Legal status in Timor-Leste

Per-substance legal status for Timor-Leste, 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.

47 confirmed substances41 not individually verifiedLast updated October 8, 2026

Confirmed legal status

2C-B

Legal status: 2C-B is named directly in Table II-A of Lei n.º 2/2017's Anexo II, item 3: "2C-B (4-bromo-2,5-dimetoxifenetilamina)" (2C-B, 4-bromo-2,5-dimethoxyphenethylamine). A separate compound, DOB, sits at item 13: "DOB - 2,5 dimetoxi-4-bromoanfetamina" (2,5-dimethoxy-4-bromoamphetamine). The two share the same ring substituents, a bromo and two methoxy groups, but DOB carries an alpha-methyl group on the ethylamine side chain that 2C-B does not, which is the same alpha-methyl difference that this site has recorded elsewhere as distinguishing two different drugs rather than one; the two are printed as separate, independently numbered entries here as well, and neither item's text merges them. Article 2, paragraph 1, subparagraph d, defines "droga" as any plant, substance or preparation covered by Tables I to IV; article 3 makes the tables integral to the law. This reading is as printed 25 January 2017, read on 7 October 2026.
Consequences if caught: Article 7, paragraph 1, of Lei n.º 2/2017 ("Quem, sem se encontrar autorizado, cultivar, produzir, fabricar, extrair, preparar, oferecer, puser à venda, vender, distribuir, comprar, ceder ou por qualquer título receber, proporcionar a outrem, transportar, importar, exportar, fizer transitar ou ilicitamente detiver, fora dos casos previstos no artigo 26.º, plantas, substâncias ou preparados compreendidos nas tabelas I a III é punido com pena de prisão de 5 a 15 anos", whoever, without being authorised, cultivates, produces, manufactures, extracts, prepares, offers, puts up for sale, sells, distributes, buys, transfers or by any title receives, supplies to another, transports, imports, exports, causes to transit or unlawfully holds, outside the cases in article 26, plants, substances or preparations in Tables I to III, is punished with imprisonment of 5 to 15 years) is the base band for 2C-B, a Table II-A substance. Article 7, paragraph 2, raises this to 6 to 16 years where an authorisation existed and was acted against. Article 9 adds two thirds to both the minimum and maximum of article 7 where a listed aggravating factor applies, and article 10 sets 10 to 25 years, 12 to 25 for a leader, for founding or directing a group formed to commit an article 7 offence. Article 11, paragraph 1, subparagraph a, sets a reduced band of 1 to 5 years where illicitude is considerably diminished. Anexo I prints no daily reference quantity for 2C-B, so the fivefold quantity test in article 11, paragraph 2, has no stated figure to apply here. Article 26 answers personal consumption and possession for personal use separately, at imprisonment of up to 1 year or a fine of up to 120 days.
If prescribed / medical: Lei n.º 2/2017 does not itself create a medical prescription or supply route for 2C-B. Article 6, paragraph 1, subjects cultivation, production, manufacture, use, commerce, distribution, import, export, transit, transport, advertising and possession of Table I to IV substances to licensing, conditions and authorisations issued by the Ministério da Saúde, "nos termos a definir em diploma próprio" (on terms to be defined in a separate instrument), which has not been located. Decreto-Lei n.º 2/2025 governs pharmacy retail licensing generally and does not designate which Table I to IV substances a doctor may prescribe, so it is not read as a prescription route for 2C-B.
Documentation: 2C-B sits in Table II-A by its own name, item 3, distinct from DOB at item 13, the two differing by the alpha-methyl group that separates an amphetamine from its phenethylamine relative; neither item's wording merges them, so each is answered on its own entry. Personal possession and consumption are answered by article 26 (up to 1 year or a fine up to 120 days); cultivation, production, manufacture, extraction, preparation, offering, sale, distribution, purchase, transfer, transport, import, export and unauthorised possession for any other purpose collapse into article 7's single list, at 5 to 15 years (6 to 16 if an authorisation existed and was breached).

