who 「manufactures any of the following dangerous drugs, namely heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 with 「a sentence of death or life imprisonment」, with no quantity stated. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) punish trafficking, importing or exporting, and possession, of 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule in excess of the amount set out in the said Column II」, with the penalty in Column III. Part III Column II is headed 「Pure Quantities」, and Column I is headed 「Traffics, possess, imports or exports」, so possession is inside the same ladder as trafficking. Section 54B extends the same punishment to abetting, attempting and acts preparatory to or in furtherance of a section 54A offence. Since Act No. 7 of 2026 a parallel section 54AA applies the same two structures on the high seas, aboard a ship registered in Sri Lanka or a stateless ship. For a dangerous drug that is not in Part III, section 54A never engages, because limbs (b), (c) and (d) operate only on a drug 「set out in Column II of Part III」. The charge is the general penalty in section 78(5): on summary conviction by a Magistrate a fine of one thousand to ten thousand rupees or up to five years or both, and on conviction before the High Court a fine of ten thousand to twenty five thousand rupees or six months to seven years or both. Section 78(6) requires the written consent of the Attorney-General before non-summary proceedings. Section 3 clause 7 defines the family by derivation from 2-amino-1-phenylpropan-1-one, and clause 10 repeats the definition with an enumerated substituent list while excluding bupropion, cathinone itself, diethylpropion and pyrovalerone. Neither reaches this substance, at any quantity, and the reason is structural rather than a matter of degree. The death and life penalties in this Ordinance live in exactly two places. Section 54A(1)(a) attaches them to the manufacture of 「heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 and names no other drug. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) attach the Column III penalties to 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule」, and Column II names only opium, 「Morphine, Cocaine, Heroin and Methamphetamine」, and cannabis. This substance is in none of those, so section 54A cannot engage however much of it is involved, and section 54AA cannot either, because it is built on the same two structures. Being a dangerous drug under section 48 is not the same thing as being in Part III, and the corpus this cell replaces repeatedly ran the two together.
If prescribed / medical: Cathinone has no accepted medical use and no prescribing route for the isolated alkaloid.
Documentation: No personal import route. The alkaloid is reached in isolation and the plant that contains it is reached separately.

Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218), as last amended by Act No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026 · Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III were substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022, and the entry relied on is read from that Act · the entry relied on is Group B Section 2 item 2, 「Cathinone (-)-(S)-2-aminopropiophenone」 · Third Schedule Part I Group B as substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, with sections 48, 54A and 78. Principal Ordinance read from the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board's own copy. Read 2026-09-17 · nddcb.gov.lk · nddcb.gov.lk · parliament.lk · Updated September 21, 2026

Cathinone in Sri Lanka, full detail →

CBD

Legal status: Dangerous drug under Sri Lanka's Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218): Third Schedule, Part I, Group B, Section 1 item 27, 「Cannabis Resin, Extracts and Tinctures the separated resin, crude or purified, obtained from the cannabis plant」. Cannabidiol is not named anywhere in the Third Schedule. It is reached because a cannabidiol preparation made from cannabis is an extract obtained from the cannabis plant, and item 27 reaches extracts whether crude or purified. The model: the list is inside the Ordinance and the power to change it is delegated, with a parliamentary lock on the delegation. Section 48 provides that 「the drugs, substances, articles or preparations, specified for the time being in Groups A, B, C, D and E in Part I of the Third Schedule, shall be deemed to be dangerous drugs」. Section 2(1) then provides that 「regulation」 means a regulation made under this Ordinance and published in the Gazette, 「and includes the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Schedules」, so the Third Schedule is itself a regulation. The empowering section is section 80. Section 80(2)(b) lets the Minister make regulations 「for adding any item to or deleting any item from, or altering, varying or amending in any other way, any of the lists or Groups of poisons and dangerous drugs set out in the First and Third Schedules」, and section 80(3) then provides that 「No regulation so made shall have effect unless it has been approved by Parliament and notification of such approval has been published in the Gazette」. So the delegation is real but it is locked to an affirmative vote, and in practice the 2022 changes were made by primary legislation rather than by regulation. The Act was last amended by the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026. The Third Schedule was last amended by section 6 of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022 and published as a supplement to Part II of the Gazette of 25 November 2022, which substituted Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III. Act No. 7 of 2026 does not touch the Third Schedule.
Consequences if caught: Capital exposure: none. Section 54A(1) has four limbs and they do not carry the same exposure. Limb (a) punishes any person who 「manufactures any of the following dangerous drugs, namely heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 with 「a sentence of death or life imprisonment」, with no quantity stated. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) punish trafficking, importing or exporting, and possession, of 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule in excess of the amount set out in the said Column II」, with the penalty in Column III. Part III Column II is headed 「Pure Quantities」, and Column I is headed 「Traffics, possess, imports or exports」, so possession is inside the same ladder as trafficking. Section 54B extends the same punishment to abetting, attempting and acts preparatory to or in furtherance of a section 54A offence. Since Act No. 7 of 2026 a parallel section 54AA applies the same two structures on the high seas, aboard a ship registered in Sri Lanka or a stateless ship. For a dangerous drug that is not in Part III, section 54A never engages, because limbs (b), (c) and (d) operate only on a drug 「set out in Column II of Part III」. The charge is the general penalty in section 78(5): on summary conviction by a Magistrate a fine of one thousand to ten thousand rupees or up to five years or both, and on conviction before the High Court a fine of ten thousand to twenty five thousand rupees or six months to seven years or both. Section 78(6) requires the written consent of the Attorney-General before non-summary proceedings. The route matters for what falls outside it. Item 26 covers only the flowering or fruiting tops with the resin not extracted, so stalk and seed are outside the plant entry, and an extract is caught by item 27 instead. Sri Lanka sets no percentage threshold for cannabidiol anywhere. Neither reaches this substance, at any quantity, and the reason is structural rather than a matter of degree. The death and life penalties in this Ordinance live in exactly two places. Section 54A(1)(a) attaches them to the manufacture of 「heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 and names no other drug. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) attach the Column III penalties to 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule」, and Column II names only opium, 「Morphine, Cocaine, Heroin and Methamphetamine」, and cannabis. This substance is in none of those, so section 54A cannot engage however much of it is involved, and section 54AA cannot either, because it is built on the same two structures. Being a dangerous drug under section 48 is not the same thing as being in Part III, and the corpus this cell replaces repeatedly ran the two together.
If prescribed / medical: No cannabidiol medicine holds a Sri Lankan registration. The licensed Ayurvedic route runs on cannabis preparations and not on isolated cannabinoids.
Documentation: A cannabidiol oil bought abroad is an extract of the cannabis plant on arrival. No certificate of analysis helps, because there is no threshold to be under.

Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218), as last amended by Act No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026 · Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III were substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022, and the entry relied on is read from that Act · the entry relied on is Third Schedule, Part I, Group B, Section 1 item 27, 「Cannabis Resin, Extracts and Tinctures the separated resin, crude or purified, obtained from the cannabis plant」 · Third Schedule Part I Group B as substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, with sections 48, 54A and 78. Principal Ordinance read from the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board's own copy. Read 2026-09-17 · nddcb.gov.lk · nddcb.gov.lk · parliament.lk · Updated September 21, 2026

CBD in Sri Lanka, full detail →

Clonazepam

Legal status: Dangerous drug under Sri Lanka's Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218): Group B Section 2, 「Clonazepam」. Clonazepam is named. Clonazolam and the other designer nitrobenzodiazepines are not individually named, and are reached, if at all, through Section 2 clause 5 or the resemblance clause, which is a different quality of answer from a named entry. The model: the list is inside the Ordinance and the power to change it is delegated, with a parliamentary lock on the delegation. Section 48 provides that 「the drugs, substances, articles or preparations, specified for the time being in Groups A, B, C, D and E in Part I of the Third Schedule, shall be deemed to be dangerous drugs」. Section 2(1) then provides that 「regulation」 means a regulation made under this Ordinance and published in the Gazette, 「and includes the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Schedules」, so the Third Schedule is itself a regulation. The empowering section is section 80. Section 80(2)(b) lets the Minister make regulations 「for adding any item to or deleting any item from, or altering, varying or amending in any other way, any of the lists or Groups of poisons and dangerous drugs set out in the First and Third Schedules」, and section 80(3) then provides that 「No regulation so made shall have effect unless it has been approved by Parliament and notification of such approval has been published in the Gazette」. So the delegation is real but it is locked to an affirmative vote, and in practice the 2022 changes were made by primary legislation rather than by regulation. The Act was last amended by the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026. The Third Schedule was last amended by section 6 of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022 and published as a supplement to Part II of the Gazette of 25 November 2022, which substituted Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III. Act No. 7 of 2026 does not touch the Third Schedule.
Consequences if caught: Capital exposure: none. Section 54A(1) has four limbs and they do not carry the same exposure. Limb (a) punishes any person who 「manufactures any of the following dangerous drugs, namely heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 with 「a sentence of death or life imprisonment」, with no quantity stated. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) punish trafficking, importing or exporting, and possession, of 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule in excess of the amount set out in the said Column II」, with the penalty in Column III. Part III Column II is headed 「Pure Quantities」, and Column I is headed 「Traffics, possess, imports or exports」, so possession is inside the same ladder as trafficking. Section 54B extends the same punishment to abetting, attempting and acts preparatory to or in furtherance of a section 54A offence. Since Act No. 7 of 2026 a parallel section 54AA applies the same two structures on the high seas, aboard a ship registered in Sri Lanka or a stateless ship. For a dangerous drug that is not in Part III, section 54A never engages, because limbs (b), (c) and (d) operate only on a drug 「set out in Column II of Part III」. The charge is the general penalty in section 78(5): on summary conviction by a Magistrate a fine of one thousand to ten thousand rupees or up to five years or both, and on conviction before the High Court a fine of ten thousand to twenty five thousand rupees or six months to seven years or both. Section 78(6) requires the written consent of the Attorney-General before non-summary proceedings. That difference matters: a named entry is a fact, and clause 4's 「substantially similar to the parent substances」 test is a court's assessment. Neither reaches this substance, at any quantity, and the reason is structural rather than a matter of degree. The death and life penalties in this Ordinance live in exactly two places. Section 54A(1)(a) attaches them to the manufacture of 「heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 and names no other drug. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) attach the Column III penalties to 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule」, and Column II names only opium, 「Morphine, Cocaine, Heroin and Methamphetamine」, and cannabis. This substance is in none of those, so section 54A cannot engage however much of it is involved, and section 54AA cannot either, because it is built on the same two structures. Being a dangerous drug under section 48 is not the same thing as being in Part III, and the corpus this cell replaces repeatedly ran the two together.
If prescribed / medical: Clonazepam is a registered prescription antiepileptic and anxiolytic and simultaneously a dangerous drug under the Ordinance.
Documentation: Carry a prescribed clonazepam supply in its dispensed packaging with the prescription. A named entry is what makes the position certain here.

Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218), as last amended by Act No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026 · Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III were substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022, and the entry relied on is read from that Act · the entry relied on is Group B Section 2, 「Clonazepam」 · Third Schedule Part I Group B as substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, with sections 48, 54A and 78. Principal Ordinance read from the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board's own copy. Read 2026-09-17 · nddcb.gov.lk · nddcb.gov.lk · parliament.lk · Updated September 21, 2026

Clonazepam in Sri Lanka, full detail →

Cocaine

Legal status: Dangerous drug under Sri Lanka's Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218): Third Schedule, Part I, Group B, Section 1, item 31, 「Cocaine methyl ester of benzoylecgonine」. Three further coca entries sit around it: item 30 the coca leaf, with an express carve out for 「a leaf from which all ecgonine, cocaine and any other ecgonine alkaloids have been removed」, item 49 ecgonine and its esters and derivatives convertible to ecgonine and cocaine, and the Group A entry prohibiting importation of any product obtained from the ecgonine alkaloids of the coca leaf. The model: the list is inside the Ordinance and the power to change it is delegated, with a parliamentary lock on the delegation. Section 48 provides that 「the drugs, substances, articles or preparations, specified for the time being in Groups A, B, C, D and E in Part I of the Third Schedule, shall be deemed to be dangerous drugs」. Section 2(1) then provides that 「regulation」 means a regulation made under this Ordinance and published in the Gazette, 「and includes the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Schedules」, so the Third Schedule is itself a regulation. The empowering section is section 80. Section 80(2)(b) lets the Minister make regulations 「for adding any item to or deleting any item from, or altering, varying or amending in any other way, any of the lists or Groups of poisons and dangerous drugs set out in the First and Third Schedules」, and section 80(3) then provides that 「No regulation so made shall have effect unless it has been approved by Parliament and notification of such approval has been published in the Gazette」. So the delegation is real but it is locked to an affirmative vote, and in practice the 2022 changes were made by primary legislation rather than by regulation. The Act was last amended by the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026. The Third Schedule was last amended by section 6 of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022 and published as a supplement to Part II of the Gazette of 25 November 2022, which substituted Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III. Act No. 7 of 2026 does not touch the Third Schedule.
Consequences if caught: Capital exposure: section 54A(a), manufacture of heroin, cocaine, morphine or opium. [Certain] Re-derived in this pass: section 54A was read at nddcb.gov.lk on 21 September 2026 and provides that a person who «manufactures any of the following dangerous drugs, namely heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium» is «liable to a sentence of death or life imprisonment» on conviction by the High Court without a jury. Those four are the only substances the section names. [Likely] The trafficking route at 54A(b) runs on Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule, and that table was not reached in this pass, so its quantity thresholds are carried from the published entry. Section 54A(1) has four limbs and they do not carry the same exposure. Limb (a) punishes any person who 「manufactures any of the following dangerous drugs, namely heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 with 「a sentence of death or life imprisonment」, with no quantity stated. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) punish trafficking, importing or exporting, and possession, of 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule in excess of the amount set out in the said Column II」, with the penalty in Column III. Part III Column II is headed 「Pure Quantities」, and Column I is headed 「Traffics, possess, imports or exports」, so possession is inside the same ladder as trafficking. Section 54B extends the same punishment to abetting, attempting and acts preparatory to or in furtherance of a section 54A offence. Since Act No. 7 of 2026 a parallel section 54AA applies the same two structures on the high seas, aboard a ship registered in Sri Lanka or a stateless ship. Part III, as substituted in 2022, sets only two capital bands. Opium at 1 kilogramme or above is 「Death or life imprisonment」, and 「Morphine, Cocaine, Heroin and Methamphetamine」 at 5 grammes or above is 「Death or life imprisonment」. Cannabis has a ladder in Part III whose top band is 100 kilogrammes or above and carries ten to fifteen years, with no capital band at all. No other substance appears in Column II anywhere. Section 1 clause 7 sets a concentration floor for preparations: a solution or dilution in an inert substance is caught at any proportion, and any other preparation, admixture or extract is caught at 「not less than 0.2 per centum of morphine or 0.1 per centum of cocaine or ecgonine」. Both reach this substance and by two separate routes. The first has no quantity at all: section 54A(1)(a) punishes any person who 「manufactures any of the following dangerous drugs, namely heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 with 「a sentence of death or life imprisonment」, and this substance is one of those four. The second is the Part III ladder, where 「Morphine, Cocaine, Heroin and Methamphetamine」 at 「5 grammes or above」 carries 「Death or life imprisonment」, reached through limb (b) trafficking, limb (c) import or export, or limb (d) possession. Column II is headed 「Pure Quantities」, so the five grammes is pure weight and not the weight of the wrap; section 54A(2), inserted in 2022, lets an analyst's certificate that the gross weight is two grammes or less stand as prima facie proof that the pure quantity does not exceed two grammes. It is not mandatory: the phrase is death or life, which leaves the court a choice. Below five grammes the ladder steps down to three to five grammes at ten to twenty years, two to three grammes at seven to ten years, and under two grammes at three to five years. Since Act No. 7 of 2026 section 54AA applies the same two routes on the high seas. Sri Lanka has carried out no judicial execution since 1976 and the sentences are imposed and then not executed, but the sentence itself is real and section 83 bars bail except by the High Court in exceptional circumstances.
If prescribed / medical: Cocaine has a narrow topical surgical use internationally and no ordinary prescribing route in Sri Lanka.
Documentation: No traveller route. Coca tea and coca leaf are the leaf entry at item 30 and are not exempt unless the alkaloids have been removed.

Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218), as last amended by Act No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026 · Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III were substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022, and the entry relied on is read from that Act · the entry relied on is Third Schedule, Part I, Group B, Section 1, item 31, 「Cocaine methyl ester of benzoylecgonine」 · Group B Section 1 items 30, 31 and 49, Group A, Section 1 clause 7, and sections 54A and 54B. Principal Ordinance read from the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board's own copy. Read 2026-09-17 · nddcb.gov.lk · nddcb.gov.lk · parliament.lk · Updated September 21, 2026

Cocaine in Sri Lanka, full detail →

Codeine

Legal status: Dangerous drug under Sri Lanka's Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218): Third Schedule, Part I, Group C, item 1, 「Methylmorphine commonly known as codeine, and its salts」. Codeine is in Group C and not in Group B. A search of Group B for codeine returns only 「codeine-N-oxide」, which appears inside the morphine-N-oxide entry at Section 1 item 82 and is a different substance. Group C is a separate list with its own heading. The model: the list is inside the Ordinance and the power to change it is delegated, with a parliamentary lock on the delegation. Section 48 provides that 「the drugs, substances, articles or preparations, specified for the time being in Groups A, B, C, D and E in Part I of the Third Schedule, shall be deemed to be dangerous drugs」. Section 2(1) then provides that 「regulation」 means a regulation made under this Ordinance and published in the Gazette, 「and includes the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Schedules」, so the Third Schedule is itself a regulation. The empowering section is section 80. Section 80(2)(b) lets the Minister make regulations 「for adding any item to or deleting any item from, or altering, varying or amending in any other way, any of the lists or Groups of poisons and dangerous drugs set out in the First and Third Schedules」, and section 80(3) then provides that 「No regulation so made shall have effect unless it has been approved by Parliament and notification of such approval has been published in the Gazette」. So the delegation is real but it is locked to an affirmative vote, and in practice the 2022 changes were made by primary legislation rather than by regulation. The Act was last amended by the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026. The Third Schedule was last amended by section 6 of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022 and published as a supplement to Part II of the Gazette of 25 November 2022, which substituted Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III. Act No. 7 of 2026 does not touch the Third Schedule.
Consequences if caught: Capital exposure: none. Section 54A(1) has four limbs and they do not carry the same exposure. Limb (a) punishes any person who 「manufactures any of the following dangerous drugs, namely heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 with 「a sentence of death or life imprisonment」, with no quantity stated. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) punish trafficking, importing or exporting, and possession, of 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule in excess of the amount set out in the said Column II」, with the penalty in Column III. Part III Column II is headed 「Pure Quantities」, and Column I is headed 「Traffics, possess, imports or exports」, so possession is inside the same ladder as trafficking. Section 54B extends the same punishment to abetting, attempting and acts preparatory to or in furtherance of a section 54A offence. Since Act No. 7 of 2026 a parallel section 54AA applies the same two structures on the high seas, aboard a ship registered in Sri Lanka or a stateless ship. For a dangerous drug that is not in Part III, section 54A never engages, because limbs (b), (c) and (d) operate only on a drug 「set out in Column II of Part III」. The charge is the general penalty in section 78(5): on summary conviction by a Magistrate a fine of one thousand to ten thousand rupees or up to five years or both, and on conviction before the High Court a fine of ten thousand to twenty five thousand rupees or six months to seven years or both. Section 78(6) requires the written consent of the Attorney-General before non-summary proceedings. Group C item 3 carries the concentration rule: any preparation containing any proportion of codeine associated with an inert substance is caught, and so is any other substance containing more than 2.5 per centum of methylmorphine or ethylmorphine calculated as pure drug. Syrupus Codeinae Phosphatis B.P.C. 1934 is expressly excepted. Neither reaches this substance, at any quantity, and the reason is structural rather than a matter of degree. The death and life penalties in this Ordinance live in exactly two places. Section 54A(1)(a) attaches them to the manufacture of 「heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 and names no other drug. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) attach the Column III penalties to 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule」, and Column II names only opium, 「Morphine, Cocaine, Heroin and Methamphetamine」, and cannabis. This substance is in none of those, so section 54A cannot engage however much of it is involved, and section 54AA cannot either, because it is built on the same two structures. Being a dangerous drug under section 48 is not the same thing as being in Part III, and the corpus this cell replaces repeatedly ran the two together.
If prescribed / medical: Codeine is dispensed on prescription and appears in registered antitussive and analgesic preparations.
Documentation: Carry the prescription and the original labelled container. The concentration on the label is what decides whether Group C item 3 reaches the preparation.

Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218), as last amended by Act No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026 · the entry relied on is in a Group that section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022 did NOT substitute, section 6 having replaced only Group B of Part I and Part III. Groups A, C, D and E were read from a private consolidation to 2024 rather than from a primary text, because the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board's copy of the Ordinance omits the Schedules and no primary copy of those Groups was reached. Treat that Group placement as corroborated but not primary · the entry relied on is Third Schedule, Part I, Group C, item 1, 「Methylmorphine commonly known as codeine, and its salts」 · Group C item 1 and item 3, read from the private consolidation to 2024 · Group B Section 1 searched for codeine and returning only codeine-N-oxide inside the item 82 morphine-N-oxide entry. Principal Ordinance read from the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board's own copy. Read 2026-09-17 · nddcb.gov.lk · nddcb.gov.lk · parliament.lk · Updated September 21, 2026

Codeine in Sri Lanka, full detail →

Crack Cocaine

Legal status: Dangerous drug under Sri Lanka's Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218): Third Schedule, Part I, Group B, Section 1, item 31 「Cocaine」, reached as the base form of the listed substance rather than by a name of its own. Crack has no separate entry and needs none. It is cocaine as a freebase rather than as a salt, and the entry names cocaine itself, so the listed substance is the same substance. Section 1 clause 3 separately catches the salts, which is the other direction. The model: the list is inside the Ordinance and the power to change it is delegated, with a parliamentary lock on the delegation. Section 48 provides that 「the drugs, substances, articles or preparations, specified for the time being in Groups A, B, C, D and E in Part I of the Third Schedule, shall be deemed to be dangerous drugs」. Section 2(1) then provides that 「regulation」 means a regulation made under this Ordinance and published in the Gazette, 「and includes the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Schedules」, so the Third Schedule is itself a regulation. The empowering section is section 80. Section 80(2)(b) lets the Minister make regulations 「for adding any item to or deleting any item from, or altering, varying or amending in any other way, any of the lists or Groups of poisons and dangerous drugs set out in the First and Third Schedules」, and section 80(3) then provides that 「No regulation so made shall have effect unless it has been approved by Parliament and notification of such approval has been published in the Gazette」. So the delegation is real but it is locked to an affirmative vote, and in practice the 2022 changes were made by primary legislation rather than by regulation. The Act was last amended by the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026. The Third Schedule was last amended by section 6 of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022 and published as a supplement to Part II of the Gazette of 25 November 2022, which substituted Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III. Act No. 7 of 2026 does not touch the Third Schedule.
Consequences if caught: Capital exposure: section 54A(a), manufacture of heroin, cocaine, morphine or opium. [Certain] Re-derived in this pass: section 54A was read at nddcb.gov.lk on 21 September 2026 and provides that a person who «manufactures any of the following dangerous drugs, namely heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium» is «liable to a sentence of death or life imprisonment» on conviction by the High Court without a jury. Those four are the only substances the section names. [Likely] The trafficking route at 54A(b) runs on Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule, and that table was not reached in this pass, so its quantity thresholds are carried from the published entry. Section 54A(1) has four limbs and they do not carry the same exposure. Limb (a) punishes any person who 「manufactures any of the following dangerous drugs, namely heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 with 「a sentence of death or life imprisonment」, with no quantity stated. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) punish trafficking, importing or exporting, and possession, of 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule in excess of the amount set out in the said Column II」, with the penalty in Column III. Part III Column II is headed 「Pure Quantities」, and Column I is headed 「Traffics, possess, imports or exports」, so possession is inside the same ladder as trafficking. Section 54B extends the same punishment to abetting, attempting and acts preparatory to or in furtherance of a section 54A offence. Since Act No. 7 of 2026 a parallel section 54AA applies the same two structures on the high seas, aboard a ship registered in Sri Lanka or a stateless ship. Part III, as substituted in 2022, sets only two capital bands. Opium at 1 kilogramme or above is 「Death or life imprisonment」, and 「Morphine, Cocaine, Heroin and Methamphetamine」 at 5 grammes or above is 「Death or life imprisonment」. Cannabis has a ladder in Part III whose top band is 100 kilogrammes or above and carries ten to fifteen years, with no capital band at all. No other substance appears in Column II anywhere. Because the grade follows the substance and not the preparation, smoking a rock and holding a wrap of powder are the same entry, the same limb of section 54A and the same five gramme pure quantity. Both reach this substance and by two separate routes. The first has no quantity at all: section 54A(1)(a) punishes any person who 「manufactures any of the following dangerous drugs, namely heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 with 「a sentence of death or life imprisonment」, and this substance is one of those four. The second is the Part III ladder, where 「Morphine, Cocaine, Heroin and Methamphetamine」 at 「5 grammes or above」 carries 「Death or life imprisonment」, reached through limb (b) trafficking, limb (c) import or export, or limb (d) possession. Column II is headed 「Pure Quantities」, so the five grammes is pure weight and not the weight of the wrap; section 54A(2), inserted in 2022, lets an analyst's certificate that the gross weight is two grammes or less stand as prima facie proof that the pure quantity does not exceed two grammes. It is not mandatory: the phrase is death or life, which leaves the court a choice. Below five grammes the ladder steps down to three to five grammes at ten to twenty years, two to three grammes at seven to ten years, and under two grammes at three to five years. Since Act No. 7 of 2026 section 54AA applies the same two routes on the high seas. Sri Lanka has carried out no judicial execution since 1976 and the sentences are imposed and then not executed, but the sentence itself is real and section 83 bars bail except by the High Court in exceptional circumstances.
If prescribed / medical: There is no medicinal crack preparation and nothing in the medicines regime reaches it.
Documentation: No prescription or permit exists for freebase cocaine in any Sri Lankan instrument read for this cell.

Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218), as last amended by Act No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026 · Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III were substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022, and the entry relied on is read from that Act · the entry relied on is Third Schedule, Part I, Group B, Section 1, item 31 「Cocaine」, reached as the base form of the listed substance rather than by a name of its own · Group B Section 1 item 31 with Section 1 clause 3, Part III five gramme band, and sections 54A and 54B. Principal Ordinance read from the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board's own copy. Read 2026-09-17 · nddcb.gov.lk · nddcb.gov.lk · parliament.lk · Updated September 21, 2026

Crack Cocaine in Sri Lanka, full detail →

Delta-8-THC

Legal status: Dangerous drug under Sri Lanka's Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218): Group B Section 2 item 33(iv), 「delta-8-THC (6aR,10aR)-6a,7,10,10a-tetrahydro-6,6,9-trimethyl-3-pentyl-6H-dibenzo[b,d]pyran-1-ol」. Delta-8 is named individually with its own systematic name, not left to an isomer clause. Item 33 lists six tetrahydrocannabinol isomers one by one: delta-6a(10a), delta-6a(7), delta-7, delta-8, delta-10 and delta-9(11), each with its stereochemical variants. The model: the list is inside the Ordinance and the power to change it is delegated, with a parliamentary lock on the delegation. Section 48 provides that 「the drugs, substances, articles or preparations, specified for the time being in Groups A, B, C, D and E in Part I of the Third Schedule, shall be deemed to be dangerous drugs」. Section 2(1) then provides that 「regulation」 means a regulation made under this Ordinance and published in the Gazette, 「and includes the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Schedules」, so the Third Schedule is itself a regulation. The empowering section is section 80. Section 80(2)(b) lets the Minister make regulations 「for adding any item to or deleting any item from, or altering, varying or amending in any other way, any of the lists or Groups of poisons and dangerous drugs set out in the First and Third Schedules」, and section 80(3) then provides that 「No regulation so made shall have effect unless it has been approved by Parliament and notification of such approval has been published in the Gazette」. So the delegation is real but it is locked to an affirmative vote, and in practice the 2022 changes were made by primary legislation rather than by regulation. The Act was last amended by the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026. The Third Schedule was last amended by section 6 of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022 and published as a supplement to Part II of the Gazette of 25 November 2022, which substituted Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III. Act No. 7 of 2026 does not touch the Third Schedule.
Consequences if caught: Capital exposure: none. Section 54A(1) has four limbs and they do not carry the same exposure. Limb (a) punishes any person who 「manufactures any of the following dangerous drugs, namely heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 with 「a sentence of death or life imprisonment」, with no quantity stated. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) punish trafficking, importing or exporting, and possession, of 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule in excess of the amount set out in the said Column II」, with the penalty in Column III. Part III Column II is headed 「Pure Quantities」, and Column I is headed 「Traffics, possess, imports or exports」, so possession is inside the same ladder as trafficking. Section 54B extends the same punishment to abetting, attempting and acts preparatory to or in furtherance of a section 54A offence. Since Act No. 7 of 2026 a parallel section 54AA applies the same two structures on the high seas, aboard a ship registered in Sri Lanka or a stateless ship. For a dangerous drug that is not in Part III, section 54A never engages, because limbs (b), (c) and (d) operate only on a drug 「set out in Column II of Part III」. The charge is the general penalty in section 78(5): on summary conviction by a Magistrate a fine of one thousand to ten thousand rupees or up to five years or both, and on conviction before the High Court a fine of ten thousand to twenty five thousand rupees or six months to seven years or both. Section 78(6) requires the written consent of the Attorney-General before non-summary proceedings. Naming six isomers expressly is the strongest form of listing in this schedule and it removes any argument about whether the isomer clause reaches them. Neither reaches this substance, at any quantity, and the reason is structural rather than a matter of degree. The death and life penalties in this Ordinance live in exactly two places. Section 54A(1)(a) attaches them to the manufacture of 「heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 and names no other drug. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) attach the Column III penalties to 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule」, and Column II names only opium, 「Morphine, Cocaine, Heroin and Methamphetamine」, and cannabis. This substance is in none of those, so section 54A cannot engage however much of it is involved, and section 54AA cannot either, because it is built on the same two structures. Being a dangerous drug under section 48 is not the same thing as being in Part III, and the corpus this cell replaces repeatedly ran the two together.
If prescribed / medical: No delta-8 product is registered as a medicine in Sri Lanka.
Documentation: Products sold abroad as hemp derived delta-8 are named dangerous drugs on arrival. Their status in the country of purchase has no bearing.

Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218), as last amended by Act No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026 · Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III were substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022, and the entry relied on is read from that Act · the entry relied on is Group B Section 2 item 33(iv), 「delta-8-THC (6aR,10aR)-6a,7,10,10a-tetrahydro-6,6,9-trimethyl-3-pentyl-6H-dibenzo[b,d]pyran-1-ol」 · Third Schedule Part I Group B as substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, with sections 48, 54A and 78. Principal Ordinance read from the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board's own copy. Read 2026-09-17 · nddcb.gov.lk · nddcb.gov.lk · parliament.lk · Updated September 21, 2026

Delta-8-THC in Sri Lanka, full detail →

Diazepam

Legal status: Dangerous drug under Sri Lanka's Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218): Group B Section 2, 「Diazepam」. Diazepam is named. So is nordiazepam, its principal metabolite, which means a positive screen for the metabolite is a positive for a separately listed dangerous drug rather than only evidence about diazepam. The model: the list is inside the Ordinance and the power to change it is delegated, with a parliamentary lock on the delegation. Section 48 provides that 「the drugs, substances, articles or preparations, specified for the time being in Groups A, B, C, D and E in Part I of the Third Schedule, shall be deemed to be dangerous drugs」. Section 2(1) then provides that 「regulation」 means a regulation made under this Ordinance and published in the Gazette, 「and includes the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Schedules」, so the Third Schedule is itself a regulation. The empowering section is section 80. Section 80(2)(b) lets the Minister make regulations 「for adding any item to or deleting any item from, or altering, varying or amending in any other way, any of the lists or Groups of poisons and dangerous drugs set out in the First and Third Schedules」, and section 80(3) then provides that 「No regulation so made shall have effect unless it has been approved by Parliament and notification of such approval has been published in the Gazette」. So the delegation is real but it is locked to an affirmative vote, and in practice the 2022 changes were made by primary legislation rather than by regulation. The Act was last amended by the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026. The Third Schedule was last amended by section 6 of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022 and published as a supplement to Part II of the Gazette of 25 November 2022, which substituted Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III. Act No. 7 of 2026 does not touch the Third Schedule.
Consequences if caught: Capital exposure: none. Section 54A(1) has four limbs and they do not carry the same exposure. Limb (a) punishes any person who 「manufactures any of the following dangerous drugs, namely heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 with 「a sentence of death or life imprisonment」, with no quantity stated. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) punish trafficking, importing or exporting, and possession, of 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule in excess of the amount set out in the said Column II」, with the penalty in Column III. Part III Column II is headed 「Pure Quantities」, and Column I is headed 「Traffics, possess, imports or exports」, so possession is inside the same ladder as trafficking. Section 54B extends the same punishment to abetting, attempting and acts preparatory to or in furtherance of a section 54A offence. Since Act No. 7 of 2026 a parallel section 54AA applies the same two structures on the high seas, aboard a ship registered in Sri Lanka or a stateless ship. For a dangerous drug that is not in Part III, section 54A never engages, because limbs (b), (c) and (d) operate only on a drug 「set out in Column II of Part III」. The charge is the general penalty in section 78(5): on summary conviction by a Magistrate a fine of one thousand to ten thousand rupees or up to five years or both, and on conviction before the High Court a fine of ten thousand to twenty five thousand rupees or six months to seven years or both. Section 78(6) requires the written consent of the Attorney-General before non-summary proceedings. Section 2 clause 6 reaches any preparation or mixture containing any proportion of a listed drug, so a compounded product is inside the schedule at any strength. Neither reaches this substance, at any quantity, and the reason is structural rather than a matter of degree. The death and life penalties in this Ordinance live in exactly two places. Section 54A(1)(a) attaches them to the manufacture of 「heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 and names no other drug. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) attach the Column III penalties to 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule」, and Column II names only opium, 「Morphine, Cocaine, Heroin and Methamphetamine」, and cannabis. This substance is in none of those, so section 54A cannot engage however much of it is involved, and section 54AA cannot either, because it is built on the same two structures. Being a dangerous drug under section 48 is not the same thing as being in Part III, and the corpus this cell replaces repeatedly ran the two together.
If prescribed / medical: Diazepam is a registered prescription medicine under the National Medicines Regulatory Authority Act, No. 5 of 2015 and a dangerous drug under the Ordinance.
Documentation: Carry the original dispensed packaging with the prescription. A loose strip of tablets is a dangerous drug without the authority the Ordinance requires.

Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218), as last amended by Act No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026 · Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III were substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022, and the entry relied on is read from that Act · the entry relied on is Group B Section 2, 「Diazepam」 · Third Schedule Part I Group B as substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, with sections 48, 54A and 78. Principal Ordinance read from the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board's own copy. Read 2026-09-17 · nddcb.gov.lk · nddcb.gov.lk · parliament.lk · Updated September 21, 2026

Diazepam in Sri Lanka, full detail →

DMT

Legal status: Dangerous drug under Sri Lanka's Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218): Group B Section 2 item 5, 「DMT 3-[2-(dimethylamino)ethyl]indole」. DET is item 3 and etryptamine item 10, so the simple tryptamines are named individually. Section 3 clause 6 then reaches tryptamine analogues outside Section 2, structurally derived from 2-(1H-indol-3-yl)ethanamine, expressly excluding serotonin. The model: the list is inside the Ordinance and the power to change it is delegated, with a parliamentary lock on the delegation. Section 48 provides that 「the drugs, substances, articles or preparations, specified for the time being in Groups A, B, C, D and E in Part I of the Third Schedule, shall be deemed to be dangerous drugs」. Section 2(1) then provides that 「regulation」 means a regulation made under this Ordinance and published in the Gazette, 「and includes the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Schedules」, so the Third Schedule is itself a regulation. The empowering section is section 80. Section 80(2)(b) lets the Minister make regulations 「for adding any item to or deleting any item from, or altering, varying or amending in any other way, any of the lists or Groups of poisons and dangerous drugs set out in the First and Third Schedules」, and section 80(3) then provides that 「No regulation so made shall have effect unless it has been approved by Parliament and notification of such approval has been published in the Gazette」. So the delegation is real but it is locked to an affirmative vote, and in practice the 2022 changes were made by primary legislation rather than by regulation. The Act was last amended by the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026. The Third Schedule was last amended by section 6 of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022 and published as a supplement to Part II of the Gazette of 25 November 2022, which substituted Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III. Act No. 7 of 2026 does not touch the Third Schedule.
Consequences if caught: Capital exposure: none. Section 54A(1) has four limbs and they do not carry the same exposure. Limb (a) punishes any person who 「manufactures any of the following dangerous drugs, namely heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 with 「a sentence of death or life imprisonment」, with no quantity stated. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) punish trafficking, importing or exporting, and possession, of 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule in excess of the amount set out in the said Column II」, with the penalty in Column III. Part III Column II is headed 「Pure Quantities」, and Column I is headed 「Traffics, possess, imports or exports」, so possession is inside the same ladder as trafficking. Section 54B extends the same punishment to abetting, attempting and acts preparatory to or in furtherance of a section 54A offence. Since Act No. 7 of 2026 a parallel section 54AA applies the same two structures on the high seas, aboard a ship registered in Sri Lanka or a stateless ship. For a dangerous drug that is not in Part III, section 54A never engages, because limbs (b), (c) and (d) operate only on a drug 「set out in Column II of Part III」. The charge is the general penalty in section 78(5): on summary conviction by a Magistrate a fine of one thousand to ten thousand rupees or up to five years or both, and on conviction before the High Court a fine of ten thousand to twenty five thousand rupees or six months to seven years or both. Section 78(6) requires the written consent of the Attorney-General before non-summary proceedings. Clause 6 enumerates the permitted modifications: substitution at the side chain nitrogen, at the adjacent carbon, in the six membered ring, and at the 2 position. It is a structural test. Neither reaches this substance, at any quantity, and the reason is structural rather than a matter of degree. The death and life penalties in this Ordinance live in exactly two places. Section 54A(1)(a) attaches them to the manufacture of 「heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 and names no other drug. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) attach the Column III penalties to 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule」, and Column II names only opium, 「Morphine, Cocaine, Heroin and Methamphetamine」, and cannabis. This substance is in none of those, so section 54A cannot engage however much of it is involved, and section 54AA cannot either, because it is built on the same two structures. Being a dangerous drug under section 48 is not the same thing as being in Part III, and the corpus this cell replaces repeatedly ran the two together.
If prescribed / medical: DMT has no licensed medicine and no prescribing route in Sri Lanka.
Documentation: No documentation route. Plant material containing DMT is separately reached through the Section 3 plant list.

Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218), as last amended by Act No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026 · Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III were substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022, and the entry relied on is read from that Act · the entry relied on is Group B Section 2 item 5, 「DMT 3-[2-(dimethylamino)ethyl]indole」 · Third Schedule Part I Group B as substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, with sections 48, 54A and 78. Principal Ordinance read from the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board's own copy. Read 2026-09-17 · nddcb.gov.lk · nddcb.gov.lk · parliament.lk · Updated September 21, 2026

DMT in Sri Lanka, full detail →

DOM

Legal status: Dangerous drug under Sri Lanka's Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218): Group B Section 2, the 「D series」 reached through Section 3 clause 9 and through the named ring substituted amphetamines in Section 2. Section 3 clause 9 names the family expressly: 「ring substituted amphetamines such as the 'D series'」. DOB is separately named at Section 2 item 8 and DOC at item 9, so the series is partly enumerated and partly covered by clause 9. The model: the list is inside the Ordinance and the power to change it is delegated, with a parliamentary lock on the delegation. Section 48 provides that 「the drugs, substances, articles or preparations, specified for the time being in Groups A, B, C, D and E in Part I of the Third Schedule, shall be deemed to be dangerous drugs」. Section 2(1) then provides that 「regulation」 means a regulation made under this Ordinance and published in the Gazette, 「and includes the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Schedules」, so the Third Schedule is itself a regulation. The empowering section is section 80. Section 80(2)(b) lets the Minister make regulations 「for adding any item to or deleting any item from, or altering, varying or amending in any other way, any of the lists or Groups of poisons and dangerous drugs set out in the First and Third Schedules」, and section 80(3) then provides that 「No regulation so made shall have effect unless it has been approved by Parliament and notification of such approval has been published in the Gazette」. So the delegation is real but it is locked to an affirmative vote, and in practice the 2022 changes were made by primary legislation rather than by regulation. The Act was last amended by the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026. The Third Schedule was last amended by section 6 of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022 and published as a supplement to Part II of the Gazette of 25 November 2022, which substituted Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III. Act No. 7 of 2026 does not touch the Third Schedule.
Consequences if caught: Capital exposure: none. Section 54A(1) has four limbs and they do not carry the same exposure. Limb (a) punishes any person who 「manufactures any of the following dangerous drugs, namely heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 with 「a sentence of death or life imprisonment」, with no quantity stated. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) punish trafficking, importing or exporting, and possession, of 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule in excess of the amount set out in the said Column II」, with the penalty in Column III. Part III Column II is headed 「Pure Quantities」, and Column I is headed 「Traffics, possess, imports or exports」, so possession is inside the same ladder as trafficking. Section 54B extends the same punishment to abetting, attempting and acts preparatory to or in furtherance of a section 54A offence. Since Act No. 7 of 2026 a parallel section 54AA applies the same two structures on the high seas, aboard a ship registered in Sri Lanka or a stateless ship. For a dangerous drug that is not in Part III, section 54A never engages, because limbs (b), (c) and (d) operate only on a drug 「set out in Column II of Part III」. The charge is the general penalty in section 78(5): on summary conviction by a Magistrate a fine of one thousand to ten thousand rupees or up to five years or both, and on conviction before the High Court a fine of ten thousand to twenty five thousand rupees or six months to seven years or both. Section 78(6) requires the written consent of the Attorney-General before non-summary proceedings. Naming a series by its common abbreviation inside a structural clause is unusual drafting and it is what settles DOM without a dedicated entry. Neither reaches this substance, at any quantity, and the reason is structural rather than a matter of degree. The death and life penalties in this Ordinance live in exactly two places. Section 54A(1)(a) attaches them to the manufacture of 「heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 and names no other drug. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) attach the Column III penalties to 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule」, and Column II names only opium, 「Morphine, Cocaine, Heroin and Methamphetamine」, and cannabis. This substance is in none of those, so section 54A cannot engage however much of it is involved, and section 54AA cannot either, because it is built on the same two structures. Being a dangerous drug under section 48 is not the same thing as being in Part III, and the corpus this cell replaces repeatedly ran the two together.
If prescribed / medical: DOM has no licensed medicine and no prescribing route in Sri Lanka.
Documentation: No documentation route. DOM is active in microgramme quantities, so a blotter carries no visible indication of content.

Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218), as last amended by Act No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026 · Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III were substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022, and the entry relied on is read from that Act · the entry relied on is Group B Section 2, the 「D series」 reached through Section 3 clause 9 and through the named ring substituted amphetamines in Section 2 · Third Schedule Part I Group B as substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, with sections 48, 54A and 78. Principal Ordinance read from the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board's own copy. Read 2026-09-17 · nddcb.gov.lk · nddcb.gov.lk · parliament.lk · Updated September 21, 2026

DOM in Sri Lanka, full detail →

Ephedrine

Legal status: Not a dangerous drug under Sri Lanka's Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218): absent from Groups A, B, C, D and E of the Third Schedule. Ephedrine is not in any Group of the Third Schedule and is not a dangerous drug. The only related entry is 「(+)-Norpseudoephedrine (including Cathine)」 at Group B Section 2 item 93, which is cathine and a different substance. The model: the list is inside the Ordinance and the power to change it is delegated, with a parliamentary lock on the delegation. Section 48 provides that 「the drugs, substances, articles or preparations, specified for the time being in Groups A, B, C, D and E in Part I of the Third Schedule, shall be deemed to be dangerous drugs」. Section 2(1) then provides that 「regulation」 means a regulation made under this Ordinance and published in the Gazette, 「and includes the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Schedules」, so the Third Schedule is itself a regulation. The empowering section is section 80. Section 80(2)(b) lets the Minister make regulations 「for adding any item to or deleting any item from, or altering, varying or amending in any other way, any of the lists or Groups of poisons and dangerous drugs set out in the First and Third Schedules」, and section 80(3) then provides that 「No regulation so made shall have effect unless it has been approved by Parliament and notification of such approval has been published in the Gazette」. So the delegation is real but it is locked to an affirmative vote, and in practice the 2022 changes were made by primary legislation rather than by regulation. The Act was last amended by the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026. The Third Schedule was last amended by section 6 of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022 and published as a supplement to Part II of the Gazette of 25 November 2022, which substituted Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III. Act No. 7 of 2026 does not touch the Third Schedule.
Consequences if caught: Capital exposure: none. There is no general precursor regime in this Ordinance. Section 79A controls only 「acetylating substances」, defined in section 79A(3) as 「a substance which can introduce one or more acetyl groups... into another substance by a chemical process」, which ephedrine cannot do. So ephedrine is outside the Ordinance altogether, and the Section 3 clause 14 precursor list is specific to GHB. Neither reaches this substance, and not because the penalty is low but because no dangerous drug offence in this Ordinance engages at all. Section 48 makes a substance a dangerous drug only if it is specified in Groups A to E of Part I of the Third Schedule, and this substance is in none of them. Section 54A(1)(a) names four drugs for the manufacture limb and Part III Column II names five substances for the quantity limbs; this is neither, so no capital or life sentence is available for it on any facts. Saying that much does not dispose of the whole Ordinance, and the corpus this cell replaces never reached the rest of it. Chapter II runs a separate poisons regime over the First Schedule, whose Parts I to V were read in full for this cell, and this substance is named nowhere in them. One residual is recorded here rather than resolved. Part I carries an entry whose surviving text reads 「Schedule, and their salts, and all poisonous derivatives of vegetable alkaloids and glucosides」, and the opening words of that entry, which are the words that say what class it covers, are absent from the text layer of the only copy of the First Schedule reached, a clipped scan, so the class cannot be read. Ephedrine is a vegetable alkaloid and that entry may reach it. Chapter II is a sale and dispensing regime under sections 5, 17, 18 and 19 and carries no capital or life exposure, so the answer above is unchanged whichever way the missing words read. The instrument that does govern it is named in the status above.
If prescribed / medical: Ephedrine and pseudoephedrine are registered medicines and are supplied through the medicines regime under the National Medicines Regulatory Authority Act, No. 5 of 2015.
Documentation: A traveller carrying a pseudoephedrine decongestant should keep it in its original packaging and in a personal quantity. It is a medicine here, not a scheduled drug.

Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218), as last amended by Act No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026 · absence was established by reading Groups A, B, C, D and E of Part I in full, Group B from Act No. 41 of 2022 and Groups A, C, D and E from a private consolidation to 2024, and by reading Parts I to V of the First Schedule and all four Parts of the Second Schedule in that same consolidation · the finding is that the substance is absent from Groups A, B, C, D and E of the Third Schedule · Third Schedule Groups A to E read in full, section 79A read and applied, and National Medicines Regulatory Authority Act, No. 5 of 2015. Principal Ordinance read from the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board's own copy. Read 2026-09-17 · nddcb.gov.lk · nddcb.gov.lk · parliament.lk · Updated September 21, 2026

Ephedrine in Sri Lanka, full detail →

Etizolam

Legal status: Dangerous drug under Sri Lanka's Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218): Group B Section 2, 「Etizolam」. Etizolam is named. It is a thienotriazolodiazepine rather than a benzodiazepine proper, and Sri Lanka lists it alongside the benzodiazepines without distinguishing it. The model: the list is inside the Ordinance and the power to change it is delegated, with a parliamentary lock on the delegation. Section 48 provides that 「the drugs, substances, articles or preparations, specified for the time being in Groups A, B, C, D and E in Part I of the Third Schedule, shall be deemed to be dangerous drugs」. Section 2(1) then provides that 「regulation」 means a regulation made under this Ordinance and published in the Gazette, 「and includes the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Schedules」, so the Third Schedule is itself a regulation. The empowering section is section 80. Section 80(2)(b) lets the Minister make regulations 「for adding any item to or deleting any item from, or altering, varying or amending in any other way, any of the lists or Groups of poisons and dangerous drugs set out in the First and Third Schedules」, and section 80(3) then provides that 「No regulation so made shall have effect unless it has been approved by Parliament and notification of such approval has been published in the Gazette」. So the delegation is real but it is locked to an affirmative vote, and in practice the 2022 changes were made by primary legislation rather than by regulation. The Act was last amended by the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026. The Third Schedule was last amended by section 6 of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022 and published as a supplement to Part II of the Gazette of 25 November 2022, which substituted Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III. Act No. 7 of 2026 does not touch the Third Schedule.
Consequences if caught: Capital exposure: none. Section 54A(1) has four limbs and they do not carry the same exposure. Limb (a) punishes any person who 「manufactures any of the following dangerous drugs, namely heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 with 「a sentence of death or life imprisonment」, with no quantity stated. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) punish trafficking, importing or exporting, and possession, of 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule in excess of the amount set out in the said Column II」, with the penalty in Column III. Part III Column II is headed 「Pure Quantities」, and Column I is headed 「Traffics, possess, imports or exports」, so possession is inside the same ladder as trafficking. Section 54B extends the same punishment to abetting, attempting and acts preparatory to or in furtherance of a section 54A offence. Since Act No. 7 of 2026 a parallel section 54AA applies the same two structures on the high seas, aboard a ship registered in Sri Lanka or a stateless ship. For a dangerous drug that is not in Part III, section 54A never engages, because limbs (b), (c) and (d) operate only on a drug 「set out in Column II of Part III」. The charge is the general penalty in section 78(5): on summary conviction by a Magistrate a fine of one thousand to ten thousand rupees or up to five years or both, and on conviction before the High Court a fine of ten thousand to twenty five thousand rupees or six months to seven years or both. Section 78(6) requires the written consent of the Attorney-General before non-summary proceedings. Because Group B is flat, etizolam carries exactly the same exposure as diazepam: the general penalty in section 78, and no Part III band. Neither reaches this substance, at any quantity, and the reason is structural rather than a matter of degree. The death and life penalties in this Ordinance live in exactly two places. Section 54A(1)(a) attaches them to the manufacture of 「heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 and names no other drug. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) attach the Column III penalties to 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule」, and Column II names only opium, 「Morphine, Cocaine, Heroin and Methamphetamine」, and cannabis. This substance is in none of those, so section 54A cannot engage however much of it is involved, and section 54AA cannot either, because it is built on the same two structures. Being a dangerous drug under section 48 is not the same thing as being in Part III, and the corpus this cell replaces repeatedly ran the two together.
If prescribed / medical: Etizolam holds no Sri Lankan registration. It is prescribed in some other jurisdictions, which is how it reaches travellers.
Documentation: A foreign etizolam prescription does not authorise possession of a dangerous drug here.

Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218), as last amended by Act No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026 · Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III were substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022, and the entry relied on is read from that Act · the entry relied on is Group B Section 2, 「Etizolam」 · Third Schedule Part I Group B as substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, with sections 48, 54A and 78. Principal Ordinance read from the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board's own copy. Read 2026-09-17 · nddcb.gov.lk · nddcb.gov.lk · parliament.lk · Updated September 21, 2026

Etizolam in Sri Lanka, full detail →

Fentanyl

Legal status: Dangerous drug under Sri Lanka's Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218): Group B Section 1 item 54, 「Fentanyl 1-phenethyl-4-N-propionylanilinopiperidine」. Twenty five further fentanyl analogues are named across Section 1, among them carfentanil at item 28, butyrfentanyl at item 25, acetylfentanyl at item 3, remifentanil at item 117 and thiofentanyl at item 122. The model: the list is inside the Ordinance and the power to change it is delegated, with a parliamentary lock on the delegation. Section 48 provides that 「the drugs, substances, articles or preparations, specified for the time being in Groups A, B, C, D and E in Part I of the Third Schedule, shall be deemed to be dangerous drugs」. Section 2(1) then provides that 「regulation」 means a regulation made under this Ordinance and published in the Gazette, 「and includes the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Schedules」, so the Third Schedule is itself a regulation. The empowering section is section 80. Section 80(2)(b) lets the Minister make regulations 「for adding any item to or deleting any item from, or altering, varying or amending in any other way, any of the lists or Groups of poisons and dangerous drugs set out in the First and Third Schedules」, and section 80(3) then provides that 「No regulation so made shall have effect unless it has been approved by Parliament and notification of such approval has been published in the Gazette」. So the delegation is real but it is locked to an affirmative vote, and in practice the 2022 changes were made by primary legislation rather than by regulation. The Act was last amended by the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026. The Third Schedule was last amended by section 6 of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022 and published as a supplement to Part II of the Gazette of 25 November 2022, which substituted Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III. Act No. 7 of 2026 does not touch the Third Schedule.
Consequences if caught: Capital exposure: none. Section 54A(1) has four limbs and they do not carry the same exposure. Limb (a) punishes any person who 「manufactures any of the following dangerous drugs, namely heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 with 「a sentence of death or life imprisonment」, with no quantity stated. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) punish trafficking, importing or exporting, and possession, of 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule in excess of the amount set out in the said Column II」, with the penalty in Column III. Part III Column II is headed 「Pure Quantities」, and Column I is headed 「Traffics, possess, imports or exports」, so possession is inside the same ladder as trafficking. Section 54B extends the same punishment to abetting, attempting and acts preparatory to or in furtherance of a section 54A offence. Since Act No. 7 of 2026 a parallel section 54AA applies the same two structures on the high seas, aboard a ship registered in Sri Lanka or a stateless ship. For a dangerous drug that is not in Part III, section 54A never engages, because limbs (b), (c) and (d) operate only on a drug 「set out in Column II of Part III」. The charge is the general penalty in section 78(5): on summary conviction by a Magistrate a fine of one thousand to ten thousand rupees or up to five years or both, and on conviction before the High Court a fine of ten thousand to twenty five thousand rupees or six months to seven years or both. Section 78(6) requires the written consent of the Attorney-General before non-summary proceedings. Section 3 clause 4 then covers fentanyl analogues outside Section 1 through the N-[1-(2-phenethyl)-4-piperidyl]aniline nucleus with seven enumerated modification routes, so the family is closed by structure as well as by name. Neither reaches this substance, at any quantity, and the reason is structural rather than a matter of degree. The death and life penalties in this Ordinance live in exactly two places. Section 54A(1)(a) attaches them to the manufacture of 「heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 and names no other drug. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) attach the Column III penalties to 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule」, and Column II names only opium, 「Morphine, Cocaine, Heroin and Methamphetamine」, and cannabis. This substance is in none of those, so section 54A cannot engage however much of it is involved, and section 54AA cannot either, because it is built on the same two structures. Being a dangerous drug under section 48 is not the same thing as being in Part III, and the corpus this cell replaces repeatedly ran the two together.
If prescribed / medical: Fentanyl is used as a hospital anaesthetic and as a transdermal patch for severe pain, dispensed through licensed medical channels.
Documentation: Carry a prescribed patch in its dispensed packaging with the prescription, and keep used patches rather than discarding them loose.

Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218), as last amended by Act No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026 · Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III were substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022, and the entry relied on is read from that Act · the entry relied on is Group B Section 1 item 54, 「Fentanyl 1-phenethyl-4-N-propionylanilinopiperidine」 · Third Schedule Part I Group B as substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, with sections 48, 54A and 78. Principal Ordinance read from the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board's own copy. Read 2026-09-17 · nddcb.gov.lk · nddcb.gov.lk · parliament.lk · Updated September 21, 2026

Fentanyl in Sri Lanka, full detail →

Gabapentin

Legal status: Dangerous drug under Sri Lanka's Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218): Group B Section 1 item 128, 「Gabapentine 2-[1-(Aminomethyl)cyclohexyl]acetic acid」. Gabapentin is a named dangerous drug and is the last numbered entry in Section 1, spelled 「Gabapentine」 in the schedule. The systematic name confirms the substance. The model: the list is inside the Ordinance and the power to change it is delegated, with a parliamentary lock on the delegation. Section 48 provides that 「the drugs, substances, articles or preparations, specified for the time being in Groups A, B, C, D and E in Part I of the Third Schedule, shall be deemed to be dangerous drugs」. Section 2(1) then provides that 「regulation」 means a regulation made under this Ordinance and published in the Gazette, 「and includes the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Schedules」, so the Third Schedule is itself a regulation. The empowering section is section 80. Section 80(2)(b) lets the Minister make regulations 「for adding any item to or deleting any item from, or altering, varying or amending in any other way, any of the lists or Groups of poisons and dangerous drugs set out in the First and Third Schedules」, and section 80(3) then provides that 「No regulation so made shall have effect unless it has been approved by Parliament and notification of such approval has been published in the Gazette」. So the delegation is real but it is locked to an affirmative vote, and in practice the 2022 changes were made by primary legislation rather than by regulation. The Act was last amended by the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026. The Third Schedule was last amended by section 6 of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022 and published as a supplement to Part II of the Gazette of 25 November 2022, which substituted Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III. Act No. 7 of 2026 does not touch the Third Schedule.
Consequences if caught: Capital exposure: none. Section 54A(1) has four limbs and they do not carry the same exposure. Limb (a) punishes any person who 「manufactures any of the following dangerous drugs, namely heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 with 「a sentence of death or life imprisonment」, with no quantity stated. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) punish trafficking, importing or exporting, and possession, of 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule in excess of the amount set out in the said Column II」, with the penalty in Column III. Part III Column II is headed 「Pure Quantities」, and Column I is headed 「Traffics, possess, imports or exports」, so possession is inside the same ladder as trafficking. Section 54B extends the same punishment to abetting, attempting and acts preparatory to or in furtherance of a section 54A offence. Since Act No. 7 of 2026 a parallel section 54AA applies the same two structures on the high seas, aboard a ship registered in Sri Lanka or a stateless ship. For a dangerous drug that is not in Part III, section 54A never engages, because limbs (b), (c) and (d) operate only on a drug 「set out in Column II of Part III」. The charge is the general penalty in section 78(5): on summary conviction by a Magistrate a fine of one thousand to ten thousand rupees or up to five years or both, and on conviction before the High Court a fine of ten thousand to twenty five thousand rupees or six months to seven years or both. Section 78(6) requires the written consent of the Attorney-General before non-summary proceedings. Its presence here is unusual internationally and it is easy to assume the opposite. The entry is explicit and it was added by the 2022 substitution. Neither reaches this substance, at any quantity, and the reason is structural rather than a matter of degree. The death and life penalties in this Ordinance live in exactly two places. Section 54A(1)(a) attaches them to the manufacture of 「heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 and names no other drug. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) attach the Column III penalties to 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule」, and Column II names only opium, 「Morphine, Cocaine, Heroin and Methamphetamine」, and cannabis. This substance is in none of those, so section 54A cannot engage however much of it is involved, and section 54AA cannot either, because it is built on the same two structures. Being a dangerous drug under section 48 is not the same thing as being in Part III, and the corpus this cell replaces repeatedly ran the two together.
If prescribed / medical: Gabapentin is a registered prescription medicine for neuropathic pain and epilepsy, and is simultaneously a dangerous drug under the Ordinance.
Documentation: Carry a prescribed gabapentin supply in its dispensed packaging with the prescription. Travellers routinely assume gabapentin is unscheduled; in Sri Lanka it is item 128.

Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218), as last amended by Act No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026 · Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III were substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022, and the entry relied on is read from that Act · the entry relied on is Group B Section 1 item 128, 「Gabapentine 2-[1-(Aminomethyl)cyclohexyl]acetic acid」 · Third Schedule Part I Group B as substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, with sections 48, 54A and 78. Principal Ordinance read from the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board's own copy. Read 2026-09-17 · nddcb.gov.lk · nddcb.gov.lk · parliament.lk · Updated September 21, 2026

Gabapentin in Sri Lanka, full detail →

GBL

Legal status: Dangerous drug under Sri Lanka's Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218): Third Schedule, Part I, Group B, Section 3, clause 14(b)(iii), 「gamma-butyrolactone」. GBL is named expressly, inside clause 14's list of 「all substances from which GHB can be derived」. 1,4-butanediol is clause 14(b)(i), gamma-aminobutyric acid 14(b)(ii) and gamma-hydroxybutyraldehyde 14(b)(iv). The model: the list is inside the Ordinance and the power to change it is delegated, with a parliamentary lock on the delegation. Section 48 provides that 「the drugs, substances, articles or preparations, specified for the time being in Groups A, B, C, D and E in Part I of the Third Schedule, shall be deemed to be dangerous drugs」. Section 2(1) then provides that 「regulation」 means a regulation made under this Ordinance and published in the Gazette, 「and includes the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Schedules」, so the Third Schedule is itself a regulation. The empowering section is section 80. Section 80(2)(b) lets the Minister make regulations 「for adding any item to or deleting any item from, or altering, varying or amending in any other way, any of the lists or Groups of poisons and dangerous drugs set out in the First and Third Schedules」, and section 80(3) then provides that 「No regulation so made shall have effect unless it has been approved by Parliament and notification of such approval has been published in the Gazette」. So the delegation is real but it is locked to an affirmative vote, and in practice the 2022 changes were made by primary legislation rather than by regulation. The Act was last amended by the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026. The Third Schedule was last amended by section 6 of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022 and published as a supplement to Part II of the Gazette of 25 November 2022, which substituted Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III. Act No. 7 of 2026 does not touch the Third Schedule.
Consequences if caught: Capital exposure: none. Section 54A(1) has four limbs and they do not carry the same exposure. Limb (a) punishes any person who 「manufactures any of the following dangerous drugs, namely heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 with 「a sentence of death or life imprisonment」, with no quantity stated. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) punish trafficking, importing or exporting, and possession, of 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule in excess of the amount set out in the said Column II」, with the penalty in Column III. Part III Column II is headed 「Pure Quantities」, and Column I is headed 「Traffics, possess, imports or exports」, so possession is inside the same ladder as trafficking. Section 54B extends the same punishment to abetting, attempting and acts preparatory to or in furtherance of a section 54A offence. Since Act No. 7 of 2026 a parallel section 54AA applies the same two structures on the high seas, aboard a ship registered in Sri Lanka or a stateless ship. For a dangerous drug that is not in Part III, section 54A never engages, because limbs (b), (c) and (d) operate only on a drug 「set out in Column II of Part III」. The charge is the general penalty in section 78(5): on summary conviction by a Magistrate a fine of one thousand to ten thousand rupees or up to five years or both, and on conviction before the High Court a fine of ten thousand to twenty five thousand rupees or six months to seven years or both. Section 78(6) requires the written consent of the Attorney-General before non-summary proceedings. So Sri Lanka closes the precursor gap that several jurisdictions leave open. The industrial solvent and the finished drug are both dangerous drugs, and clause 14(d) adds any preparation or mixture containing any proportion of either. Neither reaches this substance, at any quantity, and the reason is structural rather than a matter of degree. The death and life penalties in this Ordinance live in exactly two places. Section 54A(1)(a) attaches them to the manufacture of 「heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 and names no other drug. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) attach the Column III penalties to 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule」, and Column II names only opium, 「Morphine, Cocaine, Heroin and Methamphetamine」, and cannabis. This substance is in none of those, so section 54A cannot engage however much of it is involved, and section 54AA cannot either, because it is built on the same two structures. Being a dangerous drug under section 48 is not the same thing as being in Part III, and the corpus this cell replaces repeatedly ran the two together.
If prescribed / medical: GBL is an industrial solvent with no medicinal registration in Sri Lanka.
Documentation: No documentation route. Sale as a cleaning product does not take it outside clause 14.

Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218), as last amended by Act No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026 · Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III were substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022, and the entry relied on is read from that Act · the entry relied on is Third Schedule, Part I, Group B, Section 3, clause 14(b)(iii), 「gamma-butyrolactone」 · Third Schedule Part I Group B as substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, with sections 48, 54A and 78. Principal Ordinance read from the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board's own copy. Read 2026-09-17 · nddcb.gov.lk · nddcb.gov.lk · parliament.lk · Updated September 21, 2026

GBL in Sri Lanka, full detail →

GHB

Legal status: Dangerous drug under Sri Lanka's Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218): Group B Section 2, 「gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid (GHB ACID)」, with Section 3 clause 14 adding a full precursor and derivative list. GHB is named in Section 2 and clause 14 of Section 3 then adds the esters, ethers and amides of GHB, the salts including sodium oxybate, and 「all substances from which GHB can be derived」 with four named examples. The model: the list is inside the Ordinance and the power to change it is delegated, with a parliamentary lock on the delegation. Section 48 provides that 「the drugs, substances, articles or preparations, specified for the time being in Groups A, B, C, D and E in Part I of the Third Schedule, shall be deemed to be dangerous drugs」. Section 2(1) then provides that 「regulation」 means a regulation made under this Ordinance and published in the Gazette, 「and includes the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Schedules」, so the Third Schedule is itself a regulation. The empowering section is section 80. Section 80(2)(b) lets the Minister make regulations 「for adding any item to or deleting any item from, or altering, varying or amending in any other way, any of the lists or Groups of poisons and dangerous drugs set out in the First and Third Schedules」, and section 80(3) then provides that 「No regulation so made shall have effect unless it has been approved by Parliament and notification of such approval has been published in the Gazette」. So the delegation is real but it is locked to an affirmative vote, and in practice the 2022 changes were made by primary legislation rather than by regulation. The Act was last amended by the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026. The Third Schedule was last amended by section 6 of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022 and published as a supplement to Part II of the Gazette of 25 November 2022, which substituted Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III. Act No. 7 of 2026 does not touch the Third Schedule.
Consequences if caught: Capital exposure: none. Section 54A(1) has four limbs and they do not carry the same exposure. Limb (a) punishes any person who 「manufactures any of the following dangerous drugs, namely heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 with 「a sentence of death or life imprisonment」, with no quantity stated. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) punish trafficking, importing or exporting, and possession, of 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule in excess of the amount set out in the said Column II」, with the penalty in Column III. Part III Column II is headed 「Pure Quantities」, and Column I is headed 「Traffics, possess, imports or exports」, so possession is inside the same ladder as trafficking. Section 54B extends the same punishment to abetting, attempting and acts preparatory to or in furtherance of a section 54A offence. Since Act No. 7 of 2026 a parallel section 54AA applies the same two structures on the high seas, aboard a ship registered in Sri Lanka or a stateless ship. For a dangerous drug that is not in Part III, section 54A never engages, because limbs (b), (c) and (d) operate only on a drug 「set out in Column II of Part III」. The charge is the general penalty in section 78(5): on summary conviction by a Magistrate a fine of one thousand to ten thousand rupees or up to five years or both, and on conviction before the High Court a fine of ten thousand to twenty five thousand rupees or six months to seven years or both. Section 78(6) requires the written consent of the Attorney-General before non-summary proceedings. That is one of the most complete generic clauses in the schedule, and it is objective throughout: it names the precursors rather than asking whether a substance resembles GHB. Neither reaches this substance, at any quantity, and the reason is structural rather than a matter of degree. The death and life penalties in this Ordinance live in exactly two places. Section 54A(1)(a) attaches them to the manufacture of 「heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 and names no other drug. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) attach the Column III penalties to 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule」, and Column II names only opium, 「Morphine, Cocaine, Heroin and Methamphetamine」, and cannabis. This substance is in none of those, so section 54A cannot engage however much of it is involved, and section 54AA cannot either, because it is built on the same two structures. Being a dangerous drug under section 48 is not the same thing as being in Part III, and the corpus this cell replaces repeatedly ran the two together.
If prescribed / medical: Sodium oxybate is named in clause 14(c). No GHB medicine holds a Sri Lankan registration.
Documentation: No traveller route. A foreign sodium oxybate prescription is a prescription for a named dangerous drug here.

Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218), as last amended by Act No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026 · Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III were substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022, and the entry relied on is read from that Act · the entry relied on is Group B Section 2, 「gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid (GHB ACID)」, with Section 3 clause 14 adding a full precursor and derivative list · Third Schedule Part I Group B as substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, with sections 48, 54A and 78. Principal Ordinance read from the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board's own copy. Read 2026-09-17 · nddcb.gov.lk · nddcb.gov.lk · parliament.lk · Updated September 21, 2026

GHB in Sri Lanka, full detail →

Heroin

Legal status: Dangerous drug under Sri Lanka's Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218): Third Schedule, Part I, Group B, Section 1, item 58, 「Heroin Diacetylmorphine」. Heroin is also named a second time, in Group E of Part I, where it is the first of the two entries whose exportation is totally prohibited. The model: the list is inside the Ordinance and the power to change it is delegated, with a parliamentary lock on the delegation. Section 48 provides that 「the drugs, substances, articles or preparations, specified for the time being in Groups A, B, C, D and E in Part I of the Third Schedule, shall be deemed to be dangerous drugs」. Section 2(1) then provides that 「regulation」 means a regulation made under this Ordinance and published in the Gazette, 「and includes the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Schedules」, so the Third Schedule is itself a regulation. The empowering section is section 80. Section 80(2)(b) lets the Minister make regulations 「for adding any item to or deleting any item from, or altering, varying or amending in any other way, any of the lists or Groups of poisons and dangerous drugs set out in the First and Third Schedules」, and section 80(3) then provides that 「No regulation so made shall have effect unless it has been approved by Parliament and notification of such approval has been published in the Gazette」. So the delegation is real but it is locked to an affirmative vote, and in practice the 2022 changes were made by primary legislation rather than by regulation. The Act was last amended by the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026. The Third Schedule was last amended by section 6 of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022 and published as a supplement to Part II of the Gazette of 25 November 2022, which substituted Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III. Act No. 7 of 2026 does not touch the Third Schedule.
Consequences if caught: Capital exposure: section 54A(a), manufacture of heroin, cocaine, morphine or opium. [Certain] Re-derived in this pass: section 54A was read at nddcb.gov.lk on 21 September 2026 and provides that a person who «manufactures any of the following dangerous drugs, namely heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium» is «liable to a sentence of death or life imprisonment» on conviction by the High Court without a jury. Those four are the only substances the section names. [Likely] The trafficking route at 54A(b) runs on Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule, and that table was not reached in this pass, so its quantity thresholds are carried from the published entry. Section 54A(1) has four limbs and they do not carry the same exposure. Limb (a) punishes any person who 「manufactures any of the following dangerous drugs, namely heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 with 「a sentence of death or life imprisonment」, with no quantity stated. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) punish trafficking, importing or exporting, and possession, of 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule in excess of the amount set out in the said Column II」, with the penalty in Column III. Part III Column II is headed 「Pure Quantities」, and Column I is headed 「Traffics, possess, imports or exports」, so possession is inside the same ladder as trafficking. Section 54B extends the same punishment to abetting, attempting and acts preparatory to or in furtherance of a section 54A offence. Since Act No. 7 of 2026 a parallel section 54AA applies the same two structures on the high seas, aboard a ship registered in Sri Lanka or a stateless ship. Part III, as substituted in 2022, sets only two capital bands. Opium at 1 kilogramme or above is 「Death or life imprisonment」, and 「Morphine, Cocaine, Heroin and Methamphetamine」 at 5 grammes or above is 「Death or life imprisonment」. Cannabis has a ladder in Part III whose top band is 100 kilogrammes or above and carries ten to fifteen years, with no capital band at all. No other substance appears in Column II anywhere. Section 54B extends the same punishment to abetting, attempting, and any act preparatory to or in furtherance of a section 54A offence, so a courier stopped before delivery is inside the same provision. Both reach this substance and by two separate routes. The first has no quantity at all: section 54A(1)(a) punishes any person who 「manufactures any of the following dangerous drugs, namely heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 with 「a sentence of death or life imprisonment」, and this substance is one of those four. The second is the Part III ladder, where 「Morphine, Cocaine, Heroin and Methamphetamine」 at 「5 grammes or above」 carries 「Death or life imprisonment」, reached through limb (b) trafficking, limb (c) import or export, or limb (d) possession. Column II is headed 「Pure Quantities」, so the five grammes is pure weight and not the weight of the wrap; section 54A(2), inserted in 2022, lets an analyst's certificate that the gross weight is two grammes or less stand as prima facie proof that the pure quantity does not exceed two grammes. It is not mandatory: the phrase is death or life, which leaves the court a choice. Below five grammes the ladder steps down to three to five grammes at ten to twenty years, two to three grammes at seven to ten years, and under two grammes at three to five years. Since Act No. 7 of 2026 section 54AA applies the same two routes on the high seas. Sri Lanka has carried out no judicial execution since 1976 and the sentences are imposed and then not executed, but the sentence itself is real and section 83 bars bail except by the High Court in exceptional circumstances.
If prescribed / medical: Heroin has no medical use in Sri Lanka and no prescribing route. Opioid substitution is not built on it.
Documentation: No document makes heroin lawful to carry. Section 83 of the Ordinance bars bail for a section 54A or 54B offence except by the High Court in exceptional circumstances.

Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218), as last amended by Act No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026 · Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III were substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022, and the entry relied on is read from that Act · the entry relied on is Third Schedule, Part I, Group B, Section 1, item 58, 「Heroin Diacetylmorphine」 · Group B Section 1 item 58, Group E item 1, and sections 54A, 54B and 83. Principal Ordinance read from the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board's own copy. Read 2026-09-17 · nddcb.gov.lk · nddcb.gov.lk · parliament.lk · Updated September 21, 2026

Heroin in Sri Lanka, full detail →

Hydrocodone

Legal status: Dangerous drug under Sri Lanka's Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218): Group B Section 1 item 59, 「Hydrocodone Dihydrocodeinone」. Hydrocodone is a named entry sitting immediately after heroin at item 58 and before hydromorphinol at item 60. It is not marketed in Sri Lanka. The model: the list is inside the Ordinance and the power to change it is delegated, with a parliamentary lock on the delegation. Section 48 provides that 「the drugs, substances, articles or preparations, specified for the time being in Groups A, B, C, D and E in Part I of the Third Schedule, shall be deemed to be dangerous drugs」. Section 2(1) then provides that 「regulation」 means a regulation made under this Ordinance and published in the Gazette, 「and includes the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Schedules」, so the Third Schedule is itself a regulation. The empowering section is section 80. Section 80(2)(b) lets the Minister make regulations 「for adding any item to or deleting any item from, or altering, varying or amending in any other way, any of the lists or Groups of poisons and dangerous drugs set out in the First and Third Schedules」, and section 80(3) then provides that 「No regulation so made shall have effect unless it has been approved by Parliament and notification of such approval has been published in the Gazette」. So the delegation is real but it is locked to an affirmative vote, and in practice the 2022 changes were made by primary legislation rather than by regulation. The Act was last amended by the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026. The Third Schedule was last amended by section 6 of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022 and published as a supplement to Part II of the Gazette of 25 November 2022, which substituted Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III. Act No. 7 of 2026 does not touch the Third Schedule.
Consequences if caught: Capital exposure: none. Section 54A(1) has four limbs and they do not carry the same exposure. Limb (a) punishes any person who 「manufactures any of the following dangerous drugs, namely heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 with 「a sentence of death or life imprisonment」, with no quantity stated. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) punish trafficking, importing or exporting, and possession, of 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule in excess of the amount set out in the said Column II」, with the penalty in Column III. Part III Column II is headed 「Pure Quantities」, and Column I is headed 「Traffics, possess, imports or exports」, so possession is inside the same ladder as trafficking. Section 54B extends the same punishment to abetting, attempting and acts preparatory to or in furtherance of a section 54A offence. Since Act No. 7 of 2026 a parallel section 54AA applies the same two structures on the high seas, aboard a ship registered in Sri Lanka or a stateless ship. For a dangerous drug that is not in Part III, section 54A never engages, because limbs (b), (c) and (d) operate only on a drug 「set out in Column II of Part III」. The charge is the general penalty in section 78(5): on summary conviction by a Magistrate a fine of one thousand to ten thousand rupees or up to five years or both, and on conviction before the High Court a fine of ten thousand to twenty five thousand rupees or six months to seven years or both. Section 78(6) requires the written consent of the Attorney-General before non-summary proceedings. A traveller arriving with a foreign hydrocodone and paracetamol combination is holding a dangerous drug. The combination product's overseas status as an ordinary prescription analgesic does not follow it here. Neither reaches this substance, at any quantity, and the reason is structural rather than a matter of degree. The death and life penalties in this Ordinance live in exactly two places. Section 54A(1)(a) attaches them to the manufacture of 「heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 and names no other drug. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) attach the Column III penalties to 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule」, and Column II names only opium, 「Morphine, Cocaine, Heroin and Methamphetamine」, and cannabis. This substance is in none of those, so section 54A cannot engage however much of it is involved, and section 54AA cannot either, because it is built on the same two structures. Being a dangerous drug under section 48 is not the same thing as being in Part III, and the corpus this cell replaces repeatedly ran the two together.
If prescribed / medical: There is no Sri Lankan hydrocodone product, so no domestic prescription can exist for it.
Documentation: A foreign prescription is not the licence of the Director that the Ordinance requires, so it does not by itself authorise possession.

Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218), as last amended by Act No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026 · Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III were substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022, and the entry relied on is read from that Act · the entry relied on is Group B Section 1 item 59, 「Hydrocodone Dihydrocodeinone」 · Third Schedule Part I Group B as substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, with sections 48, 54A and 78. Principal Ordinance read from the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board's own copy. Read 2026-09-17 · nddcb.gov.lk · nddcb.gov.lk · parliament.lk · Updated September 21, 2026

Hydrocodone in Sri Lanka, full detail →

Ketamine

Legal status: Dangerous drug under Sri Lanka's Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218): Group B Section 2 item 56, 「Ketamine 2-(Methylamino)-2-(2-chlorophenyl)cyclohexanone」. Ketamine is named. Section 3 clause 3 then reaches phencyclidine analogues outside Section 2 by reference to the 1-alkylamino-1-arylcyclohexane structure, which is the family ketamine belongs to, so the designer analogues are covered by structure rather than one at a time. The model: the list is inside the Ordinance and the power to change it is delegated, with a parliamentary lock on the delegation. Section 48 provides that 「the drugs, substances, articles or preparations, specified for the time being in Groups A, B, C, D and E in Part I of the Third Schedule, shall be deemed to be dangerous drugs」. Section 2(1) then provides that 「regulation」 means a regulation made under this Ordinance and published in the Gazette, 「and includes the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Schedules」, so the Third Schedule is itself a regulation. The empowering section is section 80. Section 80(2)(b) lets the Minister make regulations 「for adding any item to or deleting any item from, or altering, varying or amending in any other way, any of the lists or Groups of poisons and dangerous drugs set out in the First and Third Schedules」, and section 80(3) then provides that 「No regulation so made shall have effect unless it has been approved by Parliament and notification of such approval has been published in the Gazette」. So the delegation is real but it is locked to an affirmative vote, and in practice the 2022 changes were made by primary legislation rather than by regulation. The Act was last amended by the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026. The Third Schedule was last amended by section 6 of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022 and published as a supplement to Part II of the Gazette of 25 November 2022, which substituted Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III. Act No. 7 of 2026 does not touch the Third Schedule.
Consequences if caught: Capital exposure: none. Section 54A(1) has four limbs and they do not carry the same exposure. Limb (a) punishes any person who 「manufactures any of the following dangerous drugs, namely heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 with 「a sentence of death or life imprisonment」, with no quantity stated. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) punish trafficking, importing or exporting, and possession, of 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule in excess of the amount set out in the said Column II」, with the penalty in Column III. Part III Column II is headed 「Pure Quantities」, and Column I is headed 「Traffics, possess, imports or exports」, so possession is inside the same ladder as trafficking. Section 54B extends the same punishment to abetting, attempting and acts preparatory to or in furtherance of a section 54A offence. Since Act No. 7 of 2026 a parallel section 54AA applies the same two structures on the high seas, aboard a ship registered in Sri Lanka or a stateless ship. For a dangerous drug that is not in Part III, section 54A never engages, because limbs (b), (c) and (d) operate only on a drug 「set out in Column II of Part III」. The charge is the general penalty in section 78(5): on summary conviction by a Magistrate a fine of one thousand to ten thousand rupees or up to five years or both, and on conviction before the High Court a fine of ten thousand to twenty five thousand rupees or six months to seven years or both. Section 78(6) requires the written consent of the Attorney-General before non-summary proceedings. Ketamine is a licensed anaesthetic, so the licence of the Director under section 54A is a real route for it in a way that it is not for most of this schedule. Neither reaches this substance, at any quantity, and the reason is structural rather than a matter of degree. The death and life penalties in this Ordinance live in exactly two places. Section 54A(1)(a) attaches them to the manufacture of 「heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 and names no other drug. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) attach the Column III penalties to 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule」, and Column II names only opium, 「Morphine, Cocaine, Heroin and Methamphetamine」, and cannabis. This substance is in none of those, so section 54A cannot engage however much of it is involved, and section 54AA cannot either, because it is built on the same two structures. Being a dangerous drug under section 48 is not the same thing as being in Part III, and the corpus this cell replaces repeatedly ran the two together.
If prescribed / medical: Ketamine is used as a human and veterinary anaesthetic through licensed medical channels.
Documentation: There is no traveller route. Clinical supply is institutional.

Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218), as last amended by Act No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026 · Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III were substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022, and the entry relied on is read from that Act · the entry relied on is Group B Section 2 item 56, 「Ketamine 2-(Methylamino)-2-(2-chlorophenyl)cyclohexanone」 · Third Schedule Part I Group B as substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, with sections 48, 54A and 78. Principal Ordinance read from the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board's own copy. Read 2026-09-17 · nddcb.gov.lk · nddcb.gov.lk · parliament.lk · Updated September 21, 2026

Ketamine in Sri Lanka, full detail →

Khat

Legal status: Dangerous drug under Sri Lanka's Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218): Third Schedule, Part I, Group B, Section 3, clause 15(a), 「Khat (Catha edulis)」, with the alkaloid separately at Section 2 item 2. The plant is named, in a list of seven plants that clause 15 controls as 「Plant based substances causing a psychoactive effect」, reaching 「Any part of the plant other than listed in above Sections 1 and 2, any extract or preparation thereof」. The model: the list is inside the Ordinance and the power to change it is delegated, with a parliamentary lock on the delegation. Section 48 provides that 「the drugs, substances, articles or preparations, specified for the time being in Groups A, B, C, D and E in Part I of the Third Schedule, shall be deemed to be dangerous drugs」. Section 2(1) then provides that 「regulation」 means a regulation made under this Ordinance and published in the Gazette, 「and includes the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Schedules」, so the Third Schedule is itself a regulation. The empowering section is section 80. Section 80(2)(b) lets the Minister make regulations 「for adding any item to or deleting any item from, or altering, varying or amending in any other way, any of the lists or Groups of poisons and dangerous drugs set out in the First and Third Schedules」, and section 80(3) then provides that 「No regulation so made shall have effect unless it has been approved by Parliament and notification of such approval has been published in the Gazette」. So the delegation is real but it is locked to an affirmative vote, and in practice the 2022 changes were made by primary legislation rather than by regulation. The Act was last amended by the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026. The Third Schedule was last amended by section 6 of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022 and published as a supplement to Part II of the Gazette of 25 November 2022, which substituted Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III. Act No. 7 of 2026 does not touch the Third Schedule.
Consequences if caught: Capital exposure: none. Section 54A(1) has four limbs and they do not carry the same exposure. Limb (a) punishes any person who 「manufactures any of the following dangerous drugs, namely heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 with 「a sentence of death or life imprisonment」, with no quantity stated. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) punish trafficking, importing or exporting, and possession, of 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule in excess of the amount set out in the said Column II」, with the penalty in Column III. Part III Column II is headed 「Pure Quantities」, and Column I is headed 「Traffics, possess, imports or exports」, so possession is inside the same ladder as trafficking. Section 54B extends the same punishment to abetting, attempting and acts preparatory to or in furtherance of a section 54A offence. Since Act No. 7 of 2026 a parallel section 54AA applies the same two structures on the high seas, aboard a ship registered in Sri Lanka or a stateless ship. For a dangerous drug that is not in Part III, section 54A never engages, because limbs (b), (c) and (d) operate only on a drug 「set out in Column II of Part III」. The charge is the general penalty in section 78(5): on summary conviction by a Magistrate a fine of one thousand to ten thousand rupees or up to five years or both, and on conviction before the High Court a fine of ten thousand to twenty five thousand rupees or six months to seven years or both. Section 78(6) requires the written consent of the Attorney-General before non-summary proceedings. So khat is reached twice: as the named plant under clause 15(a) and through its cathinone content under Section 2 item 2. A reader does not need to argue from alkaloid content to reach the leaf. Neither reaches this substance, at any quantity, and the reason is structural rather than a matter of degree. The death and life penalties in this Ordinance live in exactly two places. Section 54A(1)(a) attaches them to the manufacture of 「heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 and names no other drug. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) attach the Column III penalties to 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule」, and Column II names only opium, 「Morphine, Cocaine, Heroin and Methamphetamine」, and cannabis. This substance is in none of those, so section 54A cannot engage however much of it is involved, and section 54AA cannot either, because it is built on the same two structures. Being a dangerous drug under section 48 is not the same thing as being in Part III, and the corpus this cell replaces repeatedly ran the two together.
If prescribed / medical: Khat has no recognised medical use and no prescribing route in Sri Lanka.
Documentation: Fresh or dried khat leaf in baggage is a named plant in the schedule, whatever its cathinone content has degraded to.

Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218), as last amended by Act No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026 · Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III were substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022, and the entry relied on is read from that Act · the entry relied on is Third Schedule, Part I, Group B, Section 3, clause 15(a), 「Khat (Catha edulis)」, with the alkaloid separately at Section 2 item 2 · Third Schedule Part I Group B as substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, with sections 48, 54A and 78. Principal Ordinance read from the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board's own copy. Read 2026-09-17 · nddcb.gov.lk · nddcb.gov.lk · parliament.lk · Updated September 21, 2026

Khat in Sri Lanka, full detail →

Kratom

Legal status: Dangerous drug under Sri Lanka's Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218): Third Schedule, Part I, Group B, Section 3, clause 15(b), 「Kratom (Mitragyna speciosa)」. The plant is named in the clause 15 plant list and neither of its alkaloids is named anywhere in Sections 1 or 2. Clause 15 reaches any part of the plant and any extract or preparation of it. The model: the list is inside the Ordinance and the power to change it is delegated, with a parliamentary lock on the delegation. Section 48 provides that 「the drugs, substances, articles or preparations, specified for the time being in Groups A, B, C, D and E in Part I of the Third Schedule, shall be deemed to be dangerous drugs」. Section 2(1) then provides that 「regulation」 means a regulation made under this Ordinance and published in the Gazette, 「and includes the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Schedules」, so the Third Schedule is itself a regulation. The empowering section is section 80. Section 80(2)(b) lets the Minister make regulations 「for adding any item to or deleting any item from, or altering, varying or amending in any other way, any of the lists or Groups of poisons and dangerous drugs set out in the First and Third Schedules」, and section 80(3) then provides that 「No regulation so made shall have effect unless it has been approved by Parliament and notification of such approval has been published in the Gazette」. So the delegation is real but it is locked to an affirmative vote, and in practice the 2022 changes were made by primary legislation rather than by regulation. The Act was last amended by the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026. The Third Schedule was last amended by section 6 of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022 and published as a supplement to Part II of the Gazette of 25 November 2022, which substituted Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III. Act No. 7 of 2026 does not touch the Third Schedule.
Consequences if caught: Capital exposure: none. Section 54A(1) has four limbs and they do not carry the same exposure. Limb (a) punishes any person who 「manufactures any of the following dangerous drugs, namely heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 with 「a sentence of death or life imprisonment」, with no quantity stated. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) punish trafficking, importing or exporting, and possession, of 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule in excess of the amount set out in the said Column II」, with the penalty in Column III. Part III Column II is headed 「Pure Quantities」, and Column I is headed 「Traffics, possess, imports or exports」, so possession is inside the same ladder as trafficking. Section 54B extends the same punishment to abetting, attempting and acts preparatory to or in furtherance of a section 54A offence. Since Act No. 7 of 2026 a parallel section 54AA applies the same two structures on the high seas, aboard a ship registered in Sri Lanka or a stateless ship. For a dangerous drug that is not in Part III, section 54A never engages, because limbs (b), (c) and (d) operate only on a drug 「set out in Column II of Part III」. The charge is the general penalty in section 78(5): on summary conviction by a Magistrate a fine of one thousand to ten thousand rupees or up to five years or both, and on conviction before the High Court a fine of ten thousand to twenty five thousand rupees or six months to seven years or both. Section 78(6) requires the written consent of the Attorney-General before non-summary proceedings. Because the plant entry is the route, alkaloid content is not an element to be proved. Leaf, powder and extract all reach clause 15(b) directly. Neither reaches this substance, at any quantity, and the reason is structural rather than a matter of degree. The death and life penalties in this Ordinance live in exactly two places. Section 54A(1)(a) attaches them to the manufacture of 「heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 and names no other drug. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) attach the Column III penalties to 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule」, and Column II names only opium, 「Morphine, Cocaine, Heroin and Methamphetamine」, and cannabis. This substance is in none of those, so section 54A cannot engage however much of it is involved, and section 54AA cannot either, because it is built on the same two structures. Being a dangerous drug under section 48 is not the same thing as being in Part III, and the corpus this cell replaces repeatedly ran the two together.
If prescribed / medical: Kratom has no licensed medicine and no prescribing route in Sri Lanka.
Documentation: No personal import route. Kratom is sold openly in several countries in the region, which is how it arrives in baggage.

Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218), as last amended by Act No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026 · Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III were substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022, and the entry relied on is read from that Act · the entry relied on is Third Schedule, Part I, Group B, Section 3, clause 15(b), 「Kratom (Mitragyna speciosa)」 · Third Schedule Part I Group B as substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, with sections 48, 54A and 78. Principal Ordinance read from the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board's own copy. Read 2026-09-17 · nddcb.gov.lk · nddcb.gov.lk · parliament.lk · Updated September 21, 2026

Kratom in Sri Lanka, full detail →

Lorazepam

Legal status: Dangerous drug under Sri Lanka's Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218): Group B Section 2, 「Lorazepam」. Lorazepam is named individually, as is lormetazepam, so the family is enumerated one compound at a time rather than by a class formula. The model: the list is inside the Ordinance and the power to change it is delegated, with a parliamentary lock on the delegation. Section 48 provides that 「the drugs, substances, articles or preparations, specified for the time being in Groups A, B, C, D and E in Part I of the Third Schedule, shall be deemed to be dangerous drugs」. Section 2(1) then provides that 「regulation」 means a regulation made under this Ordinance and published in the Gazette, 「and includes the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Schedules」, so the Third Schedule is itself a regulation. The empowering section is section 80. Section 80(2)(b) lets the Minister make regulations 「for adding any item to or deleting any item from, or altering, varying or amending in any other way, any of the lists or Groups of poisons and dangerous drugs set out in the First and Third Schedules」, and section 80(3) then provides that 「No regulation so made shall have effect unless it has been approved by Parliament and notification of such approval has been published in the Gazette」. So the delegation is real but it is locked to an affirmative vote, and in practice the 2022 changes were made by primary legislation rather than by regulation. The Act was last amended by the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026. The Third Schedule was last amended by section 6 of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022 and published as a supplement to Part II of the Gazette of 25 November 2022, which substituted Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III. Act No. 7 of 2026 does not touch the Third Schedule.
Consequences if caught: Capital exposure: none. Section 54A(1) has four limbs and they do not carry the same exposure. Limb (a) punishes any person who 「manufactures any of the following dangerous drugs, namely heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 with 「a sentence of death or life imprisonment」, with no quantity stated. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) punish trafficking, importing or exporting, and possession, of 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule in excess of the amount set out in the said Column II」, with the penalty in Column III. Part III Column II is headed 「Pure Quantities」, and Column I is headed 「Traffics, possess, imports or exports」, so possession is inside the same ladder as trafficking. Section 54B extends the same punishment to abetting, attempting and acts preparatory to or in furtherance of a section 54A offence. Since Act No. 7 of 2026 a parallel section 54AA applies the same two structures on the high seas, aboard a ship registered in Sri Lanka or a stateless ship. For a dangerous drug that is not in Part III, section 54A never engages, because limbs (b), (c) and (d) operate only on a drug 「set out in Column II of Part III」. The charge is the general penalty in section 78(5): on summary conviction by a Magistrate a fine of one thousand to ten thousand rupees or up to five years or both, and on conviction before the High Court a fine of ten thousand to twenty five thousand rupees or six months to seven years or both. Section 78(6) requires the written consent of the Attorney-General before non-summary proceedings. There is no benzodiazepine class clause anywhere in this schedule. Every member is reached by its own entry plus the isomer, ester, ether and salt clauses. Neither reaches this substance, at any quantity, and the reason is structural rather than a matter of degree. The death and life penalties in this Ordinance live in exactly two places. Section 54A(1)(a) attaches them to the manufacture of 「heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 and names no other drug. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) attach the Column III penalties to 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule」, and Column II names only opium, 「Morphine, Cocaine, Heroin and Methamphetamine」, and cannabis. This substance is in none of those, so section 54A cannot engage however much of it is involved, and section 54AA cannot either, because it is built on the same two structures. Being a dangerous drug under section 48 is not the same thing as being in Part III, and the corpus this cell replaces repeatedly ran the two together.
If prescribed / medical: Lorazepam is a registered prescription anxiolytic and hypnotic and is simultaneously a dangerous drug under the Ordinance.
Documentation: Carry a prescribed lorazepam supply in its dispensed packaging with the prescription. Loose tablets carry no evidence of authority.

Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218), as last amended by Act No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026 · Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III were substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022, and the entry relied on is read from that Act · the entry relied on is Group B Section 2, 「Lorazepam」 · Third Schedule Part I Group B as substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, with sections 48, 54A and 78. Principal Ordinance read from the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board's own copy. Read 2026-09-17 · nddcb.gov.lk · nddcb.gov.lk · parliament.lk · Updated September 21, 2026

Lorazepam in Sri Lanka, full detail →

LSA (Morning Glory)

Legal status: Dangerous drug under Sri Lanka's Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218): Third Schedule, Part I, Group B, Section 2 item 11, the lysergamide clause, and Section 3 clause 15(f), 「Hawaiian Baby Woodrose (Argyreia nervosa)」. Two routes reach lysergic acid amide and both are objective. Item 11 covers substances structurally derived from lysergamide, and ergine is lysergamide itself. Clause 15(f) separately names the seed that contains it and reaches 「Any part of the plant... any extract or preparation thereof」. The model: the list is inside the Ordinance and the power to change it is delegated, with a parliamentary lock on the delegation. Section 48 provides that 「the drugs, substances, articles or preparations, specified for the time being in Groups A, B, C, D and E in Part I of the Third Schedule, shall be deemed to be dangerous drugs」. Section 2(1) then provides that 「regulation」 means a regulation made under this Ordinance and published in the Gazette, 「and includes the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Schedules」, so the Third Schedule is itself a regulation. The empowering section is section 80. Section 80(2)(b) lets the Minister make regulations 「for adding any item to or deleting any item from, or altering, varying or amending in any other way, any of the lists or Groups of poisons and dangerous drugs set out in the First and Third Schedules」, and section 80(3) then provides that 「No regulation so made shall have effect unless it has been approved by Parliament and notification of such approval has been published in the Gazette」. So the delegation is real but it is locked to an affirmative vote, and in practice the 2022 changes were made by primary legislation rather than by regulation. The Act was last amended by the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026. The Third Schedule was last amended by section 6 of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022 and published as a supplement to Part II of the Gazette of 25 November 2022, which substituted Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III. Act No. 7 of 2026 does not touch the Third Schedule.
Consequences if caught: Capital exposure: none. Section 54A(1) has four limbs and they do not carry the same exposure. Limb (a) punishes any person who 「manufactures any of the following dangerous drugs, namely heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 with 「a sentence of death or life imprisonment」, with no quantity stated. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) punish trafficking, importing or exporting, and possession, of 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule in excess of the amount set out in the said Column II」, with the penalty in Column III. Part III Column II is headed 「Pure Quantities」, and Column I is headed 「Traffics, possess, imports or exports」, so possession is inside the same ladder as trafficking. Section 54B extends the same punishment to abetting, attempting and acts preparatory to or in furtherance of a section 54A offence. Since Act No. 7 of 2026 a parallel section 54AA applies the same two structures on the high seas, aboard a ship registered in Sri Lanka or a stateless ship. For a dangerous drug that is not in Part III, section 54A never engages, because limbs (b), (c) and (d) operate only on a drug 「set out in Column II of Part III」. The charge is the general penalty in section 78(5): on summary conviction by a Magistrate a fine of one thousand to ten thousand rupees or up to five years or both, and on conviction before the High Court a fine of ten thousand to twenty five thousand rupees or six months to seven years or both. Section 78(6) requires the written consent of the Attorney-General before non-summary proceedings. Morning glory, Ipomoea, is not in the clause 15 plant list. Hawaiian baby woodrose is, so the two common seed sources are not treated alike. Neither reaches this substance, at any quantity, and the reason is structural rather than a matter of degree. The death and life penalties in this Ordinance live in exactly two places. Section 54A(1)(a) attaches them to the manufacture of 「heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 and names no other drug. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) attach the Column III penalties to 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule」, and Column II names only opium, 「Morphine, Cocaine, Heroin and Methamphetamine」, and cannabis. This substance is in none of those, so section 54A cannot engage however much of it is involved, and section 54AA cannot either, because it is built on the same two structures. Being a dangerous drug under section 48 is not the same thing as being in Part III, and the corpus this cell replaces repeatedly ran the two together.
If prescribed / medical: Neither ergine nor the seed has a licensed medicine or a prescribing route.
Documentation: Hawaiian baby woodrose seed is a named plant under clause 15(f). Morning glory seed is not named.

Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218), as last amended by Act No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026 · Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III were substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022, and the entry relied on is read from that Act · the entry relied on is Third Schedule, Part I, Group B, Section 2 item 11, the lysergamide clause, and Section 3 clause 15(f), 「Hawaiian Baby Woodrose (Argyreia nervosa)」 · Third Schedule Part I Group B as substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, with sections 48, 54A and 78. Principal Ordinance read from the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board's own copy. Read 2026-09-17 · nddcb.gov.lk · nddcb.gov.lk · parliament.lk · Updated September 21, 2026

LSA (Morning Glory) in Sri Lanka, full detail →

LSD

Legal status: Dangerous drug under Sri Lanka's Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218): Group B Section 2 item 11, 「(+)-Lysergide and other substances structurally derived from lysergamide by substitution of any of the atoms」. The entry is not a bare name. It is a generic lysergamide clause: lysergide itself, N,N-diethyl-D-lysergamide, and any other substance structurally derived from lysergamide by substitution of any of the atoms. The model: the list is inside the Ordinance and the power to change it is delegated, with a parliamentary lock on the delegation. Section 48 provides that 「the drugs, substances, articles or preparations, specified for the time being in Groups A, B, C, D and E in Part I of the Third Schedule, shall be deemed to be dangerous drugs」. Section 2(1) then provides that 「regulation」 means a regulation made under this Ordinance and published in the Gazette, 「and includes the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Schedules」, so the Third Schedule is itself a regulation. The empowering section is section 80. Section 80(2)(b) lets the Minister make regulations 「for adding any item to or deleting any item from, or altering, varying or amending in any other way, any of the lists or Groups of poisons and dangerous drugs set out in the First and Third Schedules」, and section 80(3) then provides that 「No regulation so made shall have effect unless it has been approved by Parliament and notification of such approval has been published in the Gazette」. So the delegation is real but it is locked to an affirmative vote, and in practice the 2022 changes were made by primary legislation rather than by regulation. The Act was last amended by the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026. The Third Schedule was last amended by section 6 of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022 and published as a supplement to Part II of the Gazette of 25 November 2022, which substituted Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III. Act No. 7 of 2026 does not touch the Third Schedule.
Consequences if caught: Capital exposure: none. Section 54A(1) has four limbs and they do not carry the same exposure. Limb (a) punishes any person who 「manufactures any of the following dangerous drugs, namely heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 with 「a sentence of death or life imprisonment」, with no quantity stated. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) punish trafficking, importing or exporting, and possession, of 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule in excess of the amount set out in the said Column II」, with the penalty in Column III. Part III Column II is headed 「Pure Quantities」, and Column I is headed 「Traffics, possess, imports or exports」, so possession is inside the same ladder as trafficking. Section 54B extends the same punishment to abetting, attempting and acts preparatory to or in furtherance of a section 54A offence. Since Act No. 7 of 2026 a parallel section 54AA applies the same two structures on the high seas, aboard a ship registered in Sri Lanka or a stateless ship. For a dangerous drug that is not in Part III, section 54A never engages, because limbs (b), (c) and (d) operate only on a drug 「set out in Column II of Part III」. The charge is the general penalty in section 78(5): on summary conviction by a Magistrate a fine of one thousand to ten thousand rupees or up to five years or both, and on conviction before the High Court a fine of ten thousand to twenty five thousand rupees or six months to seven years or both. Section 78(6) requires the written consent of the Attorney-General before non-summary proceedings. That generic wording is what decides the unlisted lysergamides, and it is a structural test rather than a resemblance test, so it settles them rather than deferring them. Neither reaches this substance, at any quantity, and the reason is structural rather than a matter of degree. The death and life penalties in this Ordinance live in exactly two places. Section 54A(1)(a) attaches them to the manufacture of 「heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 and names no other drug. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) attach the Column III penalties to 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule」, and Column II names only opium, 「Morphine, Cocaine, Heroin and Methamphetamine」, and cannabis. This substance is in none of those, so section 54A cannot engage however much of it is involved, and section 54AA cannot either, because it is built on the same two structures. Being a dangerous drug under section 48 is not the same thing as being in Part III, and the corpus this cell replaces repeatedly ran the two together.
If prescribed / medical: LSD has no medical use and no prescribing route in Sri Lanka.
Documentation: No documentation route. A blotter sheet weighs almost nothing and would never approach any Part III quantity even if LSD were in Part III, which it is not.

Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218), as last amended by Act No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026 · Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III were substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022, and the entry relied on is read from that Act · the entry relied on is Group B Section 2 item 11, 「(+)-Lysergide and other substances structurally derived from lysergamide by substitution of any of the atoms」 · Third Schedule Part I Group B as substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, with sections 48, 54A and 78. Principal Ordinance read from the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board's own copy. Read 2026-09-17 · nddcb.gov.lk · nddcb.gov.lk · parliament.lk · Updated September 21, 2026

LSD in Sri Lanka, full detail →

MDA

Legal status: Dangerous drug under Sri Lanka's Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218): Group B Section 2, 「MDA」. MDA is a named entry. The trap that caught another jurisdiction is live here in a different form: the schedule also carries MMDA and MDEA type entries whose abbreviations differ from MDA by one letter, and item 64 is 3,4-Methylenedioxypyrovalerone, so the abbreviation alone is not the entry. The model: the list is inside the Ordinance and the power to change it is delegated, with a parliamentary lock on the delegation. Section 48 provides that 「the drugs, substances, articles or preparations, specified for the time being in Groups A, B, C, D and E in Part I of the Third Schedule, shall be deemed to be dangerous drugs」. Section 2(1) then provides that 「regulation」 means a regulation made under this Ordinance and published in the Gazette, 「and includes the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Schedules」, so the Third Schedule is itself a regulation. The empowering section is section 80. Section 80(2)(b) lets the Minister make regulations 「for adding any item to or deleting any item from, or altering, varying or amending in any other way, any of the lists or Groups of poisons and dangerous drugs set out in the First and Third Schedules」, and section 80(3) then provides that 「No regulation so made shall have effect unless it has been approved by Parliament and notification of such approval has been published in the Gazette」. So the delegation is real but it is locked to an affirmative vote, and in practice the 2022 changes were made by primary legislation rather than by regulation. The Act was last amended by the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026. The Third Schedule was last amended by section 6 of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022 and published as a supplement to Part II of the Gazette of 25 November 2022, which substituted Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III. Act No. 7 of 2026 does not touch the Third Schedule.
Consequences if caught: Capital exposure: none. Section 54A(1) has four limbs and they do not carry the same exposure. Limb (a) punishes any person who 「manufactures any of the following dangerous drugs, namely heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 with 「a sentence of death or life imprisonment」, with no quantity stated. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) punish trafficking, importing or exporting, and possession, of 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule in excess of the amount set out in the said Column II」, with the penalty in Column III. Part III Column II is headed 「Pure Quantities」, and Column I is headed 「Traffics, possess, imports or exports」, so possession is inside the same ladder as trafficking. Section 54B extends the same punishment to abetting, attempting and acts preparatory to or in furtherance of a section 54A offence. Since Act No. 7 of 2026 a parallel section 54AA applies the same two structures on the high seas, aboard a ship registered in Sri Lanka or a stateless ship. For a dangerous drug that is not in Part III, section 54A never engages, because limbs (b), (c) and (d) operate only on a drug 「set out in Column II of Part III」. The charge is the general penalty in section 78(5): on summary conviction by a Magistrate a fine of one thousand to ten thousand rupees or up to five years or both, and on conviction before the High Court a fine of ten thousand to twenty five thousand rupees or six months to seven years or both. Section 78(6) requires the written consent of the Attorney-General before non-summary proceedings. Section 3 clause 1 reaches amphetamine analogues outside Section 2 by an enumerated structural test. Neither reaches this substance, at any quantity, and the reason is structural rather than a matter of degree. The death and life penalties in this Ordinance live in exactly two places. Section 54A(1)(a) attaches them to the manufacture of 「heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 and names no other drug. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) attach the Column III penalties to 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule」, and Column II names only opium, 「Morphine, Cocaine, Heroin and Methamphetamine」, and cannabis. This substance is in none of those, so section 54A cannot engage however much of it is involved, and section 54AA cannot either, because it is built on the same two structures. Being a dangerous drug under section 48 is not the same thing as being in Part III, and the corpus this cell replaces repeatedly ran the two together.
If prescribed / medical: MDA has no medical use and no prescribing route in Sri Lanka.
Documentation: No lawful personal import. MDA is also the principal metabolite of MDMA, so an analysis may not distinguish which was held.

Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218), as last amended by Act No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026 · Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III were substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022, and the entry relied on is read from that Act · the entry relied on is Group B Section 2, 「MDA」 · Third Schedule Part I Group B as substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, with sections 48, 54A and 78. Principal Ordinance read from the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board's own copy. Read 2026-09-17 · nddcb.gov.lk · nddcb.gov.lk · parliament.lk · Updated September 21, 2026

MDA in Sri Lanka, full detail →

MDMA

Legal status: Dangerous drug under Sri Lanka's Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218): Group B Section 2, 「MDMA」, with methylone separately at item 66 as 「beta-keto-MDMA」. MDMA is named in its own right. The schedule then names a long run of its relatives individually, among them ethylone at item 47 and methylone at item 66, rather than relying on a family formula for them. The model: the list is inside the Ordinance and the power to change it is delegated, with a parliamentary lock on the delegation. Section 48 provides that 「the drugs, substances, articles or preparations, specified for the time being in Groups A, B, C, D and E in Part I of the Third Schedule, shall be deemed to be dangerous drugs」. Section 2(1) then provides that 「regulation」 means a regulation made under this Ordinance and published in the Gazette, 「and includes the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Schedules」, so the Third Schedule is itself a regulation. The empowering section is section 80. Section 80(2)(b) lets the Minister make regulations 「for adding any item to or deleting any item from, or altering, varying or amending in any other way, any of the lists or Groups of poisons and dangerous drugs set out in the First and Third Schedules」, and section 80(3) then provides that 「No regulation so made shall have effect unless it has been approved by Parliament and notification of such approval has been published in the Gazette」. So the delegation is real but it is locked to an affirmative vote, and in practice the 2022 changes were made by primary legislation rather than by regulation. The Act was last amended by the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026. The Third Schedule was last amended by section 6 of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022 and published as a supplement to Part II of the Gazette of 25 November 2022, which substituted Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III. Act No. 7 of 2026 does not touch the Third Schedule.
Consequences if caught: Capital exposure: none. Section 54A(1) has four limbs and they do not carry the same exposure. Limb (a) punishes any person who 「manufactures any of the following dangerous drugs, namely heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 with 「a sentence of death or life imprisonment」, with no quantity stated. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) punish trafficking, importing or exporting, and possession, of 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule in excess of the amount set out in the said Column II」, with the penalty in Column III. Part III Column II is headed 「Pure Quantities」, and Column I is headed 「Traffics, possess, imports or exports」, so possession is inside the same ladder as trafficking. Section 54B extends the same punishment to abetting, attempting and acts preparatory to or in furtherance of a section 54A offence. Since Act No. 7 of 2026 a parallel section 54AA applies the same two structures on the high seas, aboard a ship registered in Sri Lanka or a stateless ship. For a dangerous drug that is not in Part III, section 54A never engages, because limbs (b), (c) and (d) operate only on a drug 「set out in Column II of Part III」. The charge is the general penalty in section 78(5): on summary conviction by a Magistrate a fine of one thousand to ten thousand rupees or up to five years or both, and on conviction before the High Court a fine of ten thousand to twenty five thousand rupees or six months to seven years or both. Section 78(6) requires the written consent of the Attorney-General before non-summary proceedings. Section 3 clause 9 additionally reaches phenethylamines and their analogues that are not already in Section 2, expressly including 「ring substituted amphetamines such as the 'D series'」. Neither reaches this substance, at any quantity, and the reason is structural rather than a matter of degree. The death and life penalties in this Ordinance live in exactly two places. Section 54A(1)(a) attaches them to the manufacture of 「heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 and names no other drug. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) attach the Column III penalties to 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule」, and Column II names only opium, 「Morphine, Cocaine, Heroin and Methamphetamine」, and cannabis. This substance is in none of those, so section 54A cannot engage however much of it is involved, and section 54AA cannot either, because it is built on the same two structures. Being a dangerous drug under section 48 is not the same thing as being in Part III, and the corpus this cell replaces repeatedly ran the two together.
If prescribed / medical: MDMA has no prescribing route in Sri Lanka and no licensed medicine.
Documentation: No traveller route. A tablet sold as MDMA carries no reliable indication of its contents.

Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218), as last amended by Act No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026 · Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III were substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022, and the entry relied on is read from that Act · the entry relied on is Group B Section 2, 「MDMA」, with methylone separately at item 66 as 「beta-keto-MDMA」 · Third Schedule Part I Group B as substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, with sections 48, 54A and 78. Principal Ordinance read from the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board's own copy. Read 2026-09-17 · nddcb.gov.lk · nddcb.gov.lk · parliament.lk · Updated September 21, 2026

MDMA in Sri Lanka, full detail →

MDPV

Legal status: Dangerous drug under Sri Lanka's Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218): Group B Section 2 item 64, 「3,4-Methylenedioxy pyrovalerone (MDPV)」. MDPV and pyrovalerone are two different entries in this schedule. Pyrovalerone is item 153, 「4'-methyl-2-(1-pyrrolidinyl)valerophenone」, ninety entries away. Section 3 clause 10 goes further and expressly excludes pyrovalerone from one of its analogue definitions, so the drafters distinguished them deliberately. The model: the list is inside the Ordinance and the power to change it is delegated, with a parliamentary lock on the delegation. Section 48 provides that 「the drugs, substances, articles or preparations, specified for the time being in Groups A, B, C, D and E in Part I of the Third Schedule, shall be deemed to be dangerous drugs」. Section 2(1) then provides that 「regulation」 means a regulation made under this Ordinance and published in the Gazette, 「and includes the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Schedules」, so the Third Schedule is itself a regulation. The empowering section is section 80. Section 80(2)(b) lets the Minister make regulations 「for adding any item to or deleting any item from, or altering, varying or amending in any other way, any of the lists or Groups of poisons and dangerous drugs set out in the First and Third Schedules」, and section 80(3) then provides that 「No regulation so made shall have effect unless it has been approved by Parliament and notification of such approval has been published in the Gazette」. So the delegation is real but it is locked to an affirmative vote, and in practice the 2022 changes were made by primary legislation rather than by regulation. The Act was last amended by the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026. The Third Schedule was last amended by section 6 of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022 and published as a supplement to Part II of the Gazette of 25 November 2022, which substituted Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III. Act No. 7 of 2026 does not touch the Third Schedule.
Consequences if caught: Capital exposure: none. Section 54A(1) has four limbs and they do not carry the same exposure. Limb (a) punishes any person who 「manufactures any of the following dangerous drugs, namely heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 with 「a sentence of death or life imprisonment」, with no quantity stated. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) punish trafficking, importing or exporting, and possession, of 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule in excess of the amount set out in the said Column II」, with the penalty in Column III. Part III Column II is headed 「Pure Quantities」, and Column I is headed 「Traffics, possess, imports or exports」, so possession is inside the same ladder as trafficking. Section 54B extends the same punishment to abetting, attempting and acts preparatory to or in furtherance of a section 54A offence. Since Act No. 7 of 2026 a parallel section 54AA applies the same two structures on the high seas, aboard a ship registered in Sri Lanka or a stateless ship. For a dangerous drug that is not in Part III, section 54A never engages, because limbs (b), (c) and (d) operate only on a drug 「set out in Column II of Part III」. The charge is the general penalty in section 78(5): on summary conviction by a Magistrate a fine of one thousand to ten thousand rupees or up to five years or both, and on conviction before the High Court a fine of ten thousand to twenty five thousand rupees or six months to seven years or both. Section 78(6) requires the written consent of the Attorney-General before non-summary proceedings. Section 3 clauses 7, 10 and 11 reach the synthetic cathinones by structure, clause 7 by derivation from 2-amino-1-phenylpropan-1-one and clauses 10 and 11 by enumerated modifications of it. Neither reaches this substance, at any quantity, and the reason is structural rather than a matter of degree. The death and life penalties in this Ordinance live in exactly two places. Section 54A(1)(a) attaches them to the manufacture of 「heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 and names no other drug. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) attach the Column III penalties to 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule」, and Column II names only opium, 「Morphine, Cocaine, Heroin and Methamphetamine」, and cannabis. This substance is in none of those, so section 54A cannot engage however much of it is involved, and section 54AA cannot either, because it is built on the same two structures. Being a dangerous drug under section 48 is not the same thing as being in Part III, and the corpus this cell replaces repeatedly ran the two together.
If prescribed / medical: MDPV has no medical use and no prescribing route. Pyrovalerone, the separate entry, has no Sri Lankan licence either.
Documentation: No personal import route. MDPV appears in material sold under other names.

Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218), as last amended by Act No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026 · Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III were substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022, and the entry relied on is read from that Act · the entry relied on is Group B Section 2 item 64, 「3,4-Methylenedioxy pyrovalerone (MDPV)」 · Third Schedule Part I Group B as substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, with sections 48, 54A and 78. Principal Ordinance read from the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board's own copy. Read 2026-09-17 · nddcb.gov.lk · nddcb.gov.lk · parliament.lk · Updated September 21, 2026

MDPV in Sri Lanka, full detail →

Memantine

Legal status: Not a dangerous drug under Sri Lanka's Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218): absent from Groups A, B, C, D and E of the Third Schedule. Memantine is not in any Group of the Third Schedule and is not a dangerous drug. It is a registered prescription medicine for Alzheimer's disease. The model: the list is inside the Ordinance and the power to change it is delegated, with a parliamentary lock on the delegation. Section 48 provides that 「the drugs, substances, articles or preparations, specified for the time being in Groups A, B, C, D and E in Part I of the Third Schedule, shall be deemed to be dangerous drugs」. Section 2(1) then provides that 「regulation」 means a regulation made under this Ordinance and published in the Gazette, 「and includes the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Schedules」, so the Third Schedule is itself a regulation. The empowering section is section 80. Section 80(2)(b) lets the Minister make regulations 「for adding any item to or deleting any item from, or altering, varying or amending in any other way, any of the lists or Groups of poisons and dangerous drugs set out in the First and Third Schedules」, and section 80(3) then provides that 「No regulation so made shall have effect unless it has been approved by Parliament and notification of such approval has been published in the Gazette」. So the delegation is real but it is locked to an affirmative vote, and in practice the 2022 changes were made by primary legislation rather than by regulation. The Act was last amended by the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026. The Third Schedule was last amended by section 6 of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022 and published as a supplement to Part II of the Gazette of 25 November 2022, which substituted Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III. Act No. 7 of 2026 does not touch the Third Schedule.
Consequences if caught: Capital exposure: none. No drugs offence reaches it. Its pharmacology overlaps with the dissociatives that Section 3 clause 3 covers, but that clause is a structural test built on the 1-alkylamino-1-arylcyclohexane skeleton and memantine is an aminoadamantane, so it is outside the clause on structure and not merely unnamed. Neither reaches this substance, and not because the penalty is low but because no dangerous drug offence in this Ordinance engages at all. Section 48 makes a substance a dangerous drug only if it is specified in Groups A to E of Part I of the Third Schedule, and this substance is in none of them. Section 54A(1)(a) names four drugs for the manufacture limb and Part III Column II names five substances for the quantity limbs; this is neither, so no capital or life sentence is available for it on any facts. Saying that much does not dispose of the whole Ordinance, and the corpus this cell replaces never reached the rest of it. Chapter II runs a separate poisons regime over the First Schedule, whose Parts I to V were read in full for this cell, and this substance is named nowhere in them, so sections 5, 17, 18 and 19 create no offence for it either. The instrument that does govern it is named in the status above.
If prescribed / medical: Memantine is dispensed on prescription for moderate to severe Alzheimer's disease.
Documentation: Carry a prescribed memantine supply in its dispensed packaging with the prescription. It is an ordinary medicine for customs purposes here.

Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218), as last amended by Act No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026 · absence was established by reading Groups A, B, C, D and E of Part I in full, Group B from Act No. 41 of 2022 and Groups A, C, D and E from a private consolidation to 2024, and by reading Parts I to V of the First Schedule and all four Parts of the Second Schedule in that same consolidation · the finding is that the substance is absent from Groups A, B, C, D and E of the Third Schedule · Third Schedule Groups A to E read in full, Section 3 clause 3 read and applied, and National Medicines Regulatory Authority Act, No. 5 of 2015. Principal Ordinance read from the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board's own copy. Read 2026-09-17 · nddcb.gov.lk · nddcb.gov.lk · parliament.lk · Updated September 21, 2026

Memantine in Sri Lanka, full detail →

Mephedrone (4-MMC)

Legal status: Dangerous drug under Sri Lanka's Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218): Group B Section 2 item 65, 「Mephedrone, 4-methylmethcathinone (RS)-2-methylamino-1-(4-methylphenyl)propan-1-one」. Mephedrone is named with its ring position, so the entry is specific to the para isomer and the other positional isomers rely on Section 2 clause 1 and on the Section 3 cathinone clauses. The model: the list is inside the Ordinance and the power to change it is delegated, with a parliamentary lock on the delegation. Section 48 provides that 「the drugs, substances, articles or preparations, specified for the time being in Groups A, B, C, D and E in Part I of the Third Schedule, shall be deemed to be dangerous drugs」. Section 2(1) then provides that 「regulation」 means a regulation made under this Ordinance and published in the Gazette, 「and includes the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Schedules」, so the Third Schedule is itself a regulation. The empowering section is section 80. Section 80(2)(b) lets the Minister make regulations 「for adding any item to or deleting any item from, or altering, varying or amending in any other way, any of the lists or Groups of poisons and dangerous drugs set out in the First and Third Schedules」, and section 80(3) then provides that 「No regulation so made shall have effect unless it has been approved by Parliament and notification of such approval has been published in the Gazette」. So the delegation is real but it is locked to an affirmative vote, and in practice the 2022 changes were made by primary legislation rather than by regulation. The Act was last amended by the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026. The Third Schedule was last amended by section 6 of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022 and published as a supplement to Part II of the Gazette of 25 November 2022, which substituted Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III. Act No. 7 of 2026 does not touch the Third Schedule.
Consequences if caught: Capital exposure: none. Section 54A(1) has four limbs and they do not carry the same exposure. Limb (a) punishes any person who 「manufactures any of the following dangerous drugs, namely heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 with 「a sentence of death or life imprisonment」, with no quantity stated. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) punish trafficking, importing or exporting, and possession, of 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule in excess of the amount set out in the said Column II」, with the penalty in Column III. Part III Column II is headed 「Pure Quantities」, and Column I is headed 「Traffics, possess, imports or exports」, so possession is inside the same ladder as trafficking. Section 54B extends the same punishment to abetting, attempting and acts preparatory to or in furtherance of a section 54A offence. Since Act No. 7 of 2026 a parallel section 54AA applies the same two structures on the high seas, aboard a ship registered in Sri Lanka or a stateless ship. For a dangerous drug that is not in Part III, section 54A never engages, because limbs (b), (c) and (d) operate only on a drug 「set out in Column II of Part III」. The charge is the general penalty in section 78(5): on summary conviction by a Magistrate a fine of one thousand to ten thousand rupees or up to five years or both, and on conviction before the High Court a fine of ten thousand to twenty five thousand rupees or six months to seven years or both. Section 78(6) requires the written consent of the Attorney-General before non-summary proceedings. Section 3 clause 7 reaches any substance structurally derived from 2-amino-1-phenylpropan-1-one other than one already in Section 2 or bupropion, which covers the positional isomers by structure. Neither reaches this substance, at any quantity, and the reason is structural rather than a matter of degree. The death and life penalties in this Ordinance live in exactly two places. Section 54A(1)(a) attaches them to the manufacture of 「heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 and names no other drug. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) attach the Column III penalties to 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule」, and Column II names only opium, 「Morphine, Cocaine, Heroin and Methamphetamine」, and cannabis. This substance is in none of those, so section 54A cannot engage however much of it is involved, and section 54AA cannot either, because it is built on the same two structures. Being a dangerous drug under section 48 is not the same thing as being in Part III, and the corpus this cell replaces repeatedly ran the two together.
If prescribed / medical: Mephedrone has no licensed medicine and no prescribing route in Sri Lanka.
Documentation: No personal import route. Material sold under this name is frequently a different cathinone.

Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218), as last amended by Act No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026 · Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III were substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022, and the entry relied on is read from that Act · the entry relied on is Group B Section 2 item 65, 「Mephedrone, 4-methylmethcathinone (RS)-2-methylamino-1-(4-methylphenyl)propan-1-one」 · Third Schedule Part I Group B as substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, with sections 48, 54A and 78. Principal Ordinance read from the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board's own copy. Read 2026-09-17 · nddcb.gov.lk · nddcb.gov.lk · parliament.lk · Updated September 21, 2026

Mephedrone (4-MMC) in Sri Lanka, full detail →

Mescaline

Legal status: Dangerous drug under Sri Lanka's Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218): Group B Section 2 item 12, 「Mescaline 3,4,5-trimethoxyphenethylamine」. Mescaline is named. Trimethoxyamphetamine, its alpha methyl relative, is a separate entry at item 34, which is the same one-substituent discriminator that separates 2C-B from DOB. The model: the list is inside the Ordinance and the power to change it is delegated, with a parliamentary lock on the delegation. Section 48 provides that 「the drugs, substances, articles or preparations, specified for the time being in Groups A, B, C, D and E in Part I of the Third Schedule, shall be deemed to be dangerous drugs」. Section 2(1) then provides that 「regulation」 means a regulation made under this Ordinance and published in the Gazette, 「and includes the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Schedules」, so the Third Schedule is itself a regulation. The empowering section is section 80. Section 80(2)(b) lets the Minister make regulations 「for adding any item to or deleting any item from, or altering, varying or amending in any other way, any of the lists or Groups of poisons and dangerous drugs set out in the First and Third Schedules」, and section 80(3) then provides that 「No regulation so made shall have effect unless it has been approved by Parliament and notification of such approval has been published in the Gazette」. So the delegation is real but it is locked to an affirmative vote, and in practice the 2022 changes were made by primary legislation rather than by regulation. The Act was last amended by the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026. The Third Schedule was last amended by section 6 of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022 and published as a supplement to Part II of the Gazette of 25 November 2022, which substituted Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III. Act No. 7 of 2026 does not touch the Third Schedule.
Consequences if caught: Capital exposure: none. Section 54A(1) has four limbs and they do not carry the same exposure. Limb (a) punishes any person who 「manufactures any of the following dangerous drugs, namely heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 with 「a sentence of death or life imprisonment」, with no quantity stated. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) punish trafficking, importing or exporting, and possession, of 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule in excess of the amount set out in the said Column II」, with the penalty in Column III. Part III Column II is headed 「Pure Quantities」, and Column I is headed 「Traffics, possess, imports or exports」, so possession is inside the same ladder as trafficking. Section 54B extends the same punishment to abetting, attempting and acts preparatory to or in furtherance of a section 54A offence. Since Act No. 7 of 2026 a parallel section 54AA applies the same two structures on the high seas, aboard a ship registered in Sri Lanka or a stateless ship. For a dangerous drug that is not in Part III, section 54A never engages, because limbs (b), (c) and (d) operate only on a drug 「set out in Column II of Part III」. The charge is the general penalty in section 78(5): on summary conviction by a Magistrate a fine of one thousand to ten thousand rupees or up to five years or both, and on conviction before the High Court a fine of ten thousand to twenty five thousand rupees or six months to seven years or both. Section 78(6) requires the written consent of the Attorney-General before non-summary proceedings. Section 3 clause 9 additionally reaches phenethylamine substances outside Section 2. Neither reaches this substance, at any quantity, and the reason is structural rather than a matter of degree. The death and life penalties in this Ordinance live in exactly two places. Section 54A(1)(a) attaches them to the manufacture of 「heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 and names no other drug. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) attach the Column III penalties to 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule」, and Column II names only opium, 「Morphine, Cocaine, Heroin and Methamphetamine」, and cannabis. This substance is in none of those, so section 54A cannot engage however much of it is involved, and section 54AA cannot either, because it is built on the same two structures. Being a dangerous drug under section 48 is not the same thing as being in Part III, and the corpus this cell replaces repeatedly ran the two together.
If prescribed / medical: Mescaline has no licensed medicine and no prescribing route in Sri Lanka.
Documentation: No personal import route for the alkaloid or for cactus material containing it.

Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218), as last amended by Act No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026 · Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III were substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022, and the entry relied on is read from that Act · the entry relied on is Group B Section 2 item 12, 「Mescaline 3,4,5-trimethoxyphenethylamine」 · Third Schedule Part I Group B as substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, with sections 48, 54A and 78. Principal Ordinance read from the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board's own copy. Read 2026-09-17 · nddcb.gov.lk · nddcb.gov.lk · parliament.lk · Updated September 21, 2026

Mescaline in Sri Lanka, full detail →

Methadone

Legal status: Dangerous drug under Sri Lanka's Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218): Group B Section 1, 「Methadone」, with Group C item 5 separately listing 「Amidone」, which is methadone under its older name. Methadone appears twice under two names in two different Groups, at Section 1 in Group B and as Amidone in Group C item 5. Methadone intermediate and normethadone are separately named in Section 1. The model: the list is inside the Ordinance and the power to change it is delegated, with a parliamentary lock on the delegation. Section 48 provides that 「the drugs, substances, articles or preparations, specified for the time being in Groups A, B, C, D and E in Part I of the Third Schedule, shall be deemed to be dangerous drugs」. Section 2(1) then provides that 「regulation」 means a regulation made under this Ordinance and published in the Gazette, 「and includes the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Schedules」, so the Third Schedule is itself a regulation. The empowering section is section 80. Section 80(2)(b) lets the Minister make regulations 「for adding any item to or deleting any item from, or altering, varying or amending in any other way, any of the lists or Groups of poisons and dangerous drugs set out in the First and Third Schedules」, and section 80(3) then provides that 「No regulation so made shall have effect unless it has been approved by Parliament and notification of such approval has been published in the Gazette」. So the delegation is real but it is locked to an affirmative vote, and in practice the 2022 changes were made by primary legislation rather than by regulation. The Act was last amended by the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026. The Third Schedule was last amended by section 6 of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022 and published as a supplement to Part II of the Gazette of 25 November 2022, which substituted Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III. Act No. 7 of 2026 does not touch the Third Schedule.
Consequences if caught: Capital exposure: none. Section 54A(1) has four limbs and they do not carry the same exposure. Limb (a) punishes any person who 「manufactures any of the following dangerous drugs, namely heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 with 「a sentence of death or life imprisonment」, with no quantity stated. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) punish trafficking, importing or exporting, and possession, of 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule in excess of the amount set out in the said Column II」, with the penalty in Column III. Part III Column II is headed 「Pure Quantities」, and Column I is headed 「Traffics, possess, imports or exports」, so possession is inside the same ladder as trafficking. Section 54B extends the same punishment to abetting, attempting and acts preparatory to or in furtherance of a section 54A offence. Since Act No. 7 of 2026 a parallel section 54AA applies the same two structures on the high seas, aboard a ship registered in Sri Lanka or a stateless ship. For a dangerous drug that is not in Part III, section 54A never engages, because limbs (b), (c) and (d) operate only on a drug 「set out in Column II of Part III」. The charge is the general penalty in section 78(5): on summary conviction by a Magistrate a fine of one thousand to ten thousand rupees or up to five years or both, and on conviction before the High Court a fine of ten thousand to twenty five thousand rupees or six months to seven years or both. Section 78(6) requires the written consent of the Attorney-General before non-summary proceedings. The double listing is worth knowing because Group B and Group C attract different trade provisions under sections 51 and 68, although both are dangerous drugs under section 48. Neither reaches this substance, at any quantity, and the reason is structural rather than a matter of degree. The death and life penalties in this Ordinance live in exactly two places. Section 54A(1)(a) attaches them to the manufacture of 「heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 and names no other drug. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) attach the Column III penalties to 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule」, and Column II names only opium, 「Morphine, Cocaine, Heroin and Methamphetamine」, and cannabis. This substance is in none of those, so section 54A cannot engage however much of it is involved, and section 54AA cannot either, because it is built on the same two structures. Being a dangerous drug under section 48 is not the same thing as being in Part III, and the corpus this cell replaces repeatedly ran the two together.
If prescribed / medical: Methadone is used for opioid substitution and severe pain through licensed medical channels.
Documentation: A patient travelling with a take home dose should carry the clinic's documentation. Supply is programme based rather than retail.

Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218), as last amended by Act No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026 · the entry relied on is in a Group that section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022 did NOT substitute, section 6 having replaced only Group B of Part I and Part III. Groups A, C, D and E were read from a private consolidation to 2024 rather than from a primary text, because the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board's copy of the Ordinance omits the Schedules and no primary copy of those Groups was reached. Treat that Group placement as corroborated but not primary · the entry relied on is Group B Section 1, 「Methadone」, with Group C item 5 separately listing 「Amidone」, which is methadone under its older name · Group B Section 1 for the Methadone entry, and Group C item 5 for the Amidone entry, the latter read from the private consolidation to 2024. Principal Ordinance read from the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board's own copy. Read 2026-09-17 · nddcb.gov.lk · nddcb.gov.lk · parliament.lk · Updated September 21, 2026

Methadone in Sri Lanka, full detail →

Methamphetamine

Legal status: Dangerous drug under Sri Lanka's Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218): Third Schedule, Part I, Group B, Section 2, item 60, 「Methamphetamine (Methylamphetamine) (+)-(S)-N,alpha-dimethylphenethylamine」, with the racemate separately at item 63. Methamphetamine is in the Part III five gramme band alongside morphine, cocaine and heroin. It is not in the section 54A(1)(a) manufacture list, which names only heroin, cocaine, morphine and opium. That asymmetry is real and it is the single most misstated fact about Sri Lankan drug law in the corpus this cell replaces. The model: the list is inside the Ordinance and the power to change it is delegated, with a parliamentary lock on the delegation. Section 48 provides that 「the drugs, substances, articles or preparations, specified for the time being in Groups A, B, C, D and E in Part I of the Third Schedule, shall be deemed to be dangerous drugs」. Section 2(1) then provides that 「regulation」 means a regulation made under this Ordinance and published in the Gazette, 「and includes the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Schedules」, so the Third Schedule is itself a regulation. The empowering section is section 80. Section 80(2)(b) lets the Minister make regulations 「for adding any item to or deleting any item from, or altering, varying or amending in any other way, any of the lists or Groups of poisons and dangerous drugs set out in the First and Third Schedules」, and section 80(3) then provides that 「No regulation so made shall have effect unless it has been approved by Parliament and notification of such approval has been published in the Gazette」. So the delegation is real but it is locked to an affirmative vote, and in practice the 2022 changes were made by primary legislation rather than by regulation. The Act was last amended by the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026. The Third Schedule was last amended by section 6 of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022 and published as a supplement to Part II of the Gazette of 25 November 2022, which substituted Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III. Act No. 7 of 2026 does not touch the Third Schedule.
Consequences if caught: Capital exposure: Part III of the Third Schedule, through section 54A(b). [Certain] Re-derived in this pass: section 54A(b) was read at nddcb.gov.lk on 21 September 2026 and reaches a person who «trafficks in any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule in excess of the amount set out in the said Column II», liable to «the penalty set out in the corresponding entry in Column III of that Part». [Likely] Carried from the published entry: Part III sets 「Morphine, Cocaine, Heroin and Methamphetamine」 at 「5 grammes or above」 against 「Death or life imprisonment」. That table is not reproduced in the consolidation read here, so the figure is carried and not re-derived. Section 54A(a), the manufacture limb, does not name methamphetamine. Section 54A(1) has four limbs and they do not carry the same exposure. Limb (a) punishes any person who 「manufactures any of the following dangerous drugs, namely heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 with 「a sentence of death or life imprisonment」, with no quantity stated. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) punish trafficking, importing or exporting, and possession, of 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule in excess of the amount set out in the said Column II」, with the penalty in Column III. Part III Column II is headed 「Pure Quantities」, and Column I is headed 「Traffics, possess, imports or exports」, so possession is inside the same ladder as trafficking. Section 54B extends the same punishment to abetting, attempting and acts preparatory to or in furtherance of a section 54A offence. Since Act No. 7 of 2026 a parallel section 54AA applies the same two structures on the high seas, aboard a ship registered in Sri Lanka or a stateless ship. Part III, as substituted in 2022, sets only two capital bands. Opium at 1 kilogramme or above is 「Death or life imprisonment」, and 「Morphine, Cocaine, Heroin and Methamphetamine」 at 5 grammes or above is 「Death or life imprisonment」. Cannabis has a ladder in Part III whose top band is 100 kilogrammes or above and carries ten to fifteen years, with no capital band at all. No other substance appears in Column II anywhere. So the conduct decides the exposure. Manufacturing methamphetamine is not within the manufacture limb at all and falls to be charged on the trafficking, import, export or possession limbs, which require the five gramme pure quantity. Manufacturing heroin is capital at any quantity. Both reach methamphetamine, but through one route only and not the other, and that asymmetry is the whole of the answer. Part III sets 「Morphine, Cocaine, Heroin and Methamphetamine」 at 「5 grammes or above」 at 「Death or life imprisonment」, reached through limb (b) trafficking, limb (c) import or export or limb (d) possession of section 54A(1). Column II is headed 「Pure Quantities」, so it is five grammes of methamphetamine and not five grammes of product. But methamphetamine is not in limb (a): that limb names 「heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 and stops. So manufacture of methamphetamine is not capital under limb (a) at any quantity, while manufacture of heroin is capital at any quantity, and a methamphetamine cook is exposed through what is possessed rather than through the act of manufacture. It is not mandatory. Section 54AA repeats the same split on the high seas since Act No. 7 of 2026, its subsection (1) naming the same four drugs for manufacture and its subsection (2) referring to Part III. Sri Lanka has carried out no judicial execution since 1976.
If prescribed / medical: Methamphetamine has no prescribing route in Sri Lanka.
Documentation: No traveller route. The five gramme figure is a pure quantity, so a cut sample is assessed on its methamphetamine content and not its total weight.

Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218), as last amended by Act No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026 · Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III were substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022, and the entry relied on is read from that Act · the entry relied on is Third Schedule, Part I, Group B, Section 2, item 60, 「Methamphetamine (Methylamphetamine) (+)-(S)-N,alpha-dimethylphenethylamine」, with the racemate separately at item 63 · Group B Section 2 items 60 and 63, Part III five gramme band, and section 54A. Principal Ordinance read from the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board's own copy. Read 2026-09-17 · nddcb.gov.lk · nddcb.gov.lk · parliament.lk · Updated September 21, 2026

Methamphetamine in Sri Lanka, full detail →

Methaqualone (Quaaludes)

Legal status: Dangerous drug under Sri Lanka's Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218): Group B Section 2 item 61, 「Methaqualone 2-methyl-3-o-tolyl-4(3H)-quinazolinone」. Methaqualone is named, and Section 3 clause 5 reaches methaqualone analogues outside Section 2 through the 3-arylquinazolin-4-one nucleus with an enumerated substituent list. The model: the list is inside the Ordinance and the power to change it is delegated, with a parliamentary lock on the delegation. Section 48 provides that 「the drugs, substances, articles or preparations, specified for the time being in Groups A, B, C, D and E in Part I of the Third Schedule, shall be deemed to be dangerous drugs」. Section 2(1) then provides that 「regulation」 means a regulation made under this Ordinance and published in the Gazette, 「and includes the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Schedules」, so the Third Schedule is itself a regulation. The empowering section is section 80. Section 80(2)(b) lets the Minister make regulations 「for adding any item to or deleting any item from, or altering, varying or amending in any other way, any of the lists or Groups of poisons and dangerous drugs set out in the First and Third Schedules」, and section 80(3) then provides that 「No regulation so made shall have effect unless it has been approved by Parliament and notification of such approval has been published in the Gazette」. So the delegation is real but it is locked to an affirmative vote, and in practice the 2022 changes were made by primary legislation rather than by regulation. The Act was last amended by the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026. The Third Schedule was last amended by section 6 of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022 and published as a supplement to Part II of the Gazette of 25 November 2022, which substituted Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III. Act No. 7 of 2026 does not touch the Third Schedule.
Consequences if caught: Capital exposure: none. Section 54A(1) has four limbs and they do not carry the same exposure. Limb (a) punishes any person who 「manufactures any of the following dangerous drugs, namely heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 with 「a sentence of death or life imprisonment」, with no quantity stated. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) punish trafficking, importing or exporting, and possession, of 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule in excess of the amount set out in the said Column II」, with the penalty in Column III. Part III Column II is headed 「Pure Quantities」, and Column I is headed 「Traffics, possess, imports or exports」, so possession is inside the same ladder as trafficking. Section 54B extends the same punishment to abetting, attempting and acts preparatory to or in furtherance of a section 54A offence. Since Act No. 7 of 2026 a parallel section 54AA applies the same two structures on the high seas, aboard a ship registered in Sri Lanka or a stateless ship. For a dangerous drug that is not in Part III, section 54A never engages, because limbs (b), (c) and (d) operate only on a drug 「set out in Column II of Part III」. The charge is the general penalty in section 78(5): on summary conviction by a Magistrate a fine of one thousand to ten thousand rupees or up to five years or both, and on conviction before the High Court a fine of ten thousand to twenty five thousand rupees or six months to seven years or both. Section 78(6) requires the written consent of the Attorney-General before non-summary proceedings. Withdrawal from medical use worldwide has not moved it out of the schedule. Neither reaches this substance, at any quantity, and the reason is structural rather than a matter of degree. The death and life penalties in this Ordinance live in exactly two places. Section 54A(1)(a) attaches them to the manufacture of 「heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 and names no other drug. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) attach the Column III penalties to 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule」, and Column II names only opium, 「Morphine, Cocaine, Heroin and Methamphetamine」, and cannabis. This substance is in none of those, so section 54A cannot engage however much of it is involved, and section 54AA cannot either, because it is built on the same two structures. Being a dangerous drug under section 48 is not the same thing as being in Part III, and the corpus this cell replaces repeatedly ran the two together.
If prescribed / medical: Methaqualone has no medical use in Sri Lanka and no licensed product.
Documentation: No documentation route exists and no legitimate supply exists to document.

Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218), as last amended by Act No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026 · Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III were substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022, and the entry relied on is read from that Act · the entry relied on is Group B Section 2 item 61, 「Methaqualone 2-methyl-3-o-tolyl-4(3H)-quinazolinone」 · Third Schedule Part I Group B as substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, with sections 48, 54A and 78. Principal Ordinance read from the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board's own copy. Read 2026-09-17 · nddcb.gov.lk · nddcb.gov.lk · parliament.lk · Updated September 21, 2026

Methaqualone (Quaaludes) in Sri Lanka, full detail →

Methylone

Legal status: Dangerous drug under Sri Lanka's Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218): Group B Section 2 item 66, 「Methylone, (beta-keto-MDMA) (RS)-2-methylamino-1-(3,4-methylenedioxyphenyl)propan-1-one」. Methylone is named, and ethylone is a separate entry at item 47. The schedule gives the beta keto compounds their own lines rather than deriving them from MDMA. The model: the list is inside the Ordinance and the power to change it is delegated, with a parliamentary lock on the delegation. Section 48 provides that 「the drugs, substances, articles or preparations, specified for the time being in Groups A, B, C, D and E in Part I of the Third Schedule, shall be deemed to be dangerous drugs」. Section 2(1) then provides that 「regulation」 means a regulation made under this Ordinance and published in the Gazette, 「and includes the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Schedules」, so the Third Schedule is itself a regulation. The empowering section is section 80. Section 80(2)(b) lets the Minister make regulations 「for adding any item to or deleting any item from, or altering, varying or amending in any other way, any of the lists or Groups of poisons and dangerous drugs set out in the First and Third Schedules」, and section 80(3) then provides that 「No regulation so made shall have effect unless it has been approved by Parliament and notification of such approval has been published in the Gazette」. So the delegation is real but it is locked to an affirmative vote, and in practice the 2022 changes were made by primary legislation rather than by regulation. The Act was last amended by the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026. The Third Schedule was last amended by section 6 of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022 and published as a supplement to Part II of the Gazette of 25 November 2022, which substituted Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III. Act No. 7 of 2026 does not touch the Third Schedule.
Consequences if caught: Capital exposure: none. Section 54A(1) has four limbs and they do not carry the same exposure. Limb (a) punishes any person who 「manufactures any of the following dangerous drugs, namely heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 with 「a sentence of death or life imprisonment」, with no quantity stated. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) punish trafficking, importing or exporting, and possession, of 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule in excess of the amount set out in the said Column II」, with the penalty in Column III. Part III Column II is headed 「Pure Quantities」, and Column I is headed 「Traffics, possess, imports or exports」, so possession is inside the same ladder as trafficking. Section 54B extends the same punishment to abetting, attempting and acts preparatory to or in furtherance of a section 54A offence. Since Act No. 7 of 2026 a parallel section 54AA applies the same two structures on the high seas, aboard a ship registered in Sri Lanka or a stateless ship. For a dangerous drug that is not in Part III, section 54A never engages, because limbs (b), (c) and (d) operate only on a drug 「set out in Column II of Part III」. The charge is the general penalty in section 78(5): on summary conviction by a Magistrate a fine of one thousand to ten thousand rupees or up to five years or both, and on conviction before the High Court a fine of ten thousand to twenty five thousand rupees or six months to seven years or both. Section 78(6) requires the written consent of the Attorney-General before non-summary proceedings. Section 3 clause 10 reaches substances derived from 2-amino-1-phenyl-1-propanone by alkylenedioxy substitution in the phenyl ring, which is the structural family methylone sits in. Neither reaches this substance, at any quantity, and the reason is structural rather than a matter of degree. The death and life penalties in this Ordinance live in exactly two places. Section 54A(1)(a) attaches them to the manufacture of 「heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 and names no other drug. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) attach the Column III penalties to 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule」, and Column II names only opium, 「Morphine, Cocaine, Heroin and Methamphetamine」, and cannabis. This substance is in none of those, so section 54A cannot engage however much of it is involved, and section 54AA cannot either, because it is built on the same two structures. Being a dangerous drug under section 48 is not the same thing as being in Part III, and the corpus this cell replaces repeatedly ran the two together.
If prescribed / medical: Methylone has no licensed medicine and no prescribing route in Sri Lanka.
Documentation: No documentation route. Methylone is commonly sold as MDMA.

Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218), as last amended by Act No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026 · Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III were substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022, and the entry relied on is read from that Act · the entry relied on is Group B Section 2 item 66, 「Methylone, (beta-keto-MDMA) (RS)-2-methylamino-1-(3,4-methylenedioxyphenyl)propan-1-one」 · Third Schedule Part I Group B as substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, with sections 48, 54A and 78. Principal Ordinance read from the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board's own copy. Read 2026-09-17 · nddcb.gov.lk · nddcb.gov.lk · parliament.lk · Updated September 21, 2026

Methylone in Sri Lanka, full detail →

Methylphenidate

Legal status: Dangerous drug under Sri Lanka's Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218): Group B Section 2, 「Methylphenidate」. Methylphenidate is named. Pipradrol, the related stimulant, is expressly carved out of the Section 3 clause 12 analogue definition, which shows the drafters working entry by entry in this family. The model: the list is inside the Ordinance and the power to change it is delegated, with a parliamentary lock on the delegation. Section 48 provides that 「the drugs, substances, articles or preparations, specified for the time being in Groups A, B, C, D and E in Part I of the Third Schedule, shall be deemed to be dangerous drugs」. Section 2(1) then provides that 「regulation」 means a regulation made under this Ordinance and published in the Gazette, 「and includes the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Schedules」, so the Third Schedule is itself a regulation. The empowering section is section 80. Section 80(2)(b) lets the Minister make regulations 「for adding any item to or deleting any item from, or altering, varying or amending in any other way, any of the lists or Groups of poisons and dangerous drugs set out in the First and Third Schedules」, and section 80(3) then provides that 「No regulation so made shall have effect unless it has been approved by Parliament and notification of such approval has been published in the Gazette」. So the delegation is real but it is locked to an affirmative vote, and in practice the 2022 changes were made by primary legislation rather than by regulation. The Act was last amended by the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026. The Third Schedule was last amended by section 6 of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022 and published as a supplement to Part II of the Gazette of 25 November 2022, which substituted Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III. Act No. 7 of 2026 does not touch the Third Schedule.
Consequences if caught: Capital exposure: none. Section 54A(1) has four limbs and they do not carry the same exposure. Limb (a) punishes any person who 「manufactures any of the following dangerous drugs, namely heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 with 「a sentence of death or life imprisonment」, with no quantity stated. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) punish trafficking, importing or exporting, and possession, of 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule in excess of the amount set out in the said Column II」, with the penalty in Column III. Part III Column II is headed 「Pure Quantities」, and Column I is headed 「Traffics, possess, imports or exports」, so possession is inside the same ladder as trafficking. Section 54B extends the same punishment to abetting, attempting and acts preparatory to or in furtherance of a section 54A offence. Since Act No. 7 of 2026 a parallel section 54AA applies the same two structures on the high seas, aboard a ship registered in Sri Lanka or a stateless ship. For a dangerous drug that is not in Part III, section 54A never engages, because limbs (b), (c) and (d) operate only on a drug 「set out in Column II of Part III」. The charge is the general penalty in section 78(5): on summary conviction by a Magistrate a fine of one thousand to ten thousand rupees or up to five years or both, and on conviction before the High Court a fine of ten thousand to twenty five thousand rupees or six months to seven years or both. Section 78(6) requires the written consent of the Attorney-General before non-summary proceedings. Clause 12 covers substances derived from piperidine, pyrrolidine, azepane, morpholine or pyridine by substitution at a ring carbon with a diphenylmethyl group. Methylphenidate is already named, so the clause is for its analogues. Neither reaches this substance, at any quantity, and the reason is structural rather than a matter of degree. The death and life penalties in this Ordinance live in exactly two places. Section 54A(1)(a) attaches them to the manufacture of 「heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 and names no other drug. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) attach the Column III penalties to 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule」, and Column II names only opium, 「Morphine, Cocaine, Heroin and Methamphetamine」, and cannabis. This substance is in none of those, so section 54A cannot engage however much of it is involved, and section 54AA cannot either, because it is built on the same two structures. Being a dangerous drug under section 48 is not the same thing as being in Part III, and the corpus this cell replaces repeatedly ran the two together.
If prescribed / medical: Methylphenidate is the stimulant actually prescribed in Sri Lanka for attention deficit disorder and narcolepsy, dispensed on prescription while also being a dangerous drug.
Documentation: Carry the original dispensed packaging and the prescription. A foreign prescription for a controlled stimulant is worth confirming with the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board before travelling.

Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218), as last amended by Act No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026 · Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III were substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022, and the entry relied on is read from that Act · the entry relied on is Group B Section 2, 「Methylphenidate」 · Third Schedule Part I Group B as substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, with sections 48, 54A and 78. Principal Ordinance read from the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board's own copy. Read 2026-09-17 · nddcb.gov.lk · nddcb.gov.lk · parliament.lk · Updated September 21, 2026

Methylphenidate in Sri Lanka, full detail →

Mitragynine

Legal status: Dangerous drug under Sri Lanka's Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218): Third Schedule, Part I, Group B, Section 3, clause 15(b), 「Kratom (Mitragyna speciosa)」, reached as an extract of the named plant. Mitragynine is not named anywhere in Sections 1 or 2. It is reached because clause 15 controls 「any extract or preparation thereof」 of the named plant, and an isolated principal alkaloid is an extract of it. The model: the list is inside the Ordinance and the power to change it is delegated, with a parliamentary lock on the delegation. Section 48 provides that 「the drugs, substances, articles or preparations, specified for the time being in Groups A, B, C, D and E in Part I of the Third Schedule, shall be deemed to be dangerous drugs」. Section 2(1) then provides that 「regulation」 means a regulation made under this Ordinance and published in the Gazette, 「and includes the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Schedules」, so the Third Schedule is itself a regulation. The empowering section is section 80. Section 80(2)(b) lets the Minister make regulations 「for adding any item to or deleting any item from, or altering, varying or amending in any other way, any of the lists or Groups of poisons and dangerous drugs set out in the First and Third Schedules」, and section 80(3) then provides that 「No regulation so made shall have effect unless it has been approved by Parliament and notification of such approval has been published in the Gazette」. So the delegation is real but it is locked to an affirmative vote, and in practice the 2022 changes were made by primary legislation rather than by regulation. The Act was last amended by the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026. The Third Schedule was last amended by section 6 of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022 and published as a supplement to Part II of the Gazette of 25 November 2022, which substituted Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III. Act No. 7 of 2026 does not touch the Third Schedule.
Consequences if caught: Capital exposure: none. Section 54A(1) has four limbs and they do not carry the same exposure. Limb (a) punishes any person who 「manufactures any of the following dangerous drugs, namely heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 with 「a sentence of death or life imprisonment」, with no quantity stated. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) punish trafficking, importing or exporting, and possession, of 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule in excess of the amount set out in the said Column II」, with the penalty in Column III. Part III Column II is headed 「Pure Quantities」, and Column I is headed 「Traffics, possess, imports or exports」, so possession is inside the same ladder as trafficking. Section 54B extends the same punishment to abetting, attempting and acts preparatory to or in furtherance of a section 54A offence. Since Act No. 7 of 2026 a parallel section 54AA applies the same two structures on the high seas, aboard a ship registered in Sri Lanka or a stateless ship. For a dangerous drug that is not in Part III, section 54A never engages, because limbs (b), (c) and (d) operate only on a drug 「set out in Column II of Part III」. The charge is the general penalty in section 78(5): on summary conviction by a Magistrate a fine of one thousand to ten thousand rupees or up to five years or both, and on conviction before the High Court a fine of ten thousand to twenty five thousand rupees or six months to seven years or both. Section 78(6) requires the written consent of the Attorney-General before non-summary proceedings. That route is narrower than a named entry would be. A synthesised sample never obtained from the plant would not be an extract of it, and clause 15's residual limb then turns on whether the substance is 「substantially similar」 to a listed drug, which is a judgment rather than a fact. Neither reaches this substance, at any quantity, and the reason is structural rather than a matter of degree. The death and life penalties in this Ordinance live in exactly two places. Section 54A(1)(a) attaches them to the manufacture of 「heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 and names no other drug. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) attach the Column III penalties to 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule」, and Column II names only opium, 「Morphine, Cocaine, Heroin and Methamphetamine」, and cannabis. This substance is in none of those, so section 54A cannot engage however much of it is involved, and section 54AA cannot either, because it is built on the same two structures. Being a dangerous drug under section 48 is not the same thing as being in Part III, and the corpus this cell replaces repeatedly ran the two together.
If prescribed / medical: Mitragynine has no licensed medicine and no prescribing route in Sri Lanka.
Documentation: No documentation route. A standardised extract is the form the clause most clearly reaches.

Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218), as last amended by Act No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026 · Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III were substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022, and the entry relied on is read from that Act · the entry relied on is Third Schedule, Part I, Group B, Section 3, clause 15(b), 「Kratom (Mitragyna speciosa)」, reached as an extract of the named plant · Section 3 clause 15(b) read for the named plant and its extracts, with Sections 1 and 2 searched for the alkaloid and returning nothing. Principal Ordinance read from the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board's own copy. Read 2026-09-17 · nddcb.gov.lk · nddcb.gov.lk · parliament.lk · Updated September 21, 2026

Mitragynine in Sri Lanka, full detail →

Modafinil

Legal status: Not a dangerous drug under Sri Lanka's Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218): absent from Groups A, B, C, D and E of the Third Schedule, and outside the Section 3 clause 12 structural test on its face. Modafinil is not named anywhere in the Third Schedule and is not a dangerous drug. This is the substance a stem search gets wrong: the only match in the whole schedule for any part of its chemistry is the word 「diphenylmethyl」, and that word sits inside Section 3 clause 12, which is the pipradrol analogue clause. The model: the list is inside the Ordinance and the power to change it is delegated, with a parliamentary lock on the delegation. Section 48 provides that 「the drugs, substances, articles or preparations, specified for the time being in Groups A, B, C, D and E in Part I of the Third Schedule, shall be deemed to be dangerous drugs」. Section 2(1) then provides that 「regulation」 means a regulation made under this Ordinance and published in the Gazette, 「and includes the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Schedules」, so the Third Schedule is itself a regulation. The empowering section is section 80. Section 80(2)(b) lets the Minister make regulations 「for adding any item to or deleting any item from, or altering, varying or amending in any other way, any of the lists or Groups of poisons and dangerous drugs set out in the First and Third Schedules」, and section 80(3) then provides that 「No regulation so made shall have effect unless it has been approved by Parliament and notification of such approval has been published in the Gazette」. So the delegation is real but it is locked to an affirmative vote, and in practice the 2022 changes were made by primary legislation rather than by regulation. The Act was last amended by the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026. The Third Schedule was last amended by section 6 of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022 and published as a supplement to Part II of the Gazette of 25 November 2022, which substituted Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III. Act No. 7 of 2026 does not touch the Third Schedule.
Consequences if caught: Capital exposure: none. Clause 12 reaches a substance 「structurally derived from piperidine, pyrrolidine, azepane, morpholine or pyridine by substitution at a ring carbon atom with a diphenylmethyl group」. Modafinil is 2-(benzhydrylsulfinyl)acetamide and has none of those five rings, so it is outside the clause on structure rather than merely unnamed. Reading the hit without reading the clause around it would have produced a scheduled classification for an unscheduled medicine. Neither reaches this substance, and not because the penalty is low but because no dangerous drug offence in this Ordinance engages at all. Section 48 makes a substance a dangerous drug only if it is specified in Groups A to E of Part I of the Third Schedule, and this substance is in none of them. Section 54A(1)(a) names four drugs for the manufacture limb and Part III Column II names five substances for the quantity limbs; this is neither, so no capital or life sentence is available for it on any facts. Saying that much does not dispose of the whole Ordinance, and the corpus this cell replaces never reached the rest of it. Chapter II runs a separate poisons regime over the First Schedule, whose Parts I to V were read in full for this cell, and this substance is named nowhere in them, so sections 5, 17, 18 and 19 create no offence for it either. The instrument that does govern it is named in the status above.
If prescribed / medical: Modafinil is supplied as a registered prescription medicine for narcolepsy and related disorders under the National Medicines Regulatory Authority Act, No. 5 of 2015.
Documentation: Carry a prescribed supply in its dispensed packaging with the prescription. Modafinil bought online without a prescription is an unregistered medicine question, not a dangerous drugs question.

Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218), as last amended by Act No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026 · Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III were substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022, and the entry relied on is read from that Act · the finding is that the substance is absent from Groups A, B, C, D and E of the Third Schedule, and outside the Section 3 clause 12 structural test on its face · Third Schedule Groups A to E read in full, Section 3 clause 12 read and applied, and National Medicines Regulatory Authority Act, No. 5 of 2015. Principal Ordinance read from the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board's own copy. Read 2026-09-17 · nddcb.gov.lk · nddcb.gov.lk · parliament.lk · Updated September 21, 2026

Modafinil in Sri Lanka, full detail →

Morphine

Legal status: Dangerous drug under Sri Lanka's Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218): Third Schedule, Part I, Group B, Section 1, item 81, and named in section 54A(1)(a) itself. Morphine is one of only four drugs the manufacture limb names in the Ordinance's own text. The Group B list around it carries the whole morphine family, including morphine-N-oxide at item 82 and the note that its derivatives include codeine-N-oxide, and Group C separately controls methylmorphine, which is codeine. The model: the list is inside the Ordinance and the power to change it is delegated, with a parliamentary lock on the delegation. Section 48 provides that 「the drugs, substances, articles or preparations, specified for the time being in Groups A, B, C, D and E in Part I of the Third Schedule, shall be deemed to be dangerous drugs」. Section 2(1) then provides that 「regulation」 means a regulation made under this Ordinance and published in the Gazette, 「and includes the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Schedules」, so the Third Schedule is itself a regulation. The empowering section is section 80. Section 80(2)(b) lets the Minister make regulations 「for adding any item to or deleting any item from, or altering, varying or amending in any other way, any of the lists or Groups of poisons and dangerous drugs set out in the First and Third Schedules」, and section 80(3) then provides that 「No regulation so made shall have effect unless it has been approved by Parliament and notification of such approval has been published in the Gazette」. So the delegation is real but it is locked to an affirmative vote, and in practice the 2022 changes were made by primary legislation rather than by regulation. The Act was last amended by the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026. The Third Schedule was last amended by section 6 of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022 and published as a supplement to Part II of the Gazette of 25 November 2022, which substituted Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III. Act No. 7 of 2026 does not touch the Third Schedule.
Consequences if caught: Capital exposure: section 54A(a), manufacture of heroin, cocaine, morphine or opium. [Certain] Re-derived in this pass: section 54A was read at nddcb.gov.lk on 21 September 2026 and provides that a person who «manufactures any of the following dangerous drugs, namely heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium» is «liable to a sentence of death or life imprisonment» on conviction by the High Court without a jury. Those four are the only substances the section names. [Likely] The trafficking route at 54A(b) runs on Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule, and that table was not reached in this pass, so its quantity thresholds are carried from the published entry. Section 54A(1) has four limbs and they do not carry the same exposure. Limb (a) punishes any person who 「manufactures any of the following dangerous drugs, namely heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 with 「a sentence of death or life imprisonment」, with no quantity stated. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) punish trafficking, importing or exporting, and possession, of 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule in excess of the amount set out in the said Column II」, with the penalty in Column III. Part III Column II is headed 「Pure Quantities」, and Column I is headed 「Traffics, possess, imports or exports」, so possession is inside the same ladder as trafficking. Section 54B extends the same punishment to abetting, attempting and acts preparatory to or in furtherance of a section 54A offence. Since Act No. 7 of 2026 a parallel section 54AA applies the same two structures on the high seas, aboard a ship registered in Sri Lanka or a stateless ship. Part III, as substituted in 2022, sets only two capital bands. Opium at 1 kilogramme or above is 「Death or life imprisonment」, and 「Morphine, Cocaine, Heroin and Methamphetamine」 at 5 grammes or above is 「Death or life imprisonment」. Cannabis has a ladder in Part III whose top band is 100 kilogrammes or above and carries ten to fifteen years, with no capital band at all. No other substance appears in Column II anywhere. Section 1 clause 7 is the concentrate rule that matters for morphine: any solution or dilution containing any proportion of morphine is caught, and any other preparation at 「not less than 0.2 per centum of morphine」. Both reach this substance and by two separate routes. The first has no quantity at all: section 54A(1)(a) punishes any person who 「manufactures any of the following dangerous drugs, namely heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 with 「a sentence of death or life imprisonment」, and this substance is one of those four. The second is the Part III ladder, where 「Morphine, Cocaine, Heroin and Methamphetamine」 at 「5 grammes or above」 carries 「Death or life imprisonment」, reached through limb (b) trafficking, limb (c) import or export, or limb (d) possession. Column II is headed 「Pure Quantities」, so the five grammes is pure weight and not the weight of the wrap; section 54A(2), inserted in 2022, lets an analyst's certificate that the gross weight is two grammes or less stand as prima facie proof that the pure quantity does not exceed two grammes. It is not mandatory: the phrase is death or life, which leaves the court a choice. Below five grammes the ladder steps down to three to five grammes at ten to twenty years, two to three grammes at seven to ten years, and under two grammes at three to five years. Since Act No. 7 of 2026 section 54AA applies the same two routes on the high seas. Sri Lanka has carried out no judicial execution since 1976 and the sentences are imposed and then not executed, but the sentence itself is real and section 83 bars bail except by the High Court in exceptional circumstances.
If prescribed / medical: Morphine is the mainstay opioid for severe and cancer pain and is dispensed through licensed medical channels under the Ordinance and the National Medicines Regulatory Authority Act, No. 5 of 2015.
Documentation: Carry prescribed morphine in the dispensing pharmacy's packaging with the prescription and declare it. A licence of the Director is what the Ordinance treats as the lawful authority.

Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218), as last amended by Act No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026 · Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III were substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022, and the entry relied on is read from that Act · the entry relied on is Third Schedule, Part I, Group B, Section 1, item 81, and named in section 54A(1)(a) itself · Group B Section 1 items 81 and 82, Section 1 clause 7, Group C, and sections 54A and 54B. Principal Ordinance read from the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board's own copy. Read 2026-09-17 · nddcb.gov.lk · nddcb.gov.lk · parliament.lk · Updated September 21, 2026

Morphine in Sri Lanka, full detail →

MXE

Legal status: Dangerous drug under Sri Lanka's Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218): Group B Section 2, 「Methoxetamine」. Methoxetamine is named. Section 3 clause 3 covers the wider arylcycloalkylamine family, requiring the alkylamino substituent to be piperidinyl, pyrrolidinyl, morpholinyl or an alkyl group of up to six carbons, and the aryl substituent to be phenyl, thienyl, pyridinyl or pyrrolidinyl. The model: the list is inside the Ordinance and the power to change it is delegated, with a parliamentary lock on the delegation. Section 48 provides that 「the drugs, substances, articles or preparations, specified for the time being in Groups A, B, C, D and E in Part I of the Third Schedule, shall be deemed to be dangerous drugs」. Section 2(1) then provides that 「regulation」 means a regulation made under this Ordinance and published in the Gazette, 「and includes the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Schedules」, so the Third Schedule is itself a regulation. The empowering section is section 80. Section 80(2)(b) lets the Minister make regulations 「for adding any item to or deleting any item from, or altering, varying or amending in any other way, any of the lists or Groups of poisons and dangerous drugs set out in the First and Third Schedules」, and section 80(3) then provides that 「No regulation so made shall have effect unless it has been approved by Parliament and notification of such approval has been published in the Gazette」. So the delegation is real but it is locked to an affirmative vote, and in practice the 2022 changes were made by primary legislation rather than by regulation. The Act was last amended by the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026. The Third Schedule was last amended by section 6 of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022 and published as a supplement to Part II of the Gazette of 25 November 2022, which substituted Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III. Act No. 7 of 2026 does not touch the Third Schedule.
Consequences if caught: Capital exposure: none. Section 54A(1) has four limbs and they do not carry the same exposure. Limb (a) punishes any person who 「manufactures any of the following dangerous drugs, namely heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 with 「a sentence of death or life imprisonment」, with no quantity stated. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) punish trafficking, importing or exporting, and possession, of 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule in excess of the amount set out in the said Column II」, with the penalty in Column III. Part III Column II is headed 「Pure Quantities」, and Column I is headed 「Traffics, possess, imports or exports」, so possession is inside the same ladder as trafficking. Section 54B extends the same punishment to abetting, attempting and acts preparatory to or in furtherance of a section 54A offence. Since Act No. 7 of 2026 a parallel section 54AA applies the same two structures on the high seas, aboard a ship registered in Sri Lanka or a stateless ship. For a dangerous drug that is not in Part III, section 54A never engages, because limbs (b), (c) and (d) operate only on a drug 「set out in Column II of Part III」. The charge is the general penalty in section 78(5): on summary conviction by a Magistrate a fine of one thousand to ten thousand rupees or up to five years or both, and on conviction before the High Court a fine of ten thousand to twenty five thousand rupees or six months to seven years or both. Section 78(6) requires the written consent of the Attorney-General before non-summary proceedings. That clause is a structural test with enumerated substituents, so whether a given analogue is inside it is a chemistry question and not a matter of resemblance. Neither reaches this substance, at any quantity, and the reason is structural rather than a matter of degree. The death and life penalties in this Ordinance live in exactly two places. Section 54A(1)(a) attaches them to the manufacture of 「heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 and names no other drug. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) attach the Column III penalties to 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule」, and Column II names only opium, 「Morphine, Cocaine, Heroin and Methamphetamine」, and cannabis. This substance is in none of those, so section 54A cannot engage however much of it is involved, and section 54AA cannot either, because it is built on the same two structures. Being a dangerous drug under section 48 is not the same thing as being in Part III, and the corpus this cell replaces repeatedly ran the two together.
If prescribed / medical: Methoxetamine has no licensed medicine and no prescribing route in Sri Lanka.
Documentation: No documentation route for a substance with no licensed form.

Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218), as last amended by Act No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026 · Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III were substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022, and the entry relied on is read from that Act · the entry relied on is Group B Section 2, 「Methoxetamine」 · Third Schedule Part I Group B as substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, with sections 48, 54A and 78. Principal Ordinance read from the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board's own copy. Read 2026-09-17 · nddcb.gov.lk · nddcb.gov.lk · parliament.lk · Updated September 21, 2026

MXE in Sri Lanka, full detail →

Nicotine

Legal status: Not a dangerous drug under Sri Lanka's Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218): absent from Groups A, B, C, D and E of the Third Schedule. Nicotine is not in any Group of the Third Schedule and is not a dangerous drug. It is reached as a constituent of tobacco products under the National Authority on Tobacco and Alcohol Act, No. 27 of 2006 and, in medicinal form, under the National Medicines Regulatory Authority Act, No. 5 of 2015. The model: the list is inside the Ordinance and the power to change it is delegated, with a parliamentary lock on the delegation. Section 48 provides that 「the drugs, substances, articles or preparations, specified for the time being in Groups A, B, C, D and E in Part I of the Third Schedule, shall be deemed to be dangerous drugs」. Section 2(1) then provides that 「regulation」 means a regulation made under this Ordinance and published in the Gazette, 「and includes the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Schedules」, so the Third Schedule is itself a regulation. The empowering section is section 80. Section 80(2)(b) lets the Minister make regulations 「for adding any item to or deleting any item from, or altering, varying or amending in any other way, any of the lists or Groups of poisons and dangerous drugs set out in the First and Third Schedules」, and section 80(3) then provides that 「No regulation so made shall have effect unless it has been approved by Parliament and notification of such approval has been published in the Gazette」. So the delegation is real but it is locked to an affirmative vote, and in practice the 2022 changes were made by primary legislation rather than by regulation. The Act was last amended by the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026. The Third Schedule was last amended by section 6 of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022 and published as a supplement to Part II of the Gazette of 25 November 2022, which substituted Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III. Act No. 7 of 2026 does not touch the Third Schedule.
Consequences if caught: Capital exposure: none. No drug offence applies. The tobacco statute sets the minimum age at twenty one and controls how nicotine products are marketed; a nicotine medicine needs registration under the medicines Act. Neither reaches this substance, and not because the penalty is low but because no dangerous drug offence in this Ordinance engages at all. Section 48 makes a substance a dangerous drug only if it is specified in Groups A to E of Part I of the Third Schedule, and this substance is in none of them. Section 54A(1)(a) names four drugs for the manufacture limb and Part III Column II names five substances for the quantity limbs; this is neither, so no capital or life sentence is available for it on any facts. Saying that much does not dispose of the whole Ordinance, and the corpus this cell replaces never reached the rest of it. Chapter II runs a separate poisons regime over the First Schedule, whose Parts I to V were read in full for this cell, and this substance is named nowhere in them. One residual is recorded here rather than resolved. Part I carries an entry whose surviving text reads 「Schedule, and their salts, and all poisonous derivatives of vegetable alkaloids and glucosides」, and the opening words of that entry, which are the words that say what class it covers, are absent from the text layer of the only copy of the First Schedule reached, a clipped scan, so the class cannot be read. Nicotine is a vegetable alkaloid and that entry may reach it. Chapter II is a sale and dispensing regime under sections 5, 17, 18 and 19 and carries no capital or life exposure, so the answer above is unchanged whichever way the missing words read. The instrument that does govern it is named in the status above.
If prescribed / medical: Nicotine patches, gum and lozenges are medicines requiring registration with the National Medicines Regulatory Authority.
Documentation: A traveller carrying nicotine liquid or a vaping device is inside the tobacco regime, not the drugs regime.

Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218), as last amended by Act No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026 · absence was established by reading Groups A, B, C, D and E of Part I in full, Group B from Act No. 41 of 2022 and Groups A, C, D and E from a private consolidation to 2024, and by reading Parts I to V of the First Schedule and all four Parts of the Second Schedule in that same consolidation · the finding is that the substance is absent from Groups A, B, C, D and E of the Third Schedule · National Authority on Tobacco and Alcohol Act, No. 27 of 2006, and National Medicines Regulatory Authority Act, No. 5 of 2015. Principal Ordinance read from the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board's own copy. Read 2026-09-17 · nddcb.gov.lk · nddcb.gov.lk · parliament.lk · Updated September 21, 2026

Nicotine in Sri Lanka, full detail →

Nimetazepam

Legal status: Dangerous drug under Sri Lanka's Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218): Group B Section 2, 「Nimetazepam」. Nimetazepam is named, alongside flunitrazepam at item 94. Both are nitrobenzodiazepines and both are treated exactly as the ordinary benzodiazepines are in this schedule, with no separate tier. The model: the list is inside the Ordinance and the power to change it is delegated, with a parliamentary lock on the delegation. Section 48 provides that 「the drugs, substances, articles or preparations, specified for the time being in Groups A, B, C, D and E in Part I of the Third Schedule, shall be deemed to be dangerous drugs」. Section 2(1) then provides that 「regulation」 means a regulation made under this Ordinance and published in the Gazette, 「and includes the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Schedules」, so the Third Schedule is itself a regulation. The empowering section is section 80. Section 80(2)(b) lets the Minister make regulations 「for adding any item to or deleting any item from, or altering, varying or amending in any other way, any of the lists or Groups of poisons and dangerous drugs set out in the First and Third Schedules」, and section 80(3) then provides that 「No regulation so made shall have effect unless it has been approved by Parliament and notification of such approval has been published in the Gazette」. So the delegation is real but it is locked to an affirmative vote, and in practice the 2022 changes were made by primary legislation rather than by regulation. The Act was last amended by the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026. The Third Schedule was last amended by section 6 of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022 and published as a supplement to Part II of the Gazette of 25 November 2022, which substituted Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III. Act No. 7 of 2026 does not touch the Third Schedule.
Consequences if caught: Capital exposure: none. Section 54A(1) has four limbs and they do not carry the same exposure. Limb (a) punishes any person who 「manufactures any of the following dangerous drugs, namely heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 with 「a sentence of death or life imprisonment」, with no quantity stated. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) punish trafficking, importing or exporting, and possession, of 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule in excess of the amount set out in the said Column II」, with the penalty in Column III. Part III Column II is headed 「Pure Quantities」, and Column I is headed 「Traffics, possess, imports or exports」, so possession is inside the same ladder as trafficking. Section 54B extends the same punishment to abetting, attempting and acts preparatory to or in furtherance of a section 54A offence. Since Act No. 7 of 2026 a parallel section 54AA applies the same two structures on the high seas, aboard a ship registered in Sri Lanka or a stateless ship. For a dangerous drug that is not in Part III, section 54A never engages, because limbs (b), (c) and (d) operate only on a drug 「set out in Column II of Part III」. The charge is the general penalty in section 78(5): on summary conviction by a Magistrate a fine of one thousand to ten thousand rupees or up to five years or both, and on conviction before the High Court a fine of ten thousand to twenty five thousand rupees or six months to seven years or both. Section 78(6) requires the written consent of the Attorney-General before non-summary proceedings. Sri Lanka's schedule has no tiering at all within Group B. A substance is a dangerous drug or it is not, and the only graduation is Part III. Neither reaches this substance, at any quantity, and the reason is structural rather than a matter of degree. The death and life penalties in this Ordinance live in exactly two places. Section 54A(1)(a) attaches them to the manufacture of 「heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 and names no other drug. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) attach the Column III penalties to 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule」, and Column II names only opium, 「Morphine, Cocaine, Heroin and Methamphetamine」, and cannabis. This substance is in none of those, so section 54A cannot engage however much of it is involved, and section 54AA cannot either, because it is built on the same two structures. Being a dangerous drug under section 48 is not the same thing as being in Part III, and the corpus this cell replaces repeatedly ran the two together.
If prescribed / medical: Nimetazepam holds no Sri Lankan registration and there is no domestic prescribing route.
Documentation: No traveller route. A foreign supply is a dangerous drug on arrival.

Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218), as last amended by Act No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026 · Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III were substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022, and the entry relied on is read from that Act · the entry relied on is Group B Section 2, 「Nimetazepam」 · Third Schedule Part I Group B as substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, with sections 48, 54A and 78. Principal Ordinance read from the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board's own copy. Read 2026-09-17 · nddcb.gov.lk · nddcb.gov.lk · parliament.lk · Updated September 21, 2026

Nimetazepam in Sri Lanka, full detail →

Nitrous Oxide

Legal status: Not a dangerous drug under Sri Lanka's Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218): absent from Groups A, B, C, D and E of the Third Schedule. Nitrous oxide is not in any Group of the Third Schedule and is not a dangerous drug in Sri Lanka. It is a medical gas and an industrial gas. The model: the list is inside the Ordinance and the power to change it is delegated, with a parliamentary lock on the delegation. Section 48 provides that 「the drugs, substances, articles or preparations, specified for the time being in Groups A, B, C, D and E in Part I of the Third Schedule, shall be deemed to be dangerous drugs」. Section 2(1) then provides that 「regulation」 means a regulation made under this Ordinance and published in the Gazette, 「and includes the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Schedules」, so the Third Schedule is itself a regulation. The empowering section is section 80. Section 80(2)(b) lets the Minister make regulations 「for adding any item to or deleting any item from, or altering, varying or amending in any other way, any of the lists or Groups of poisons and dangerous drugs set out in the First and Third Schedules」, and section 80(3) then provides that 「No regulation so made shall have effect unless it has been approved by Parliament and notification of such approval has been published in the Gazette」. So the delegation is real but it is locked to an affirmative vote, and in practice the 2022 changes were made by primary legislation rather than by regulation. The Act was last amended by the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026. The Third Schedule was last amended by section 6 of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022 and published as a supplement to Part II of the Gazette of 25 November 2022, which substituted Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III. Act No. 7 of 2026 does not touch the Third Schedule.
Consequences if caught: Capital exposure: none. No offence under the Ordinance reaches it. A medical grade product is a medicine requiring registration under the National Medicines Regulatory Authority Act, No. 5 of 2015, and supplying an unregistered medicine is an offence under that Act rather than under the drugs Ordinance. Neither reaches this substance, and not because the penalty is low but because no dangerous drug offence in this Ordinance engages at all. Section 48 makes a substance a dangerous drug only if it is specified in Groups A to E of Part I of the Third Schedule, and this substance is in none of them. Section 54A(1)(a) names four drugs for the manufacture limb and Part III Column II names five substances for the quantity limbs; this is neither, so no capital or life sentence is available for it on any facts. Saying that much does not dispose of the whole Ordinance, and the corpus this cell replaces never reached the rest of it. Chapter II runs a separate poisons regime over the First Schedule, whose Parts I to V were read in full for this cell, and this substance is named nowhere in them, so sections 5, 17, 18 and 19 create no offence for it either. The instrument that does govern it is named in the status above.
If prescribed / medical: Nitrous oxide is used for anaesthesia and analgesia through licensed medical channels.
Documentation: Whipped cream chargers are the retail form. No Sri Lankan instrument read for this cell restricts them, which is a gap rather than a permission.

Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218), as last amended by Act No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026 · absence was established by reading Groups A, B, C, D and E of Part I in full, Group B from Act No. 41 of 2022 and Groups A, C, D and E from a private consolidation to 2024, and by reading Parts I to V of the First Schedule and all four Parts of the Second Schedule in that same consolidation · the finding is that the substance is absent from Groups A, B, C, D and E of the Third Schedule · Third Schedule Groups A to E searched for nitrous oxide and returning nothing, and National Medicines Regulatory Authority Act, No. 5 of 2015. Principal Ordinance read from the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board's own copy. Read 2026-09-17 · nddcb.gov.lk · nddcb.gov.lk · parliament.lk · Updated September 21, 2026

Nitrous Oxide in Sri Lanka, full detail →

Opium

Legal status: Dangerous drug under Sri Lanka's Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218): Third Schedule, Part I, Group B, Section 1, and named in section 54A(1)(a) itself. Opium is the only substance in Part III with its own quantity ladder. Its bands run from below 10 grammes up to 1 kilogramme and above, and they are two hundred times larger than the bands for morphine, cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine. Group D separately lists three old pharmacopoeia opium preparations to which only the import and export provisions apply. The model: the list is inside the Ordinance and the power to change it is delegated, with a parliamentary lock on the delegation. Section 48 provides that 「the drugs, substances, articles or preparations, specified for the time being in Groups A, B, C, D and E in Part I of the Third Schedule, shall be deemed to be dangerous drugs」. Section 2(1) then provides that 「regulation」 means a regulation made under this Ordinance and published in the Gazette, 「and includes the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Schedules」, so the Third Schedule is itself a regulation. The empowering section is section 80. Section 80(2)(b) lets the Minister make regulations 「for adding any item to or deleting any item from, or altering, varying or amending in any other way, any of the lists or Groups of poisons and dangerous drugs set out in the First and Third Schedules」, and section 80(3) then provides that 「No regulation so made shall have effect unless it has been approved by Parliament and notification of such approval has been published in the Gazette」. So the delegation is real but it is locked to an affirmative vote, and in practice the 2022 changes were made by primary legislation rather than by regulation. The Act was last amended by the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026. The Third Schedule was last amended by section 6 of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022 and published as a supplement to Part II of the Gazette of 25 November 2022, which substituted Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III. Act No. 7 of 2026 does not touch the Third Schedule.
Consequences if caught: Capital exposure: section 54A(a), manufacture of heroin, cocaine, morphine or opium. [Certain] Re-derived in this pass: section 54A was read at nddcb.gov.lk on 21 September 2026 and provides that a person who «manufactures any of the following dangerous drugs, namely heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium» is «liable to a sentence of death or life imprisonment» on conviction by the High Court without a jury. Those four are the only substances the section names. [Likely] The trafficking route at 54A(b) runs on Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule, and that table was not reached in this pass, so its quantity thresholds are carried from the published entry. Section 54A(1) has four limbs and they do not carry the same exposure. Limb (a) punishes any person who 「manufactures any of the following dangerous drugs, namely heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 with 「a sentence of death or life imprisonment」, with no quantity stated. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) punish trafficking, importing or exporting, and possession, of 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule in excess of the amount set out in the said Column II」, with the penalty in Column III. Part III Column II is headed 「Pure Quantities」, and Column I is headed 「Traffics, possess, imports or exports」, so possession is inside the same ladder as trafficking. Section 54B extends the same punishment to abetting, attempting and acts preparatory to or in furtherance of a section 54A offence. Since Act No. 7 of 2026 a parallel section 54AA applies the same two structures on the high seas, aboard a ship registered in Sri Lanka or a stateless ship. Part III, as substituted in 2022, sets only two capital bands. Opium at 1 kilogramme or above is 「Death or life imprisonment」, and 「Morphine, Cocaine, Heroin and Methamphetamine」 at 5 grammes or above is 「Death or life imprisonment」. Cannabis has a ladder in Part III whose top band is 100 kilogrammes or above and carries ten to fifteen years, with no capital band at all. No other substance appears in Column II anywhere. The ladder in full: 1 kilogramme or above is death or life; 500 grammes to less than 1 kilogramme is life imprisonment with no death; 50 to less than 500 grammes is ten to fifteen years with a fine of two hundred thousand to five hundred thousand rupees; 10 to less than 50 grammes is five to ten years; below 10 grammes is two to five years. Both reach opium and by two separate routes, and its quantity ladder is two hundred times looser than the one for the other four. Section 54A(1)(a) punishes manufacture of 「heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 with 「a sentence of death or life imprisonment」 at any quantity. Part III then sets the opium ladder: 「1 kilogramme or above」 is 「Death or life imprisonment」, 500 grammes to less than 1 kilogramme is life imprisonment with no death, and the bands below that are fixed terms. Column II is headed 「Pure Quantities」. It is not mandatory, the phrase being death or life. The route to the top band is limb (b), (c) or (d) of section 54A(1), so possession of a kilogramme reaches it as surely as trafficking does, and section 54AA applies the same structure on the high seas since Act No. 7 of 2026. Sri Lanka has carried out no judicial execution since 1976.
If prescribed / medical: Opium itself has no prescribing route. The Group D preparations are historical pharmacopoeia items.
Documentation: No traveller route for opium. Poppy pods and poppy straw sold as ornamentals are the practical risk and they carry the alkaloid.

Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218), as last amended by Act No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026 · Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III were substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022, and the entry relied on is read from that Act · the entry relied on is Third Schedule, Part I, Group B, Section 1, and named in section 54A(1)(a) itself · Group B Section 1, Group D, Part III opium ladder, and sections 54A and 54B. Principal Ordinance read from the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board's own copy. Read 2026-09-17 · nddcb.gov.lk · nddcb.gov.lk · parliament.lk · Updated September 21, 2026

Opium in Sri Lanka, full detail →

Oxycodone

Legal status: Dangerous drug under Sri Lanka's Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218): Group B Section 1 item 96, 「Oxycodone 14-hydroxydihydrocodeinone (derivate of morphine)」. Oxycodone is a named entry and oxymorphone is the next one at item 97. The schedule marks both as derivatives of morphine in the entry itself. The model: the list is inside the Ordinance and the power to change it is delegated, with a parliamentary lock on the delegation. Section 48 provides that 「the drugs, substances, articles or preparations, specified for the time being in Groups A, B, C, D and E in Part I of the Third Schedule, shall be deemed to be dangerous drugs」. Section 2(1) then provides that 「regulation」 means a regulation made under this Ordinance and published in the Gazette, 「and includes the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Schedules」, so the Third Schedule is itself a regulation. The empowering section is section 80. Section 80(2)(b) lets the Minister make regulations 「for adding any item to or deleting any item from, or altering, varying or amending in any other way, any of the lists or Groups of poisons and dangerous drugs set out in the First and Third Schedules」, and section 80(3) then provides that 「No regulation so made shall have effect unless it has been approved by Parliament and notification of such approval has been published in the Gazette」. So the delegation is real but it is locked to an affirmative vote, and in practice the 2022 changes were made by primary legislation rather than by regulation. The Act was last amended by the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026. The Third Schedule was last amended by section 6 of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022 and published as a supplement to Part II of the Gazette of 25 November 2022, which substituted Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III. Act No. 7 of 2026 does not touch the Third Schedule.
Consequences if caught: Capital exposure: none. Section 54A(1) has four limbs and they do not carry the same exposure. Limb (a) punishes any person who 「manufactures any of the following dangerous drugs, namely heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 with 「a sentence of death or life imprisonment」, with no quantity stated. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) punish trafficking, importing or exporting, and possession, of 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule in excess of the amount set out in the said Column II」, with the penalty in Column III. Part III Column II is headed 「Pure Quantities」, and Column I is headed 「Traffics, possess, imports or exports」, so possession is inside the same ladder as trafficking. Section 54B extends the same punishment to abetting, attempting and acts preparatory to or in furtherance of a section 54A offence. Since Act No. 7 of 2026 a parallel section 54AA applies the same two structures on the high seas, aboard a ship registered in Sri Lanka or a stateless ship. For a dangerous drug that is not in Part III, section 54A never engages, because limbs (b), (c) and (d) operate only on a drug 「set out in Column II of Part III」. The charge is the general penalty in section 78(5): on summary conviction by a Magistrate a fine of one thousand to ten thousand rupees or up to five years or both, and on conviction before the High Court a fine of ten thousand to twenty five thousand rupees or six months to seven years or both. Section 78(6) requires the written consent of the Attorney-General before non-summary proceedings. Being a derivative of morphine in the schedule's own description does not put oxycodone into Part III. Part III names morphine, and oxycodone is a different named substance with its own entry. Neither reaches this substance, at any quantity, and the reason is structural rather than a matter of degree. The death and life penalties in this Ordinance live in exactly two places. Section 54A(1)(a) attaches them to the manufacture of 「heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 and names no other drug. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) attach the Column III penalties to 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule」, and Column II names only opium, 「Morphine, Cocaine, Heroin and Methamphetamine」, and cannabis. This substance is in none of those, so section 54A cannot engage however much of it is involved, and section 54AA cannot either, because it is built on the same two structures. Being a dangerous drug under section 48 is not the same thing as being in Part III, and the corpus this cell replaces repeatedly ran the two together.
If prescribed / medical: Oxycodone is dispensed for severe pain through licensed medical channels under the Ordinance and the medicines regime.
Documentation: Carry prescribed oxycodone in its dispensed packaging with the prescription and declare it.

Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218), as last amended by Act No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026 · Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III were substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022, and the entry relied on is read from that Act · the entry relied on is Group B Section 1 item 96, 「Oxycodone 14-hydroxydihydrocodeinone (derivate of morphine)」 · Third Schedule Part I Group B as substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, with sections 48, 54A and 78. Principal Ordinance read from the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board's own copy. Read 2026-09-17 · nddcb.gov.lk · nddcb.gov.lk · parliament.lk · Updated September 21, 2026

Oxycodone in Sri Lanka, full detail →

PCP

Legal status: Dangerous drug under Sri Lanka's Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218): Group B Section 2, 「Phencyclidine」, with tenocyclidine separately at item 32. Phencyclidine is named and its thienyl relative tenocyclidine is a separate entry at item 32. Section 3 clause 3 then reaches the wider arylcycloalkylamine family outside Section 2. The model: the list is inside the Ordinance and the power to change it is delegated, with a parliamentary lock on the delegation. Section 48 provides that 「the drugs, substances, articles or preparations, specified for the time being in Groups A, B, C, D and E in Part I of the Third Schedule, shall be deemed to be dangerous drugs」. Section 2(1) then provides that 「regulation」 means a regulation made under this Ordinance and published in the Gazette, 「and includes the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Schedules」, so the Third Schedule is itself a regulation. The empowering section is section 80. Section 80(2)(b) lets the Minister make regulations 「for adding any item to or deleting any item from, or altering, varying or amending in any other way, any of the lists or Groups of poisons and dangerous drugs set out in the First and Third Schedules」, and section 80(3) then provides that 「No regulation so made shall have effect unless it has been approved by Parliament and notification of such approval has been published in the Gazette」. So the delegation is real but it is locked to an affirmative vote, and in practice the 2022 changes were made by primary legislation rather than by regulation. The Act was last amended by the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026. The Third Schedule was last amended by section 6 of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022 and published as a supplement to Part II of the Gazette of 25 November 2022, which substituted Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III. Act No. 7 of 2026 does not touch the Third Schedule.
Consequences if caught: Capital exposure: none. Section 54A(1) has four limbs and they do not carry the same exposure. Limb (a) punishes any person who 「manufactures any of the following dangerous drugs, namely heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 with 「a sentence of death or life imprisonment」, with no quantity stated. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) punish trafficking, importing or exporting, and possession, of 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule in excess of the amount set out in the said Column II」, with the penalty in Column III. Part III Column II is headed 「Pure Quantities」, and Column I is headed 「Traffics, possess, imports or exports」, so possession is inside the same ladder as trafficking. Section 54B extends the same punishment to abetting, attempting and acts preparatory to or in furtherance of a section 54A offence. Since Act No. 7 of 2026 a parallel section 54AA applies the same two structures on the high seas, aboard a ship registered in Sri Lanka or a stateless ship. For a dangerous drug that is not in Part III, section 54A never engages, because limbs (b), (c) and (d) operate only on a drug 「set out in Column II of Part III」. The charge is the general penalty in section 78(5): on summary conviction by a Magistrate a fine of one thousand to ten thousand rupees or up to five years or both, and on conviction before the High Court a fine of ten thousand to twenty five thousand rupees or six months to seven years or both. Section 78(6) requires the written consent of the Attorney-General before non-summary proceedings. Clause 3 sets out exactly which alkylamino and aryl substituents are inside it, so the hydroxy and methoxy phencyclidines are decided by structure. Neither reaches this substance, at any quantity, and the reason is structural rather than a matter of degree. The death and life penalties in this Ordinance live in exactly two places. Section 54A(1)(a) attaches them to the manufacture of 「heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 and names no other drug. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) attach the Column III penalties to 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule」, and Column II names only opium, 「Morphine, Cocaine, Heroin and Methamphetamine」, and cannabis. This substance is in none of those, so section 54A cannot engage however much of it is involved, and section 54AA cannot either, because it is built on the same two structures. Being a dangerous drug under section 48 is not the same thing as being in Part III, and the corpus this cell replaces repeatedly ran the two together.
If prescribed / medical: Phencyclidine has no human medical use in Sri Lanka.
Documentation: No documentation route. Phencyclidine is sometimes present unannounced in material sold as something else.

Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218), as last amended by Act No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026 · Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III were substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022, and the entry relied on is read from that Act · the entry relied on is Group B Section 2, 「Phencyclidine」, with tenocyclidine separately at item 32 · Third Schedule Part I Group B as substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, with sections 48, 54A and 78. Principal Ordinance read from the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board's own copy. Read 2026-09-17 · nddcb.gov.lk · nddcb.gov.lk · parliament.lk · Updated September 21, 2026

PCP in Sri Lanka, full detail →

Peyote

Legal status: Dangerous drug under Sri Lanka's Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218): Third Schedule, Part I, Group B, Section 2 item 12, 「Mescaline」, reached through the alkaloid the cactus contains. The cactus is not named. The clause 15 plant list names seven plants and Lophophora williamsii is not among them, so peyote is reached through its mescaline content and not as a plant in its own right. The model: the list is inside the Ordinance and the power to change it is delegated, with a parliamentary lock on the delegation. Section 48 provides that 「the drugs, substances, articles or preparations, specified for the time being in Groups A, B, C, D and E in Part I of the Third Schedule, shall be deemed to be dangerous drugs」. Section 2(1) then provides that 「regulation」 means a regulation made under this Ordinance and published in the Gazette, 「and includes the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Schedules」, so the Third Schedule is itself a regulation. The empowering section is section 80. Section 80(2)(b) lets the Minister make regulations 「for adding any item to or deleting any item from, or altering, varying or amending in any other way, any of the lists or Groups of poisons and dangerous drugs set out in the First and Third Schedules」, and section 80(3) then provides that 「No regulation so made shall have effect unless it has been approved by Parliament and notification of such approval has been published in the Gazette」. So the delegation is real but it is locked to an affirmative vote, and in practice the 2022 changes were made by primary legislation rather than by regulation. The Act was last amended by the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026. The Third Schedule was last amended by section 6 of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022 and published as a supplement to Part II of the Gazette of 25 November 2022, which substituted Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III. Act No. 7 of 2026 does not touch the Third Schedule.
Consequences if caught: Capital exposure: none. Section 54A(1) has four limbs and they do not carry the same exposure. Limb (a) punishes any person who 「manufactures any of the following dangerous drugs, namely heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 with 「a sentence of death or life imprisonment」, with no quantity stated. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) punish trafficking, importing or exporting, and possession, of 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule in excess of the amount set out in the said Column II」, with the penalty in Column III. Part III Column II is headed 「Pure Quantities」, and Column I is headed 「Traffics, possess, imports or exports」, so possession is inside the same ladder as trafficking. Section 54B extends the same punishment to abetting, attempting and acts preparatory to or in furtherance of a section 54A offence. Since Act No. 7 of 2026 a parallel section 54AA applies the same two structures on the high seas, aboard a ship registered in Sri Lanka or a stateless ship. For a dangerous drug that is not in Part III, section 54A never engages, because limbs (b), (c) and (d) operate only on a drug 「set out in Column II of Part III」. The charge is the general penalty in section 78(5): on summary conviction by a Magistrate a fine of one thousand to ten thousand rupees or up to five years or both, and on conviction before the High Court a fine of ten thousand to twenty five thousand rupees or six months to seven years or both. Section 78(6) requires the written consent of the Attorney-General before non-summary proceedings. That is a narrower route than khat, kratom or salvia have, and it means the question for a live cactus is its alkaloid content rather than its species. Neither reaches this substance, at any quantity, and the reason is structural rather than a matter of degree. The death and life penalties in this Ordinance live in exactly two places. Section 54A(1)(a) attaches them to the manufacture of 「heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 and names no other drug. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) attach the Column III penalties to 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule」, and Column II names only opium, 「Morphine, Cocaine, Heroin and Methamphetamine」, and cannabis. This substance is in none of those, so section 54A cannot engage however much of it is involved, and section 54AA cannot either, because it is built on the same two structures. Being a dangerous drug under section 48 is not the same thing as being in Part III, and the corpus this cell replaces repeatedly ran the two together.
If prescribed / medical: Mescaline has no registration and no prescribing route in Sri Lanka, and the cactus is not a registered botanical either.
Documentation: An ornamental cactus is reached through its alkaloid content rather than by name.

Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218), as last amended by Act No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026 · Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III were substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022, and the entry relied on is read from that Act · the entry relied on is Third Schedule, Part I, Group B, Section 2 item 12, 「Mescaline」, reached through the alkaloid the cactus contains · Third Schedule Part I Group B as substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, with sections 48, 54A and 78. Principal Ordinance read from the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board's own copy. Read 2026-09-17 · nddcb.gov.lk · nddcb.gov.lk · parliament.lk · Updated September 21, 2026

Peyote in Sri Lanka, full detail →

Pink Cocaine / Tusi

Legal status: Dangerous drug under Sri Lanka's Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218): no entry of its own; reached through whichever listed constituents a given sample contains. Pink cocaine, tusi, is a name for a variable powder rather than a substance, and it usually contains no cocaine. Analyses commonly find ketamine, Group B Section 2 item 56, and MDMA, Section 2. Where cocaine is present it is Section 1 item 31 and the five gramme band applies. Section 2 clause 6 and Section 1 clause 6 both catch 「Substances, preparations or mixtures containing any proportion」 of a listed drug, so a mixture is reached at any proportion. The model: the list is inside the Ordinance and the power to change it is delegated, with a parliamentary lock on the delegation. Section 48 provides that 「the drugs, substances, articles or preparations, specified for the time being in Groups A, B, C, D and E in Part I of the Third Schedule, shall be deemed to be dangerous drugs」. Section 2(1) then provides that 「regulation」 means a regulation made under this Ordinance and published in the Gazette, 「and includes the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Schedules」, so the Third Schedule is itself a regulation. The empowering section is section 80. Section 80(2)(b) lets the Minister make regulations 「for adding any item to or deleting any item from, or altering, varying or amending in any other way, any of the lists or Groups of poisons and dangerous drugs set out in the First and Third Schedules」, and section 80(3) then provides that 「No regulation so made shall have effect unless it has been approved by Parliament and notification of such approval has been published in the Gazette」. So the delegation is real but it is locked to an affirmative vote, and in practice the 2022 changes were made by primary legislation rather than by regulation. The Act was last amended by the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026. The Third Schedule was last amended by section 6 of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022 and published as a supplement to Part II of the Gazette of 25 November 2022, which substituted Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III. Act No. 7 of 2026 does not touch the Third Schedule.
Consequences if caught: Capital exposure: not established. Section 54A(1) has four limbs and they do not carry the same exposure. Limb (a) punishes any person who 「manufactures any of the following dangerous drugs, namely heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 with 「a sentence of death or life imprisonment」, with no quantity stated. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) punish trafficking, importing or exporting, and possession, of 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule in excess of the amount set out in the said Column II」, with the penalty in Column III. Part III Column II is headed 「Pure Quantities」, and Column I is headed 「Traffics, possess, imports or exports」, so possession is inside the same ladder as trafficking. Section 54B extends the same punishment to abetting, attempting and acts preparatory to or in furtherance of a section 54A offence. Since Act No. 7 of 2026 a parallel section 54AA applies the same two structures on the high seas, aboard a ship registered in Sri Lanka or a stateless ship. Part III, as substituted in 2022, sets only two capital bands. Opium at 1 kilogramme or above is 「Death or life imprisonment」, and 「Morphine, Cocaine, Heroin and Methamphetamine」 at 5 grammes or above is 「Death or life imprisonment」. Cannabis has a ladder in Part III whose top band is 100 kilogrammes or above and carries ten to fifteen years, with no capital band at all. No other substance appears in Column II anywhere. Sri Lanka has no express highest-grade-governs rule of the kind some jurisdictions use for mixtures. Each listed constituent is reached on its own entry, and Part III then applies to whichever of them appears in Column II. Both can reach a given sample and neither reaches the name. Pink cocaine has no entry, so the question is what is actually in the powder. If it carries cocaine, cocaine is in the Part III band at 「5 grammes or above」 at 「Death or life imprisonment」, and cocaine is also in the section 54A(1)(a) manufacture limb at any quantity. If it carries only ketamine and MDMA, neither is in Part III at all and section 54A never engages, leaving the general penalty in section 78(5). Column II is headed 「Pure Quantities」, so a five gramme bag that is one fifth cocaine carries one gramme of cocaine and is two bands below the capital line. Sri Lanka has no provision charging a mixture at the grade of its worst component, so each listed constituent is assessed on its own. The practical consequence is that the exposure is unknowable at purchase and it swings between no section 54A offence and a capital one.
If prescribed / medical: There is no lawful supply of the mixture and no prescription route. Ketamine alone has a veterinary and anaesthetic use.
Documentation: The composition varies batch to batch, so whether a given bag is inside a capital band is unknowable at purchase. A ketamine and MDMA powder is outside Part III entirely; the same powder with cocaine in it is inside the five gramme band.

Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218), as last amended by Act No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026 · absence was established by reading Groups A, B, C, D and E of Part I in full, Group B from Act No. 41 of 2022 and Groups A, C, D and E from a private consolidation to 2024, and by reading Parts I to V of the First Schedule and all four Parts of the Second Schedule in that same consolidation · the entry relied on is no entry of its own · reached through whichever listed constituents a given sample contains · Group B Section 1 item 31, Section 2 item 56, Section 1 clause 6 and Section 2 clause 6, and Part III. Principal Ordinance read from the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board's own copy. Read 2026-09-17 · nddcb.gov.lk · nddcb.gov.lk · parliament.lk · Updated September 21, 2026

Pink Cocaine / Tusi in Sri Lanka, full detail →

Poppers

Legal status: Not a dangerous drug under Sri Lanka's Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218): absent from Groups A, B, C, D and E of the Third Schedule. Poppers is a retail name rather than a substance, covering isobutyl, isopentyl and amyl nitrite among others. No alkyl nitrite is in any Group of the Third Schedule, so none of them is a dangerous drug. The model: the list is inside the Ordinance and the power to change it is delegated, with a parliamentary lock on the delegation. Section 48 provides that 「the drugs, substances, articles or preparations, specified for the time being in Groups A, B, C, D and E in Part I of the Third Schedule, shall be deemed to be dangerous drugs」. Section 2(1) then provides that 「regulation」 means a regulation made under this Ordinance and published in the Gazette, 「and includes the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Schedules」, so the Third Schedule is itself a regulation. The empowering section is section 80. Section 80(2)(b) lets the Minister make regulations 「for adding any item to or deleting any item from, or altering, varying or amending in any other way, any of the lists or Groups of poisons and dangerous drugs set out in the First and Third Schedules」, and section 80(3) then provides that 「No regulation so made shall have effect unless it has been approved by Parliament and notification of such approval has been published in the Gazette」. So the delegation is real but it is locked to an affirmative vote, and in practice the 2022 changes were made by primary legislation rather than by regulation. The Act was last amended by the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026. The Third Schedule was last amended by section 6 of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022 and published as a supplement to Part II of the Gazette of 25 November 2022, which substituted Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III. Act No. 7 of 2026 does not touch the Third Schedule.
Consequences if caught: Capital exposure: none. Because there is no schedule entry there is no drugs offence and no Part III question. The live exposure is the medicines regime: a product presented for human use without registration under the National Medicines Regulatory Authority Act, No. 5 of 2015 is an unregistered medicine, and labelling it a room deodoriser does not change what it is. Neither reaches this substance, and not because the penalty is low but because no dangerous drug offence in this Ordinance engages at all. Section 48 makes a substance a dangerous drug only if it is specified in Groups A to E of Part I of the Third Schedule, and this substance is in none of them. Section 54A(1)(a) names four drugs for the manufacture limb and Part III Column II names five substances for the quantity limbs; this is neither, so no capital or life sentence is available for it on any facts. Saying that much does not dispose of the whole Ordinance, and the corpus this cell replaces never reached the rest of it. Chapter II runs a separate poisons regime over the First Schedule, whose Parts I to V were read in full for this cell, and this substance is named nowhere in them, so sections 5, 17, 18 and 19 create no offence for it either. The instrument that does govern it is named in the status above.
If prescribed / medical: There is no registered poppers product and therefore no prescribing route.
Documentation: A bottle in baggage is an unregistered medicine rather than a scheduled drug.

Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218), as last amended by Act No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026 · absence was established by reading Groups A, B, C, D and E of Part I in full, Group B from Act No. 41 of 2022 and Groups A, C, D and E from a private consolidation to 2024, and by reading Parts I to V of the First Schedule and all four Parts of the Second Schedule in that same consolidation · the finding is that the substance is absent from Groups A, B, C, D and E of the Third Schedule · Third Schedule Groups A to E searched for every alkyl nitrite and returning nothing, and National Medicines Regulatory Authority Act, No. 5 of 2015 sections 144 and 145. Principal Ordinance read from the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board's own copy. Read 2026-09-17 · nddcb.gov.lk · nddcb.gov.lk · parliament.lk · Updated September 21, 2026

Poppers in Sri Lanka, full detail →

Pregabalin

Legal status: Dangerous drug under Sri Lanka's Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218): Group B Section 1 item 127, 「Pregabalin (3S)-3-(aminomethyl)-5-methylhexanoic acid」. Pregabalin is a named dangerous drug, appended at the end of Section 1 by the 2022 substitution alongside tramadol and gabapentin. Several jurisdictions leave it uncontrolled; Sri Lanka does not. The model: the list is inside the Ordinance and the power to change it is delegated, with a parliamentary lock on the delegation. Section 48 provides that 「the drugs, substances, articles or preparations, specified for the time being in Groups A, B, C, D and E in Part I of the Third Schedule, shall be deemed to be dangerous drugs」. Section 2(1) then provides that 「regulation」 means a regulation made under this Ordinance and published in the Gazette, 「and includes the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Schedules」, so the Third Schedule is itself a regulation. The empowering section is section 80. Section 80(2)(b) lets the Minister make regulations 「for adding any item to or deleting any item from, or altering, varying or amending in any other way, any of the lists or Groups of poisons and dangerous drugs set out in the First and Third Schedules」, and section 80(3) then provides that 「No regulation so made shall have effect unless it has been approved by Parliament and notification of such approval has been published in the Gazette」. So the delegation is real but it is locked to an affirmative vote, and in practice the 2022 changes were made by primary legislation rather than by regulation. The Act was last amended by the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026. The Third Schedule was last amended by section 6 of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022 and published as a supplement to Part II of the Gazette of 25 November 2022, which substituted Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III. Act No. 7 of 2026 does not touch the Third Schedule.
Consequences if caught: Capital exposure: none. Section 54A(1) has four limbs and they do not carry the same exposure. Limb (a) punishes any person who 「manufactures any of the following dangerous drugs, namely heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 with 「a sentence of death or life imprisonment」, with no quantity stated. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) punish trafficking, importing or exporting, and possession, of 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule in excess of the amount set out in the said Column II」, with the penalty in Column III. Part III Column II is headed 「Pure Quantities」, and Column I is headed 「Traffics, possess, imports or exports」, so possession is inside the same ladder as trafficking. Section 54B extends the same punishment to abetting, attempting and acts preparatory to or in furtherance of a section 54A offence. Since Act No. 7 of 2026 a parallel section 54AA applies the same two structures on the high seas, aboard a ship registered in Sri Lanka or a stateless ship. For a dangerous drug that is not in Part III, section 54A never engages, because limbs (b), (c) and (d) operate only on a drug 「set out in Column II of Part III」. The charge is the general penalty in section 78(5): on summary conviction by a Magistrate a fine of one thousand to ten thousand rupees or up to five years or both, and on conviction before the High Court a fine of ten thousand to twenty five thousand rupees or six months to seven years or both. Section 78(6) requires the written consent of the Attorney-General before non-summary proceedings. This is a named entry with a systematic name attached, so it is settled rather than inferred, and the answer is dated to the 2022 substitution rather than permanent. Neither reaches this substance, at any quantity, and the reason is structural rather than a matter of degree. The death and life penalties in this Ordinance live in exactly two places. Section 54A(1)(a) attaches them to the manufacture of 「heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 and names no other drug. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) attach the Column III penalties to 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule」, and Column II names only opium, 「Morphine, Cocaine, Heroin and Methamphetamine」, and cannabis. This substance is in none of those, so section 54A cannot engage however much of it is involved, and section 54AA cannot either, because it is built on the same two structures. Being a dangerous drug under section 48 is not the same thing as being in Part III, and the corpus this cell replaces repeatedly ran the two together.
If prescribed / medical: Pregabalin is a registered prescription medicine for neuropathic pain and as an adjunct antiepileptic, and is simultaneously a dangerous drug.
Documentation: Carry a prescribed pregabalin supply in its dispensed packaging with the prescription. Its listing at item 127 is recent and is easy to miss.

Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218), as last amended by Act No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026 · Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III were substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022, and the entry relied on is read from that Act · the entry relied on is Group B Section 1 item 127, 「Pregabalin (3S)-3-(aminomethyl)-5-methylhexanoic acid」 · Third Schedule Part I Group B as substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, with sections 48, 54A and 78. Principal Ordinance read from the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board's own copy. Read 2026-09-17 · nddcb.gov.lk · nddcb.gov.lk · parliament.lk · Updated September 21, 2026

Pregabalin in Sri Lanka, full detail →

Psilocybin

Legal status: Dangerous drug under Sri Lanka's Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218): Group B Section 2, 「Psilocybine」 and 「Psilocine」. Both alkaloids of the same mushroom are named, so a specimen is reached whichever of them an analysis finds. The mushroom itself is not named as a plant in the Section 3 plant list, which names khat, kratom, salvia, chacruna, mimosa, Hawaiian baby woodrose and iboga and stops there. The model: the list is inside the Ordinance and the power to change it is delegated, with a parliamentary lock on the delegation. Section 48 provides that 「the drugs, substances, articles or preparations, specified for the time being in Groups A, B, C, D and E in Part I of the Third Schedule, shall be deemed to be dangerous drugs」. Section 2(1) then provides that 「regulation」 means a regulation made under this Ordinance and published in the Gazette, 「and includes the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Schedules」, so the Third Schedule is itself a regulation. The empowering section is section 80. Section 80(2)(b) lets the Minister make regulations 「for adding any item to or deleting any item from, or altering, varying or amending in any other way, any of the lists or Groups of poisons and dangerous drugs set out in the First and Third Schedules」, and section 80(3) then provides that 「No regulation so made shall have effect unless it has been approved by Parliament and notification of such approval has been published in the Gazette」. So the delegation is real but it is locked to an affirmative vote, and in practice the 2022 changes were made by primary legislation rather than by regulation. The Act was last amended by the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026. The Third Schedule was last amended by section 6 of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022 and published as a supplement to Part II of the Gazette of 25 November 2022, which substituted Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III. Act No. 7 of 2026 does not touch the Third Schedule.
Consequences if caught: Capital exposure: none. Section 54A(1) has four limbs and they do not carry the same exposure. Limb (a) punishes any person who 「manufactures any of the following dangerous drugs, namely heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 with 「a sentence of death or life imprisonment」, with no quantity stated. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) punish trafficking, importing or exporting, and possession, of 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule in excess of the amount set out in the said Column II」, with the penalty in Column III. Part III Column II is headed 「Pure Quantities」, and Column I is headed 「Traffics, possess, imports or exports」, so possession is inside the same ladder as trafficking. Section 54B extends the same punishment to abetting, attempting and acts preparatory to or in furtherance of a section 54A offence. Since Act No. 7 of 2026 a parallel section 54AA applies the same two structures on the high seas, aboard a ship registered in Sri Lanka or a stateless ship. For a dangerous drug that is not in Part III, section 54A never engages, because limbs (b), (c) and (d) operate only on a drug 「set out in Column II of Part III」. The charge is the general penalty in section 78(5): on summary conviction by a Magistrate a fine of one thousand to ten thousand rupees or up to five years or both, and on conviction before the High Court a fine of ten thousand to twenty five thousand rupees or six months to seven years or both. Section 78(6) requires the written consent of the Attorney-General before non-summary proceedings. Section 3 clause 6 reaches tryptamine analogues outside Section 2 by a structural test, and psilocin is a 4-hydroxy tryptamine, so the family is covered twice over. Neither reaches this substance, at any quantity, and the reason is structural rather than a matter of degree. The death and life penalties in this Ordinance live in exactly two places. Section 54A(1)(a) attaches them to the manufacture of 「heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 and names no other drug. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) attach the Column III penalties to 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule」, and Column II names only opium, 「Morphine, Cocaine, Heroin and Methamphetamine」, and cannabis. This substance is in none of those, so section 54A cannot engage however much of it is involved, and section 54AA cannot either, because it is built on the same two structures. Being a dangerous drug under section 48 is not the same thing as being in Part III, and the corpus this cell replaces repeatedly ran the two together.
If prescribed / medical: Neither alkaloid has a licensed medicine or a prescribing route in Sri Lanka.
Documentation: No personal import route. Dried mushrooms and grow kits reach the same entries through their alkaloid content.

Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218), as last amended by Act No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026 · Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III were substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022, and the entry relied on is read from that Act · the entry relied on is Group B Section 2, 「Psilocybine」 and 「Psilocine」 · Third Schedule Part I Group B as substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, with sections 48, 54A and 78. Principal Ordinance read from the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board's own copy. Read 2026-09-17 · nddcb.gov.lk · nddcb.gov.lk · parliament.lk · Updated September 21, 2026

Psilocybin in Sri Lanka, full detail →

Quetiapine

Legal status: Not a dangerous drug under Sri Lanka's Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218): absent from Groups A, B, C, D and E of the Third Schedule. Quetiapine is not in any Group of the Third Schedule and is not a dangerous drug. It is a registered prescription antipsychotic. The model: the list is inside the Ordinance and the power to change it is delegated, with a parliamentary lock on the delegation. Section 48 provides that 「the drugs, substances, articles or preparations, specified for the time being in Groups A, B, C, D and E in Part I of the Third Schedule, shall be deemed to be dangerous drugs」. Section 2(1) then provides that 「regulation」 means a regulation made under this Ordinance and published in the Gazette, 「and includes the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Schedules」, so the Third Schedule is itself a regulation. The empowering section is section 80. Section 80(2)(b) lets the Minister make regulations 「for adding any item to or deleting any item from, or altering, varying or amending in any other way, any of the lists or Groups of poisons and dangerous drugs set out in the First and Third Schedules」, and section 80(3) then provides that 「No regulation so made shall have effect unless it has been approved by Parliament and notification of such approval has been published in the Gazette」. So the delegation is real but it is locked to an affirmative vote, and in practice the 2022 changes were made by primary legislation rather than by regulation. The Act was last amended by the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026. The Third Schedule was last amended by section 6 of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022 and published as a supplement to Part II of the Gazette of 25 November 2022, which substituted Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III. Act No. 7 of 2026 does not touch the Third Schedule.
Consequences if caught: Capital exposure: none. No drugs offence reaches quetiapine in any quantity. Supplying it outside the registered channel is an offence under the National Medicines Regulatory Authority Act, No. 5 of 2015. Neither reaches this substance, and not because the penalty is low but because no dangerous drug offence in this Ordinance engages at all. Section 48 makes a substance a dangerous drug only if it is specified in Groups A to E of Part I of the Third Schedule, and this substance is in none of them. Section 54A(1)(a) names four drugs for the manufacture limb and Part III Column II names five substances for the quantity limbs; this is neither, so no capital or life sentence is available for it on any facts. Saying that much does not dispose of the whole Ordinance, and the corpus this cell replaces never reached the rest of it. Chapter II runs a separate poisons regime over the First Schedule, whose Parts I to V were read in full for this cell, and this substance is named nowhere in them, so sections 5, 17, 18 and 19 create no offence for it either. The instrument that does govern it is named in the status above.
If prescribed / medical: Quetiapine is dispensed on prescription for schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and as an adjunct in depression.
Documentation: Carry a prescribed supply in its dispensed packaging with the prescription. Psychiatric medicines are ordinary medicines for customs purposes here.

Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218), as last amended by Act No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026 · absence was established by reading Groups A, B, C, D and E of Part I in full, Group B from Act No. 41 of 2022 and Groups A, C, D and E from a private consolidation to 2024, and by reading Parts I to V of the First Schedule and all four Parts of the Second Schedule in that same consolidation · the finding is that the substance is absent from Groups A, B, C, D and E of the Third Schedule · Third Schedule Groups A to E searched for quetiapine and returning nothing, and National Medicines Regulatory Authority Act, No. 5 of 2015. Principal Ordinance read from the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board's own copy. Read 2026-09-17 · nddcb.gov.lk · nddcb.gov.lk · parliament.lk · Updated September 21, 2026

Quetiapine in Sri Lanka, full detail →

Salvia divinorum

Legal status: Dangerous drug under Sri Lanka's Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218): Third Schedule, Part I, Group B, Section 3, clause 15(c), 「Salvia (Salvia divinorum)」. The plant is named by its botanical binomial in the clause 15 plant list. Salvinorin A, its active diterpene, is not separately named, and is reached as an extract of the named plant. The model: the list is inside the Ordinance and the power to change it is delegated, with a parliamentary lock on the delegation. Section 48 provides that 「the drugs, substances, articles or preparations, specified for the time being in Groups A, B, C, D and E in Part I of the Third Schedule, shall be deemed to be dangerous drugs」. Section 2(1) then provides that 「regulation」 means a regulation made under this Ordinance and published in the Gazette, 「and includes the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Schedules」, so the Third Schedule is itself a regulation. The empowering section is section 80. Section 80(2)(b) lets the Minister make regulations 「for adding any item to or deleting any item from, or altering, varying or amending in any other way, any of the lists or Groups of poisons and dangerous drugs set out in the First and Third Schedules」, and section 80(3) then provides that 「No regulation so made shall have effect unless it has been approved by Parliament and notification of such approval has been published in the Gazette」. So the delegation is real but it is locked to an affirmative vote, and in practice the 2022 changes were made by primary legislation rather than by regulation. The Act was last amended by the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026. The Third Schedule was last amended by section 6 of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022 and published as a supplement to Part II of the Gazette of 25 November 2022, which substituted Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III. Act No. 7 of 2026 does not touch the Third Schedule.
Consequences if caught: Capital exposure: none. Section 54A(1) has four limbs and they do not carry the same exposure. Limb (a) punishes any person who 「manufactures any of the following dangerous drugs, namely heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 with 「a sentence of death or life imprisonment」, with no quantity stated. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) punish trafficking, importing or exporting, and possession, of 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule in excess of the amount set out in the said Column II」, with the penalty in Column III. Part III Column II is headed 「Pure Quantities」, and Column I is headed 「Traffics, possess, imports or exports」, so possession is inside the same ladder as trafficking. Section 54B extends the same punishment to abetting, attempting and acts preparatory to or in furtherance of a section 54A offence. Since Act No. 7 of 2026 a parallel section 54AA applies the same two structures on the high seas, aboard a ship registered in Sri Lanka or a stateless ship. For a dangerous drug that is not in Part III, section 54A never engages, because limbs (b), (c) and (d) operate only on a drug 「set out in Column II of Part III」. The charge is the general penalty in section 78(5): on summary conviction by a Magistrate a fine of one thousand to ten thousand rupees or up to five years or both, and on conviction before the High Court a fine of ten thousand to twenty five thousand rupees or six months to seven years or both. Section 78(6) requires the written consent of the Attorney-General before non-summary proceedings. A living plant is within the clause, which reaches 「Any part of the plant」. Salvia is sold as an ornamental in some markets and that is the practical exposure. Neither reaches this substance, at any quantity, and the reason is structural rather than a matter of degree. The death and life penalties in this Ordinance live in exactly two places. Section 54A(1)(a) attaches them to the manufacture of 「heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 and names no other drug. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) attach the Column III penalties to 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule」, and Column II names only opium, 「Morphine, Cocaine, Heroin and Methamphetamine」, and cannabis. This substance is in none of those, so section 54A cannot engage however much of it is involved, and section 54AA cannot either, because it is built on the same two structures. Being a dangerous drug under section 48 is not the same thing as being in Part III, and the corpus this cell replaces repeatedly ran the two together.
If prescribed / medical: Neither the plant nor its diterpene has a licensed medicine or a prescribing route in Sri Lanka.
Documentation: No personal import route for seed, cutting or dried leaf.

Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218), as last amended by Act No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026 · Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III were substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022, and the entry relied on is read from that Act · the entry relied on is Third Schedule, Part I, Group B, Section 3, clause 15(c), 「Salvia (Salvia divinorum)」 · Third Schedule Part I Group B as substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, with sections 48, 54A and 78. Principal Ordinance read from the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board's own copy. Read 2026-09-17 · nddcb.gov.lk · nddcb.gov.lk · parliament.lk · Updated September 21, 2026

Salvia divinorum in Sri Lanka, full detail →

Scopolamine (Devil's Breath)

Legal status: Not a dangerous drug under Sri Lanka's Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218): absent from Groups A, B, C, D and E of the Third Schedule. Scopolamine, also called hyoscine, is not in any Group of the Third Schedule and is not a dangerous drug. It is a registered medicine. The model: the list is inside the Ordinance and the power to change it is delegated, with a parliamentary lock on the delegation. Section 48 provides that 「the drugs, substances, articles or preparations, specified for the time being in Groups A, B, C, D and E in Part I of the Third Schedule, shall be deemed to be dangerous drugs」. Section 2(1) then provides that 「regulation」 means a regulation made under this Ordinance and published in the Gazette, 「and includes the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Schedules」, so the Third Schedule is itself a regulation. The empowering section is section 80. Section 80(2)(b) lets the Minister make regulations 「for adding any item to or deleting any item from, or altering, varying or amending in any other way, any of the lists or Groups of poisons and dangerous drugs set out in the First and Third Schedules」, and section 80(3) then provides that 「No regulation so made shall have effect unless it has been approved by Parliament and notification of such approval has been published in the Gazette」. So the delegation is real but it is locked to an affirmative vote, and in practice the 2022 changes were made by primary legislation rather than by regulation. The Act was last amended by the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026. The Third Schedule was last amended by section 6 of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022 and published as a supplement to Part II of the Gazette of 25 November 2022, which substituted Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III. Act No. 7 of 2026 does not touch the Third Schedule.
Consequences if caught: Capital exposure: none. No drugs offence reaches scopolamine. Where it appears in a criminal case it is as the means of an offence against the person, and the charge comes from the Penal Code rather than from the Ordinance. Neither reaches this substance, and not because the penalty is low but because no dangerous drug offence in this Ordinance engages at all. Section 48 makes a substance a dangerous drug only if it is specified in Groups A to E of Part I of the Third Schedule, and this substance is in none of them. Section 54A(1)(a) names four drugs for the manufacture limb and Part III Column II names five substances for the quantity limbs; this is neither, so no capital or life sentence is available for it on any facts. Saying that much does not dispose of the whole Ordinance, and the corpus this cell replaces never reached the rest of it. Chapter II runs a separate poisons regime over the First Schedule, whose Parts I to V were read in full for this cell, and this substance is named nowhere in them. One residual is recorded here rather than resolved. Part I carries an entry whose surviving text reads 「Schedule, and their salts, and all poisonous derivatives of vegetable alkaloids and glucosides」, and the opening words of that entry, which are the words that say what class it covers, are absent from the text layer of the only copy of the First Schedule reached, a clipped scan, so the class cannot be read. Scopolamine is a vegetable alkaloid and that entry may reach it. Chapter II is a sale and dispensing regime under sections 5, 17, 18 and 19 and carries no capital or life exposure, so the answer above is unchanged whichever way the missing words read. The instrument that does govern it is named in the status above.
If prescribed / medical: Scopolamine patches and hyoscine butylbromide tablets are registered products, supplied on prescription or over the counter according to the product registration.
Documentation: Carry a motion sickness patch in its retail packaging. Nothing more is required for a personal quantity.

Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218), as last amended by Act No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026 · absence was established by reading Groups A, B, C, D and E of Part I in full, Group B from Act No. 41 of 2022 and Groups A, C, D and E from a private consolidation to 2024, and by reading Parts I to V of the First Schedule and all four Parts of the Second Schedule in that same consolidation · the finding is that the substance is absent from Groups A, B, C, D and E of the Third Schedule · Third Schedule Groups A to E searched for scopolamine, hyoscine and atropine and returning nothing, and National Medicines Regulatory Authority Act, No. 5 of 2015. Principal Ordinance read from the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board's own copy. Read 2026-09-17 · nddcb.gov.lk · nddcb.gov.lk · parliament.lk · Updated September 21, 2026

Scopolamine (Devil's Breath) in Sri Lanka, full detail →

Synthetic Cannabinoids (K2 / Spice)

Legal status: Dangerous drug under Sri Lanka's Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218): Group B Section 2, nineteen named synthetic cannabinoids including 「AM-2201」 at item 37, 「5F-APINACA, 5F-AKB-48」 at item 38 and 「AB-CHMINACA」 at item 41, with Section 3 clause 13 adding four structural families. The named entries run through the JWH, AM, APINACA, AKB, AMB and CHMINACA series. Clause 13 then closes the class by structure, covering 3-(1-naphthylmethyl)indole, 3-(1-naphthoyl)pyrrole, naphthylideneindene and 2-(3-hydroxycyclohexyl)phenol scaffolds with substitution at the stated positions. The model: the list is inside the Ordinance and the power to change it is delegated, with a parliamentary lock on the delegation. Section 48 provides that 「the drugs, substances, articles or preparations, specified for the time being in Groups A, B, C, D and E in Part I of the Third Schedule, shall be deemed to be dangerous drugs」. Section 2(1) then provides that 「regulation」 means a regulation made under this Ordinance and published in the Gazette, 「and includes the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Schedules」, so the Third Schedule is itself a regulation. The empowering section is section 80. Section 80(2)(b) lets the Minister make regulations 「for adding any item to or deleting any item from, or altering, varying or amending in any other way, any of the lists or Groups of poisons and dangerous drugs set out in the First and Third Schedules」, and section 80(3) then provides that 「No regulation so made shall have effect unless it has been approved by Parliament and notification of such approval has been published in the Gazette」. So the delegation is real but it is locked to an affirmative vote, and in practice the 2022 changes were made by primary legislation rather than by regulation. The Act was last amended by the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026. The Third Schedule was last amended by section 6 of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022 and published as a supplement to Part II of the Gazette of 25 November 2022, which substituted Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III. Act No. 7 of 2026 does not touch the Third Schedule.
Consequences if caught: Capital exposure: none. Section 54A(1) has four limbs and they do not carry the same exposure. Limb (a) punishes any person who 「manufactures any of the following dangerous drugs, namely heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 with 「a sentence of death or life imprisonment」, with no quantity stated. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) punish trafficking, importing or exporting, and possession, of 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule in excess of the amount set out in the said Column II」, with the penalty in Column III. Part III Column II is headed 「Pure Quantities」, and Column I is headed 「Traffics, possess, imports or exports」, so possession is inside the same ladder as trafficking. Section 54B extends the same punishment to abetting, attempting and acts preparatory to or in furtherance of a section 54A offence. Since Act No. 7 of 2026 a parallel section 54AA applies the same two structures on the high seas, aboard a ship registered in Sri Lanka or a stateless ship. For a dangerous drug that is not in Part III, section 54A never engages, because limbs (b), (c) and (d) operate only on a drug 「set out in Column II of Part III」. The charge is the general penalty in section 78(5): on summary conviction by a Magistrate a fine of one thousand to ten thousand rupees or up to five years or both, and on conviction before the High Court a fine of ten thousand to twenty five thousand rupees or six months to seven years or both. Section 78(6) requires the written consent of the Attorney-General before non-summary proceedings. Clause 13 is a structural test with four enumerated scaffolds, so whether a given compound is inside it is a chemistry question. A compound outside all four scaffolds falls back on the resemblance clause instead. Neither reaches this substance, at any quantity, and the reason is structural rather than a matter of degree. The death and life penalties in this Ordinance live in exactly two places. Section 54A(1)(a) attaches them to the manufacture of 「heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 and names no other drug. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) attach the Column III penalties to 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule」, and Column II names only opium, 「Morphine, Cocaine, Heroin and Methamphetamine」, and cannabis. This substance is in none of those, so section 54A cannot engage however much of it is involved, and section 54AA cannot either, because it is built on the same two structures. Being a dangerous drug under section 48 is not the same thing as being in Part III, and the corpus this cell replaces repeatedly ran the two together.
If prescribed / medical: No synthetic cannabinoid has a licensed medicine or a prescribing route in Sri Lanka.
Documentation: No personal import route. Herbal blends and vape liquids carry no reliable indication of which compound is present.

Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218), as last amended by Act No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026 · Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III were substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022, and the entry relied on is read from that Act · the entry relied on is Group B Section 2, nineteen named synthetic cannabinoids including 「AM-2201」 at item 37, 「5F-APINACA, 5F-AKB-48」 at item 38 and 「AB-CHMINACA」 at item 41, with Section 3 clause 13 adding four structural families · Third Schedule Part I Group B as substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, with sections 48, 54A and 78. Principal Ordinance read from the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board's own copy. Read 2026-09-17 · nddcb.gov.lk · nddcb.gov.lk · parliament.lk · Updated September 21, 2026

Synthetic Cannabinoids (K2 / Spice) in Sri Lanka, full detail →

Tobacco

Legal status: Not a dangerous drug under Sri Lanka's Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218): absent from Groups A, B, C, D and E of the Third Schedule. Tobacco is not in any Group of the Third Schedule and is not a dangerous drug. It is regulated under the National Authority on Tobacco and Alcohol Act, No. 27 of 2006. The model: the list is inside the Ordinance and the power to change it is delegated, with a parliamentary lock on the delegation. Section 48 provides that 「the drugs, substances, articles or preparations, specified for the time being in Groups A, B, C, D and E in Part I of the Third Schedule, shall be deemed to be dangerous drugs」. Section 2(1) then provides that 「regulation」 means a regulation made under this Ordinance and published in the Gazette, 「and includes the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Schedules」, so the Third Schedule is itself a regulation. The empowering section is section 80. Section 80(2)(b) lets the Minister make regulations 「for adding any item to or deleting any item from, or altering, varying or amending in any other way, any of the lists or Groups of poisons and dangerous drugs set out in the First and Third Schedules」, and section 80(3) then provides that 「No regulation so made shall have effect unless it has been approved by Parliament and notification of such approval has been published in the Gazette」. So the delegation is real but it is locked to an affirmative vote, and in practice the 2022 changes were made by primary legislation rather than by regulation. The Act was last amended by the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026. The Third Schedule was last amended by section 6 of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022 and published as a supplement to Part II of the Gazette of 25 November 2022, which substituted Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III. Act No. 7 of 2026 does not touch the Third Schedule.
Consequences if caught: Capital exposure: none. There is no offence under the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance for tobacco. Act No. 27 of 2006 establishes the National Authority on Tobacco and Alcohol, prohibits sale to a person under twenty one, requires health warnings and restricts smoking in public places and advertising. Neither reaches this substance, and not because the penalty is low but because no dangerous drug offence in this Ordinance engages at all. Section 48 makes a substance a dangerous drug only if it is specified in Groups A to E of Part I of the Third Schedule, and this substance is in none of them. Section 54A(1)(a) names four drugs for the manufacture limb and Part III Column II names five substances for the quantity limbs; this is neither, so no capital or life sentence is available for it on any facts. Saying that much does not dispose of the whole Ordinance, and the corpus this cell replaces never reached the rest of it. Chapter II runs a separate poisons regime over the First Schedule, whose Parts I to V were read in full for this cell, and this substance is named nowhere in them, so sections 5, 17, 18 and 19 create no offence for it either. The instrument that does govern it is named in the status above.
If prescribed / medical: Nicotine replacement products are medicines and are dealt with in the nicotine cell.
Documentation: Personal import allowances are a customs matter. Electronic cigarettes and their liquids are separately restricted under the tobacco regime rather than the drugs regime.

Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218), as last amended by Act No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026 · absence was established by reading Groups A, B, C, D and E of Part I in full, Group B from Act No. 41 of 2022 and Groups A, C, D and E from a private consolidation to 2024, and by reading Parts I to V of the First Schedule and all four Parts of the Second Schedule in that same consolidation · the finding is that the substance is absent from Groups A, B, C, D and E of the Third Schedule · National Authority on Tobacco and Alcohol Act, No. 27 of 2006. Principal Ordinance read from the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board's own copy. Read 2026-09-17 · nddcb.gov.lk · nddcb.gov.lk · parliament.lk · Updated September 21, 2026

Tobacco in Sri Lanka, full detail →

Tramadol

Legal status: Dangerous drug under Sri Lanka's Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218): Group B Section 1 item 126, 「Tramadol 2-[(Dimethylamino)methyl]-1-(3-methoxyphenyl)cyclohexanol」. Tramadol is a named dangerous drug in Section 1, added by the 2022 substitution. It sits between U-47700 at item 125 and pregabalin at item 127, at the end of Section 1 where the recent additions were appended. The model: the list is inside the Ordinance and the power to change it is delegated, with a parliamentary lock on the delegation. Section 48 provides that 「the drugs, substances, articles or preparations, specified for the time being in Groups A, B, C, D and E in Part I of the Third Schedule, shall be deemed to be dangerous drugs」. Section 2(1) then provides that 「regulation」 means a regulation made under this Ordinance and published in the Gazette, 「and includes the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Schedules」, so the Third Schedule is itself a regulation. The empowering section is section 80. Section 80(2)(b) lets the Minister make regulations 「for adding any item to or deleting any item from, or altering, varying or amending in any other way, any of the lists or Groups of poisons and dangerous drugs set out in the First and Third Schedules」, and section 80(3) then provides that 「No regulation so made shall have effect unless it has been approved by Parliament and notification of such approval has been published in the Gazette」. So the delegation is real but it is locked to an affirmative vote, and in practice the 2022 changes were made by primary legislation rather than by regulation. The Act was last amended by the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026. The Third Schedule was last amended by section 6 of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022 and published as a supplement to Part II of the Gazette of 25 November 2022, which substituted Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III. Act No. 7 of 2026 does not touch the Third Schedule.
Consequences if caught: Capital exposure: none. Section 54A(1) has four limbs and they do not carry the same exposure. Limb (a) punishes any person who 「manufactures any of the following dangerous drugs, namely heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 with 「a sentence of death or life imprisonment」, with no quantity stated. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) punish trafficking, importing or exporting, and possession, of 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule in excess of the amount set out in the said Column II」, with the penalty in Column III. Part III Column II is headed 「Pure Quantities」, and Column I is headed 「Traffics, possess, imports or exports」, so possession is inside the same ladder as trafficking. Section 54B extends the same punishment to abetting, attempting and acts preparatory to or in furtherance of a section 54A offence. Since Act No. 7 of 2026 a parallel section 54AA applies the same two structures on the high seas, aboard a ship registered in Sri Lanka or a stateless ship. For a dangerous drug that is not in Part III, section 54A never engages, because limbs (b), (c) and (d) operate only on a drug 「set out in Column II of Part III」. The charge is the general penalty in section 78(5): on summary conviction by a Magistrate a fine of one thousand to ten thousand rupees or up to five years or both, and on conviction before the High Court a fine of ten thousand to twenty five thousand rupees or six months to seven years or both. Section 78(6) requires the written consent of the Attorney-General before non-summary proceedings. Its listing is a named entry and not an inference. It is not in Part III, so no capital or life exposure arises from it. Neither reaches this substance, at any quantity, and the reason is structural rather than a matter of degree. The death and life penalties in this Ordinance live in exactly two places. Section 54A(1)(a) attaches them to the manufacture of 「heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 and names no other drug. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) attach the Column III penalties to 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule」, and Column II names only opium, 「Morphine, Cocaine, Heroin and Methamphetamine」, and cannabis. This substance is in none of those, so section 54A cannot engage however much of it is involved, and section 54AA cannot either, because it is built on the same two structures. Being a dangerous drug under section 48 is not the same thing as being in Part III, and the corpus this cell replaces repeatedly ran the two together.
If prescribed / medical: Tramadol is a registered prescription analgesic and simultaneously a dangerous drug under the Ordinance.
Documentation: Carry a prescribed supply in its dispensed packaging with the prescription. Tramadol is available over the counter in some neighbouring countries and is a dangerous drug here.

Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218), as last amended by Act No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026 · Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III were substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022, and the entry relied on is read from that Act · the entry relied on is Group B Section 1 item 126, 「Tramadol 2-[(Dimethylamino)methyl]-1-(3-methoxyphenyl)cyclohexanol」 · Third Schedule Part I Group B as substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, with sections 48, 54A and 78. Principal Ordinance read from the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board's own copy. Read 2026-09-17 · nddcb.gov.lk · nddcb.gov.lk · parliament.lk · Updated September 21, 2026

Tramadol in Sri Lanka, full detail →

Xanax (Alprazolam)

Legal status: Dangerous drug under Sri Lanka's Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218): Group B Section 2, 「Alprazolam」. Alprazolam is one of a long run of benzodiazepines named individually in Section 2, which runs through diazepam, lorazepam, clonazepam, nitrazepam, flunitrazepam at item 94, nimetazepam and midazolam among others. The model: the list is inside the Ordinance and the power to change it is delegated, with a parliamentary lock on the delegation. Section 48 provides that 「the drugs, substances, articles or preparations, specified for the time being in Groups A, B, C, D and E in Part I of the Third Schedule, shall be deemed to be dangerous drugs」. Section 2(1) then provides that 「regulation」 means a regulation made under this Ordinance and published in the Gazette, 「and includes the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Schedules」, so the Third Schedule is itself a regulation. The empowering section is section 80. Section 80(2)(b) lets the Minister make regulations 「for adding any item to or deleting any item from, or altering, varying or amending in any other way, any of the lists or Groups of poisons and dangerous drugs set out in the First and Third Schedules」, and section 80(3) then provides that 「No regulation so made shall have effect unless it has been approved by Parliament and notification of such approval has been published in the Gazette」. So the delegation is real but it is locked to an affirmative vote, and in practice the 2022 changes were made by primary legislation rather than by regulation. The Act was last amended by the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026. The Third Schedule was last amended by section 6 of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022 and published as a supplement to Part II of the Gazette of 25 November 2022, which substituted Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III. Act No. 7 of 2026 does not touch the Third Schedule.
Consequences if caught: Capital exposure: none. Section 54A(1) has four limbs and they do not carry the same exposure. Limb (a) punishes any person who 「manufactures any of the following dangerous drugs, namely heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 with 「a sentence of death or life imprisonment」, with no quantity stated. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) punish trafficking, importing or exporting, and possession, of 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule in excess of the amount set out in the said Column II」, with the penalty in Column III. Part III Column II is headed 「Pure Quantities」, and Column I is headed 「Traffics, possess, imports or exports」, so possession is inside the same ladder as trafficking. Section 54B extends the same punishment to abetting, attempting and acts preparatory to or in furtherance of a section 54A offence. Since Act No. 7 of 2026 a parallel section 54AA applies the same two structures on the high seas, aboard a ship registered in Sri Lanka or a stateless ship. For a dangerous drug that is not in Part III, section 54A never engages, because limbs (b), (c) and (d) operate only on a drug 「set out in Column II of Part III」. The charge is the general penalty in section 78(5): on summary conviction by a Magistrate a fine of one thousand to ten thousand rupees or up to five years or both, and on conviction before the High Court a fine of ten thousand to twenty five thousand rupees or six months to seven years or both. Section 78(6) requires the written consent of the Attorney-General before non-summary proceedings. Section 2 clause 1 catches the isomers of any of them and clause 3 the salts, so the named entry plus those clauses is the whole of the reach. Neither reaches this substance, at any quantity, and the reason is structural rather than a matter of degree. The death and life penalties in this Ordinance live in exactly two places. Section 54A(1)(a) attaches them to the manufacture of 「heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 and names no other drug. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) attach the Column III penalties to 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule」, and Column II names only opium, 「Morphine, Cocaine, Heroin and Methamphetamine」, and cannabis. This substance is in none of those, so section 54A cannot engage however much of it is involved, and section 54AA cannot either, because it is built on the same two structures. Being a dangerous drug under section 48 is not the same thing as being in Part III, and the corpus this cell replaces repeatedly ran the two together.
If prescribed / medical: Alprazolam is a registered prescription medicine, dispensed under the National Medicines Regulatory Authority Act, No. 5 of 2015, and is simultaneously a dangerous drug under the Ordinance.
Documentation: Carry a prescribed supply in its dispensed packaging with the prescription. Both regimes apply to it at once and the Ordinance is the one with the custodial penalties.

Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218), as last amended by Act No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026 · Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III were substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022, and the entry relied on is read from that Act · the entry relied on is Group B Section 2, 「Alprazolam」 · Third Schedule Part I Group B as substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, with sections 48, 54A and 78. Principal Ordinance read from the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board's own copy. Read 2026-09-17 · nddcb.gov.lk · nddcb.gov.lk · parliament.lk · Updated September 21, 2026

Xanax (Alprazolam) in Sri Lanka, full detail →

Xylazine

Legal status: Not a dangerous drug under Sri Lanka's Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218): absent from Groups A, B, C, D and E of the Third Schedule. Xylazine is not in any Group of the Third Schedule and is not a dangerous drug. It is a veterinary sedative. The model: the list is inside the Ordinance and the power to change it is delegated, with a parliamentary lock on the delegation. Section 48 provides that 「the drugs, substances, articles or preparations, specified for the time being in Groups A, B, C, D and E in Part I of the Third Schedule, shall be deemed to be dangerous drugs」. Section 2(1) then provides that 「regulation」 means a regulation made under this Ordinance and published in the Gazette, 「and includes the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Schedules」, so the Third Schedule is itself a regulation. The empowering section is section 80. Section 80(2)(b) lets the Minister make regulations 「for adding any item to or deleting any item from, or altering, varying or amending in any other way, any of the lists or Groups of poisons and dangerous drugs set out in the First and Third Schedules」, and section 80(3) then provides that 「No regulation so made shall have effect unless it has been approved by Parliament and notification of such approval has been published in the Gazette」. So the delegation is real but it is locked to an affirmative vote, and in practice the 2022 changes were made by primary legislation rather than by regulation. The Act was last amended by the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026. The Third Schedule was last amended by section 6 of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022 and published as a supplement to Part II of the Gazette of 25 November 2022, which substituted Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III. Act No. 7 of 2026 does not touch the Third Schedule.
Consequences if caught: Capital exposure: none. No drugs offence reaches xylazine, which matters because it is the common adulterant in opioid supply. A xylazine adulterated sample is charged on the opioid it contains, not on the xylazine, and if that opioid is heroin, morphine or cocaine the Part III five gramme pure quantity is assessed on the opioid content alone. Neither reaches this substance, and not because the penalty is low but because no dangerous drug offence in this Ordinance engages at all. Section 48 makes a substance a dangerous drug only if it is specified in Groups A to E of Part I of the Third Schedule, and this substance is in none of them. Section 54A(1)(a) names four drugs for the manufacture limb and Part III Column II names five substances for the quantity limbs; this is neither, so no capital or life sentence is available for it on any facts. Saying that much does not dispose of the whole Ordinance, and the corpus this cell replaces never reached the rest of it. Chapter II runs a separate poisons regime over the First Schedule, whose Parts I to V were read in full for this cell, and this substance is named nowhere in them, so sections 5, 17, 18 and 19 create no offence for it either. The instrument that does govern it is named in the status above.
If prescribed / medical: Xylazine is a veterinary medicine and has no human prescribing route.
Documentation: There is no human prescription and therefore no human documentation route.

Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218), as last amended by Act No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026 · absence was established by reading Groups A, B, C, D and E of Part I in full, Group B from Act No. 41 of 2022 and Groups A, C, D and E from a private consolidation to 2024, and by reading Parts I to V of the First Schedule and all four Parts of the Second Schedule in that same consolidation · the finding is that the substance is absent from Groups A, B, C, D and E of the Third Schedule · Third Schedule Groups A to E read in full to establish absence, with Part III on pure quantities. Principal Ordinance read from the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board's own copy. Read 2026-09-17 · nddcb.gov.lk · nddcb.gov.lk · parliament.lk · Updated September 21, 2026

Xylazine in Sri Lanka, full detail →

Zolpidem

Legal status: Dangerous drug under Sri Lanka's Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218): Group B Section 2 item 161, 「Zolpidem N,N,6-trimethyl-2-p-tolylimidazo[1,2-a]pyridine-3-acetamide」. Zolpidem is the last numbered entry in Section 2, immediately before the six generic clauses. It is a named entry and not a member of any class clause. The model: the list is inside the Ordinance and the power to change it is delegated, with a parliamentary lock on the delegation. Section 48 provides that 「the drugs, substances, articles or preparations, specified for the time being in Groups A, B, C, D and E in Part I of the Third Schedule, shall be deemed to be dangerous drugs」. Section 2(1) then provides that 「regulation」 means a regulation made under this Ordinance and published in the Gazette, 「and includes the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Schedules」, so the Third Schedule is itself a regulation. The empowering section is section 80. Section 80(2)(b) lets the Minister make regulations 「for adding any item to or deleting any item from, or altering, varying or amending in any other way, any of the lists or Groups of poisons and dangerous drugs set out in the First and Third Schedules」, and section 80(3) then provides that 「No regulation so made shall have effect unless it has been approved by Parliament and notification of such approval has been published in the Gazette」. So the delegation is real but it is locked to an affirmative vote, and in practice the 2022 changes were made by primary legislation rather than by regulation. The Act was last amended by the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026. The Third Schedule was last amended by section 6 of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act, No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022 and published as a supplement to Part II of the Gazette of 25 November 2022, which substituted Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III. Act No. 7 of 2026 does not touch the Third Schedule.
Consequences if caught: Capital exposure: none. Section 54A(1) has four limbs and they do not carry the same exposure. Limb (a) punishes any person who 「manufactures any of the following dangerous drugs, namely heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 with 「a sentence of death or life imprisonment」, with no quantity stated. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) punish trafficking, importing or exporting, and possession, of 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule in excess of the amount set out in the said Column II」, with the penalty in Column III. Part III Column II is headed 「Pure Quantities」, and Column I is headed 「Traffics, possess, imports or exports」, so possession is inside the same ladder as trafficking. Section 54B extends the same punishment to abetting, attempting and acts preparatory to or in furtherance of a section 54A offence. Since Act No. 7 of 2026 a parallel section 54AA applies the same two structures on the high seas, aboard a ship registered in Sri Lanka or a stateless ship. For a dangerous drug that is not in Part III, section 54A never engages, because limbs (b), (c) and (d) operate only on a drug 「set out in Column II of Part III」. The charge is the general penalty in section 78(5): on summary conviction by a Magistrate a fine of one thousand to ten thousand rupees or up to five years or both, and on conviction before the High Court a fine of ten thousand to twenty five thousand rupees or six months to seven years or both. Section 78(6) requires the written consent of the Attorney-General before non-summary proceedings. Zopiclone and zaleplon, the other Z drugs, are not named in the parts of the schedule read for this cell, so zolpidem's listing does not carry across to them. Neither reaches this substance, at any quantity, and the reason is structural rather than a matter of degree. The death and life penalties in this Ordinance live in exactly two places. Section 54A(1)(a) attaches them to the manufacture of 「heroin or cocaine or morphine or opium」 and names no other drug. Limbs (b), (c) and (d) attach the Column III penalties to 「any dangerous drug set out in Column II of Part III of the Third Schedule」, and Column II names only opium, 「Morphine, Cocaine, Heroin and Methamphetamine」, and cannabis. This substance is in none of those, so section 54A cannot engage however much of it is involved, and section 54AA cannot either, because it is built on the same two structures. Being a dangerous drug under section 48 is not the same thing as being in Part III, and the corpus this cell replaces repeatedly ran the two together.
If prescribed / medical: Zolpidem is a registered prescription hypnotic and simultaneously a dangerous drug under the Ordinance.
Documentation: Carry a prescribed zolpidem supply in its dispensed packaging with the prescription. It is simultaneously a registered medicine and a dangerous drug.

Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218), as last amended by Act No. 7 of 2026, certified 6 March 2026 · Group B of Part I and the whole of Part III were substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, certified 23 November 2022, and the entry relied on is read from that Act · the entry relied on is Group B Section 2 item 161, 「Zolpidem N,N,6-trimethyl-2-p-tolylimidazo[1,2-a]pyridine-3-acetamide」 · Third Schedule Part I Group B as substituted by section 6 of Act No. 41 of 2022, with sections 48, 54A and 78. Principal Ordinance read from the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board's own copy. Read 2026-09-17 · nddcb.gov.lk · nddcb.gov.lk · parliament.lk · Updated September 21, 2026

Zolpidem in Sri Lanka, full detail →

Not individually verified

4 substances are not individually verified for Sri Lanka

For these the governing national drug law is cited, but we have not verified that the substance specifically is scheduled under it. Treat them as unanswered, not as legal. Confirm with Sri Lanka’s drug authority or your embassy.

Substance	What we found
DXM	Not confirmed as a dangerous drug under Sri Lanka's Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218): not...
HHC	Not confirmed as a dangerous drug under Sri Lanka's Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218): not...
Phenibut	Not confirmed as a dangerous drug under Sri Lanka's Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218): not...
THC-P	Not confirmed as a dangerous drug under Sri Lanka's Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Chapter 218): not...

Drug laws and enforcement change and vary by country. This is not legal advice. Always confirm with the destination’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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