Lei n.º 2/2017, de 25 de Janeiro, "Lei de Combate ao Tráfico Ilícito de Drogas", Anexo II, Tabela II-A items 3 and 13 · articles 2, 3, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11 and 26 · preamble lines naming Lei n.º 5/1997 da Indonésia and Lei n.º 5/2013 · Jornal da República, Série I, N.º 4, 25 January 2017, pages 59 to 82. https://www.mj.gov.tl/jornal/public/docs/2017/serie_1/SERIE_I_NO_4.pdf (sha256 700f7867e6cff713f06a6fcb6da245ea1186582fe66309d193080ce0b7406cd6). Read on 7 October 2026. · Updated October 8, 2026

2C-B in Timor-Leste, full detail →

2C-I

Legal status: 2C-I is named directly in Table II-A of Lei n.º 2/2017's Anexo II, item 4: "2C-I (2,5-dimetoxi-4-iodofenetilamina)" (2C-I, 2,5-dimethoxy-4-iodophenethylamine). Table II-A's closing clauses also reach its salts and its chemical-specific isomers, but that extension is not needed here since the compound is named outright. Article 2, paragraph 1, subparagraph d, defines "droga" as any plant, substance or preparation covered by Tables I to IV; article 3 makes the tables integral to the law. This reading is as printed 25 January 2017, read on 7 October 2026.
Consequences if caught: Article 7, paragraph 1, of Lei n.º 2/2017 ("Quem, sem se encontrar autorizado, cultivar, produzir, fabricar, extrair, preparar, oferecer, puser à venda, vender, distribuir, comprar, ceder ou por qualquer título receber, proporcionar a outrem, transportar, importar, exportar, fizer transitar ou ilicitamente detiver, fora dos casos previstos no artigo 26.º, plantas, substâncias ou preparados compreendidos nas tabelas I a III é punido com pena de prisão de 5 a 15 anos", whoever, without being authorised, cultivates, produces, manufactures, extracts, prepares, offers, puts up for sale, sells, distributes, buys, transfers or by any title receives, supplies to another, transports, imports, exports, causes to transit or unlawfully holds, outside the cases in article 26, plants, substances or preparations in Tables I to III, is punished with imprisonment of 5 to 15 years) is the base band for 2C-I, a Table II-A substance. Article 7, paragraph 2, raises this to 6 to 16 years where the person held an authorisation and acted against it. Article 9 adds two thirds to both the minimum and the maximum of article 7 where a listed aggravating factor applies, and article 10 sets 10 to 25 years, rising to 12 to 25 years for a leader, for founding or directing a group formed to commit an article 7 offence. Article 11, paragraph 1, subparagraph a, sets a reduced band of 1 to 5 years where illicitude is considerably diminished. Anexo I does not print a daily reference quantity for 2C-I, so the quantity test in article 11, paragraph 2, cannot be applied to a stated figure for this substance. Article 26 answers personal consumption and possession for personal use separately, at imprisonment of up to 1 year or a fine of up to 120 days.
If prescribed / medical: Lei n.º 2/2017 does not itself create a medical prescription or supply route for 2C-I. Article 6, paragraph 1, subjects cultivation, production, manufacture, use, commerce, distribution, import, export, transit, transport, advertising and possession of Table I to IV substances to licensing, conditions and authorisations issued by the Ministério da Saúde, "nos termos a definir em diploma próprio" (on terms to be defined in a separate instrument), which has not been located. Decreto-Lei n.º 2/2025 governs pharmacy retail licensing generally and does not designate which Table I to IV substances a doctor may prescribe, so it is not read as a prescription route for 2C-I.
Documentation: 2C-I falls within article 2's definition of a trafficking-regime drug because it sits in Table II-A by name, not through a generic clause, so no structural reasoning about ring systems or generic wording is needed for the classification itself. Personal possession and consumption are answered by article 26 (up to 1 year or a fine up to 120 days), while cultivation, production, manufacture, extraction, preparation, offering, sale, distribution, purchase, transfer, transport, import, export and unauthorised possession for any purpose other than personal use collapse into article 7's single list, at 5 to 15 years (or 6 to 16 if an authorisation existed and was breached).

Lei n.º 2/2017, de 25 de Janeiro, "Lei de Combate ao Tráfico Ilícito de Drogas", Anexo II, Tabela II-A item 4 · articles 2, 3, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11 and 26 · Jornal da República, Série I, N.º 4, 25 January 2017, pages 60 to 82. https://www.mj.gov.tl/jornal/public/docs/2017/serie_1/SERIE_I_NO_4.pdf (sha256 700f7867e6cff713f06a6fcb6da245ea1186582fe66309d193080ce0b7406cd6). Read on 7 October 2026. · Updated October 8, 2026

2C-I in Timor-Leste, full detail →

2C-T-7

Legal status: 2C-T-7 is named directly in Table II-A of Lei n.º 2/2017's Anexo II, item 6: "2C-T-7 (2,5-dimetoxi-4-propiltiofenetilamina)" (2C-T-7, 2,5-dimethoxy-4-propylthiophenethylamine). The same table also carries 2C-T-2 at item 5 (2,5-dimetoxi-4-etiltiofenetilamina), showing the drafters separately named more than one member of the thio-substituted 2C-T series rather than relying on a generic clause for them. Article 2, paragraph 1, subparagraph d, defines "droga" as any plant, substance or preparation covered by Tables I to IV; article 3 makes the tables integral to the law. This reading is as printed 25 January 2017, read on 7 October 2026.
Consequences if caught: Article 7, paragraph 1, of Lei n.º 2/2017 ("Quem, sem se encontrar autorizado, cultivar, produzir, fabricar, extrair, preparar, oferecer, puser à venda, vender, distribuir, comprar, ceder ou por qualquer título receber, proporcionar a outrem, transportar, importar, exportar, fizer transitar ou ilicitamente detiver, fora dos casos previstos no artigo 26.º, plantas, substâncias ou preparados compreendidos nas tabelas I a III é punido com pena de prisão de 5 a 15 anos", whoever, without being authorised, cultivates, produces, manufactures, extracts, prepares, offers, puts up for sale, sells, distributes, buys, transfers or by any title receives, supplies to another, transports, imports, exports, causes to transit or unlawfully holds, outside the cases in article 26, plants, substances or preparations in Tables I to III, is punished with imprisonment of 5 to 15 years) is the base band. Article 7, paragraph 2, raises this to 6 to 16 years where an authorisation existed and was acted against. Article 9 adds two thirds to both the minimum and maximum of article 7 where a listed aggravating factor applies, and article 10 sets 10 to 25 years, 12 to 25 for a leader, for founding or directing a group formed to commit an article 7 offence. Article 11, paragraph 1, subparagraph a, sets a reduced band of 1 to 5 years where illicitude is considerably diminished. Anexo I prints no daily reference quantity for 2C-T-7, so the fivefold quantity test in article 11, paragraph 2, has no stated figure to apply here. Article 26 answers personal consumption and possession for personal use separately, at imprisonment of up to 1 year or a fine of up to 120 days.
If prescribed / medical: Lei n.º 2/2017 does not itself create a medical prescription or supply route for 2C-T-7. Article 6, paragraph 1, subjects cultivation, production, manufacture, use, commerce, distribution, import, export, transit, transport, advertising and possession of Table I to IV substances to licensing, conditions and authorisations issued by the Ministério da Saúde, "nos termos a definir em diploma próprio" (on terms to be defined in a separate instrument), which has not been located. Decreto-Lei n.º 2/2025 governs pharmacy retail licensing generally and does not designate which Table I to IV substances a doctor may prescribe, so it is not read as a prescription route for 2C-T-7.
Documentation: 2C-T-7 sits in Table II-A by its own name, item 6, alongside its close relative 2C-T-2 at item 5, so no generic-clause reasoning is needed to place it in the trafficking regime. Personal possession and consumption are answered by article 26 (up to 1 year or a fine up to 120 days); cultivation, production, manufacture, extraction, preparation, offering, sale, distribution, purchase, transfer, transport, import, export and unauthorised possession for any other purpose collapse into article 7's single list, at 5 to 15 years (6 to 16 if an authorisation existed and was breached).

Lei n.º 2/2017, de 25 de Janeiro, "Lei de Combate ao Tráfico Ilícito de Drogas", Anexo II, Tabela II-A item 6 · articles 2, 3, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11 and 26 · Jornal da República, Série I, N.º 4, 25 January 2017, pages 60 to 82. https://www.mj.gov.tl/jornal/public/docs/2017/serie_1/SERIE_I_NO_4.pdf (sha256 700f7867e6cff713f06a6fcb6da245ea1186582fe66309d193080ce0b7406cd6). Read on 7 October 2026. · Updated October 8, 2026

2C-T-7 in Timor-Leste, full detail →

Adderall

Legal status: Adderall is a branded mixture of amphetamine salts, not a single compound, so Lei n.º 2/2017 answers it through its constituents rather than by the brand name, which is not itself printed in any table. Its active ingredients, amphetamine (as sulfate and saccharate salts) and dextroamphetamine (as sulfate and aspartate salts), are both named directly in Table II-B of Lei n.º 2/2017's Anexo II: "Anfetamina - (mais ou menos)-2-amino-1-fenilpropano" at item 1 and "Dexanfetamina - (+)-2-amino-1-fenilpropano" at item 3. Table II-B's closing clause extends control to the derivatives and salts of its listed substances, "sempre que a sua existência seja possível" (wherever such existence is possible), which covers the specific salt forms a branded tablet uses, and to any preparation combining these substances with other compounds, which covers a multi-salt tablet combining both amphetamine and dextroamphetamine with inactive binders. Anexo I prices amphetamine at a daily reference quantity of 0,2g at Table II-B; no separate figure is printed for dextroamphetamine. This reading is as printed 25 January 2017, read on 7 October 2026.
Consequences if caught: Article 7, paragraph 1, of Lei n.º 2/2017 ("Quem, sem se encontrar autorizado, cultivar, produzir, fabricar, extrair, preparar, oferecer, puser à venda, vender, distribuir, comprar, ceder ou por qualquer título receber, proporcionar a outrem, transportar, importar, exportar, fizer transitar ou ilicitamente detiver, fora dos casos previstos no artigo 26.º, plantas, substâncias ou preparados compreendidos nas tabelas I a III é punido com pena de prisão de 5 a 15 anos", whoever, without being authorised, cultivates, produces, manufactures, extracts, prepares, offers, puts up for sale, sells, distributes, buys, transfers or by any title receives, supplies to another, transports, imports, exports, causes to transit or unlawfully holds, outside the cases in article 26, plants, substances or preparations in Tables I to III, is punished with imprisonment of 5 to 15 years) is the base band for an Adderall tablet, reached through its Table II-B constituents. Article 7, paragraph 2, raises this to 6 to 16 years where an authorisation existed and was acted against. Article 9 adds two thirds to both the minimum and maximum of article 7 where a listed aggravating factor applies, and article 10 sets 10 to 25 years, 12 to 25 for a leader, for an organised group. Article 11, paragraph 1, subparagraph a, sets a reduced band of 1 to 5 years where illicitude is considerably diminished, and article 11, paragraph 2, ties that test to whether the quantity held does not exceed five times the Anexo I daily reference quantity of amphetamine, 0,2g, i.e. 1,0g, a figure that is complicated for a mixed-salt tablet by the fact that only part of each tablet's active content is amphetamine proper rather than dextroamphetamine, for which no separate reference figure is printed. Article 26 answers personal consumption and possession for personal use separately, at imprisonment of up to 1 year or a fine of up to 120 days.
If prescribed / medical: Lei n.º 2/2017 does not itself create a medical prescription or supply route for Adderall or for its amphetamine and dextroamphetamine constituents. Article 6, paragraph 1, subjects cultivation, production, manufacture, use, commerce, distribution, import, export, transit, transport, advertising and possession of Table I to IV substances to licensing, conditions and authorisations issued by the Ministério da Saúde, "nos termos a definir em diploma próprio" (on terms to be defined in a separate instrument), which has not been located. Decreto-Lei n.º 2/2025 governs pharmacy retail licensing generally and does not designate which Table I to IV substances a doctor may prescribe, so it is not read as a prescription route for Adderall; a traveller carrying a foreign prescription for it has no stated administrative exemption under either instrument.
Documentation: Adderall is answered here through its constituents, consistent with how this site treats other branded mixtures: amphetamine and dextroamphetamine are each named outright in Table II-B, and that table's own closing clause reaches both their salts and any preparation combining them with other compounds, which covers a multi-salt tablet without needing a separate brand-name entry. Personal possession and consumption are answered by article 26 (up to 1 year or a fine up to 120 days); cultivation, production, manufacture, extraction, preparation, offering, sale, distribution, purchase, transfer, transport, import, export and unauthorised possession for any other purpose collapse into article 7's single list, at 5 to 15 years (6 to 16 if an authorisation existed and was breached).

Lei n.º 2/2017, de 25 de Janeiro, "Lei de Combate ao Tráfico Ilícito de Drogas", Anexo I item 13 · Anexo II, Tabela II-B items 1 and 3 · articles 2, 3, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11 and 26 · Jornal da República, Série I, N.º 4, 25 January 2017, pages 60 to 82. https://www.mj.gov.tl/jornal/public/docs/2017/serie_1/SERIE_I_NO_4.pdf (sha256 700f7867e6cff713f06a6fcb6da245ea1186582fe66309d193080ce0b7406cd6). Read on 7 October 2026. · Updated October 8, 2026

Adderall in Timor-Leste, full detail →

Amphetamine

Legal status: Amphetamine is named directly in Table II-B of Lei n.º 2/2017's Anexo II, item 1: "Anfetamina - (mais ou menos)-2-amino-1-fenilpropano" (amphetamine, plus-or-minus 2-amino-1-phenylpropane, i.e. the racemate). Dexamphetamine, the dextro isomer, is separately named at item 3 ("Dexanfetamina - (+)-2-amino-1-fenilpropano"). Table II-B's closing clause also reaches derivatives, salts and any preparation in which these substances are combined with other compounds. Anexo I prices amphetamine at a daily reference quantity of 0,2g, at Table II-B. Article 2, paragraph 1, subparagraph d, defines "droga" as any plant, substance or preparation covered by Tables I to IV; article 3 makes the tables integral to the law. This reading is as printed 25 January 2017, read on 7 October 2026.
Consequences if caught: Article 7, paragraph 1, of Lei n.º 2/2017 ("Quem, sem se encontrar autorizado, cultivar, produzir, fabricar, extrair, preparar, oferecer, puser à venda, vender, distribuir, comprar, ceder ou por qualquer título receber, proporcionar a outrem, transportar, importar, exportar, fizer transitar ou ilicitamente detiver, fora dos casos previstos no artigo 26.º, plantas, substâncias ou preparados compreendidos nas tabelas I a III é punido com pena de prisão de 5 a 15 anos", whoever, without being authorised, cultivates, produces, manufactures, extracts, prepares, offers, puts up for sale, sells, distributes, buys, transfers or by any title receives, supplies to another, transports, imports, exports, causes to transit or unlawfully holds, outside the cases in article 26, plants, substances or preparations in Tables I to III, is punished with imprisonment of 5 to 15 years) is the base band for amphetamine, a Table II-B substance. Article 7, paragraph 2, raises this to 6 to 16 years where an authorisation existed and was acted against. Article 9 adds two thirds to both the minimum and maximum of article 7 where a listed aggravating factor applies, and article 10 sets 10 to 25 years, 12 to 25 for a leader, for founding or directing a group formed to commit an article 7 offence. Article 11, paragraph 1, subparagraph a, sets a reduced band of 1 to 5 years where illicitude is considerably diminished, and article 11, paragraph 2, ties that test partly to whether the quantity held does not exceed five times the Anexo I daily reference quantity, here five times 0,2g, i.e. 1,0g. Article 26 answers personal consumption and possession for personal use separately, at imprisonment of up to 1 year or a fine of up to 120 days.
If prescribed / medical: Lei n.º 2/2017 does not itself create a medical prescription or supply route for amphetamine. Article 6, paragraph 1, subjects cultivation, production, manufacture, use, commerce, distribution, import, export, transit, transport, advertising and possession of Table I to IV substances to licensing, conditions and authorisations issued by the Ministério da Saúde, "nos termos a definir em diploma próprio" (on terms to be defined in a separate instrument), which has not been located. Decreto-Lei n.º 2/2025 governs pharmacy retail licensing generally and does not designate which Table I to IV substances a doctor may prescribe, so it is not read as a prescription route for amphetamine.
Documentation: Amphetamine sits in Table II-B by its own name, item 1, with its dextro isomer dexamphetamine separately named at item 3, so no generic-clause reasoning is needed. Personal possession and consumption are answered by article 26 (up to 1 year or a fine up to 120 days). Cultivation, production, manufacture, extraction, preparation, offering, sale, distribution, purchase, transfer, transport, import, export and unauthorised possession for any other purpose collapse into article 7's single list, at 5 to 15 years (6 to 16 if an authorisation existed and was breached), with the reduced-gravity band of article 11 available below five times the Anexo I quantity of 0,2g.

Lei n.º 2/2017, de 25 de Janeiro, "Lei de Combate ao Tráfico Ilícito de Drogas", Anexo I item 13 (quantity) · Anexo II, Tabela II-B item 1 · articles 2, 3, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11 and 26 · Jornal da República, Série I, N.º 4, 25 January 2017, pages 60 to 82. https://www.mj.gov.tl/jornal/public/docs/2017/serie_1/SERIE_I_NO_4.pdf (sha256 700f7867e6cff713f06a6fcb6da245ea1186582fe66309d193080ce0b7406cd6). Read on 7 October 2026. · Updated October 8, 2026

Amphetamine in Timor-Leste, full detail →

Barbiturates

Legal status: Barbiturates are a class slug, and Lei 2/2017's Anexo II splits named barbiturates across two different tables with two different penalty bands, so no single citation answers for the class. Table II-C (article 5, paragraph 2(f): "substâncias do tipo barbitúrico de ação curta, de rápida absorção ou assimilação", short acting, fast absorption or assimilation barbiturate-type substances) names five: item 1 "Amobarbital", item 3 "Butalbital", item 4 "Ciclobarbital", item 11 "Pentobarbital", item 12 "Secobarbital". Table IV (article 5, paragraph 4, and article 4, paragraph 4: slow-acting barbiturates with confirmed antipyretic effects) names seven: item 1 "Alobarbital", item 5 "Barbital", item 9 "Butobarbital", item 28 "Fenobarbital" (phenobarbital), item 43 "Metilfenobarbital", item 58 "Secbutabarbital", item 63 "Vinilbital". No generic barbiturate catch-all clause closes either table beyond salts.
Consequences if caught: The range runs from 1 year to 16 years depending which table a given barbiturate sits in. For the five Table II-C members (amobarbital, butalbital, ciclobarbital, pentobarbital, secobarbital), article 7, paragraphs 1 and 2, apply the tabelas I a III band: 5 to 15 years unauthorized, 6 to 16 years where authorized but acting against the authorization. For the seven Table IV members (alobarbital, barbital, butobarbital, phenobarbital, metilfenobarbital, secbutabarbital, vinilbital), article 7, paragraph 3, applies the lower band: 1 to 5 years unauthorized, 2 to 8 years authorized-but-violating. Article 9 aggravates either band by two thirds at the minimum and maximum for the listed factors (distribution to many people, supply to minors, acting within a criminal organization, and others). Article 10's criminal-association band, 10 to 25 years for a founder and 12 to 25 years for a leader, applies to an organized group trafficking any of these twelve substances regardless of which table they sit in. Article 11 reduces a Table II-C barbiturate's band to 1 to 5 years, and a Table IV barbiturate's band to up to 3 years or a fine, where illicitude is considerably diminished; none of the twelve named barbiturates appears in Annex I's 16 item daily reference quantity table, so the reduced-gravity quantity test has no pinned figure for this class. Article 26 punishes personal consumption or possession for personal use of any Table I to IV substance, this class included, with up to 1 year's imprisonment or a fine of up to 120 days, the same ceiling regardless of which table the particular barbiturate falls under. Article 26, paragraph 2, raises this to up to 2 years' imprisonment or a fine of up to 240 days where the quantity found exceeds five times the Annex I reference figure; none of the 16 substances in Annex I's table include this one, so no figure is pinned here specifically. Article 26, paragraph 3, allows an occasional user to be excused penalty entirely in the paragraph 1 case. Article 12 gives an intermediate band where the sole purpose of an article 7 act was to obtain the substance for personal use: up to 2 years' imprisonment or a fine for a Table II-C member, up to 1 year's imprisonment or a fine for a Table IV member. No death penalty is provided anywhere in Lei 2/2017. The Constitution of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, quoted in Lei 2/2017's own preamble, states that the State "proíbe, em absoluto, a existência da pena de morte" (English: absolutely prohibits the existence of the death penalty); the preamble cites this as part of why Lei 2/2017 replaced Indonesia's Law 5/1997, whose own penalty scheme for drug trafficking included the death penalty.
If prescribed / medical: Article 6, paragraph 1, subjects all twelve named barbiturates, as Table I to IV substances, to Ministério da Saúde licensing on terms the article defers to a separate instrument not yet located. Decreto-Lei 2/2025 regulates pharmacy licensing generally without naming which Table I to IV substances a doctor may prescribe, so it is not cited here as a prescription route. No prescription or medical-supply pathway for any named barbiturate under Lei 2/2017 has been established by this reading.
Documentation: Decreto-Lei 19/2009, de 8 de Abril, is Timor-Leste's Penal Code, and Lei 2/2017's own preamble states that the Penal Code's third amendment, Lei 5/2013, de 14 de Agosto, "não se traduziu na criminalização do tráfico ilícito e o consumo de estupefacientes e substâncias psicotrópicas" (English: did not result in the criminalization of illicit trafficking and consumption of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances), and that before Lei 2/2017 the operative drug law was Indonesia's Law 5/1997, carried over under article 165 of the Constitution of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste. Lei 2/2017 is accordingly Timor-Leste's first domestic drug-trafficking law; no later one has been found, and no drug-trafficking chapter of the Penal Code has been located. No separate traveller or import-permit rule beyond the Ministério da Saúde licensing regime in article 6 has been found. A barbiturate not on either of the two lists above, for example a sodium thiopental-type anaesthetic, is a separate question not addressed here.

Lei n.º 2/2017, de 25 de Janeiro, Lei de Combate ao Tráfico Ilícito de Drogas, Jornal da República, Série I, N.º 4, 25 de Janeiro de 2017, Anexo II Tabela II-C items 1, 3, 4, 11, 12 and Tabela IV items 1, 5, 9, 28, 43, 58, 63, articles 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 11, 26 · https://www.mj.gov.tl/jornal/public/docs/2017/serie_1/SERIE_I_NO_4.pdf (sha256 700f7867e6cff713f06a6fcb6da245ea1186582fe66309d193080ce0b7406cd6), read 2026-10-07 · Updated October 8, 2026

Barbiturates in Timor-Leste, full detail →

Benzodiazepines

Legal status: Benzodiazepines are a class slug. Table IV of Lei 2/2017's Anexo II lists 64 substances in total, a mixed anxiolytic, hypnotic, barbiturate and stimulant schedule, not a benzodiazepine-only one (it also carries seven barbiturates, which are a separate class slug answered elsewhere, and several unrelated stimulants and sedatives, for example amfepramona, aminorex, pemolina and meprobamato). Of the 64, 37 are themselves benzodiazepines or thienodiazepines, confirmed item by item against the table: item 2 Alprazolam, item 7 Bromazepam, item 8 Brotizolam, item 10 Camazepam, item 11 Cetazolam, item 12 Clobazam, item 14 Clonazepam, item 15 Clorazepato, item 16 Clordiazepóxido, item 17 Clordesmetildiazepan, item 18 Clotiazepam, item 19 Cloxazolam, item 20 Delorazepam, item 21 Diazepam, item 22 Estazolam, item 25 Etil-loflazepato, item 30 Fludiazepam, item 31 Flunitrazepam, item 32 Flurazepam, item 33 Halazepam, item 34 Haloxazolam, item 35 Loprazolam, item 36 Lorazepam, item 37 Lormetazepam, item 39 Medazepam, item 45 Midazolam, item 46 Nimetazepam, item 47 Nitrazepam, item 48 Nordazepam, item 49 Oxazepam, item 50 Oxazolam, item 52 Pinazepam, item 55 Prazepam, item 57 Quazepan, item 60 Temazepam, item 61 Tetrazepam, item 62 Triazolam. Brotizolam (item 8) and Clotiazepam (item 18) are thienodiazepines rather than classic 1,4-benzodiazepines, printed Portuguese "tieno" marking the thiophene ring in both; they are included in this range because they are the same pharmacological class as the rest. Item 17, "Clordesmetildiazepan - 7-cloro-5-(2-clorofenil)-1,3-di-hidro-2H-1,4-benzodiazepina-2-ona", and item 20, "Delorazepam - 7-cloro-5-(2-clorofenil)-1,3-di-hidro-2H-1,4-benzodiazepina-2-ona", print the identical chemical name; chlordesmethyldiazepam is itself a recognized synonym for delorazepam, so the table most likely lists one substance twice under two of its names rather than two distinct substances, which would make the true count 36 rather than 37. Both entries are quoted here as printed and neither is treated as the error; which, if either, Timor-Leste intended as a separate line is not resolved by this reading. Zolpidem, item 64 of the same table, is excluded from this range: it is chemically an imidazopyridine Z-drug, not a benzodiazepine, and is answered separately, under zolpidem. Flunitrazepam carries a second, separate listing at Table II-C, item 5, in addition to its Table IV entry at item 31; both listings are the same substance in two different sub-schedules of the same Act, and its penalty band, stated below, is reached through the Table II-C listing.
Consequences if caught: Table IV's own closing clause reaches only salts, "Os sais das substâncias indicadas nesta tabela, sempre que a existência de tais sais seja possível" (English: the salts of the substances listed in this table, whenever the existence of such salts is possible), with no isomer or analogue extension. For the 36 members named only at Table IV, article 7, paragraph 3, sets the band: 1 to 5 years' imprisonment unauthorized, 2 to 8 years where authorized but acting against the authorization; article 9 aggravates both figures by two thirds at the minimum and maximum for listed factors, extending the range to roughly 1 year 8 months to 8 years 4 months unauthorized, and 3 years 4 months to 13 years 4 months authorized-but-violating, where an aggravating factor applies. Flunitrazepam is different: because it is also named at Table II-C, which falls within article 7's "tabelas I a III" band, it carries 5 to 15 years unauthorized and 6 to 16 years authorized-but-violating, aggravating to roughly 8 years 4 months to 25 years, and 10 years to 26 years 8 months, respectively, a materially higher exposure than every other member of this class. Article 10's criminal-association band, 10 to 25 years for a founder and 12 to 25 years for a leader, applies to an organized group trafficking any of these 37 substances regardless of which table governs. Article 12 gives an intermediate band where the sole purpose of the article 7 act was to obtain the substance for personal use: up to 1 year's imprisonment or a fine for the 36 Table-IV-only members, up to 2 years' imprisonment or a fine for flunitrazepam. None of the 37 appears in Annex I's 16 item daily reference quantity table, so article 11's reduced-gravity quantity test has no pinned figure for this class; the reduced band itself is up to 3 years or a fine for the 36 Table-IV-only members (article 11, paragraph 1(b)) and 1 to 5 years for flunitrazepam (article 11, paragraph 1(a)). Article 26 punishes personal consumption or possession for personal use of any Table I to IV substance, this class included, with up to 1 year's imprisonment or a fine of up to 120 days, the same ceiling for all 37 regardless of table. Article 26, paragraph 2, raises this to up to 2 years' imprisonment or a fine of up to 240 days where the quantity found exceeds five times the Annex I reference figure; none of the 16 substances in Annex I's table include this one, so no figure is pinned here specifically. Article 26, paragraph 3, allows an occasional user to be excused penalty entirely in the paragraph 1 case. No death penalty is provided anywhere in Lei 2/2017. The Constitution of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, quoted in Lei 2/2017's own preamble, states that the State "proíbe, em absoluto, a existência da pena de morte" (English: absolutely prohibits the existence of the death penalty); the preamble cites this as part of why Lei 2/2017 replaced Indonesia's Law 5/1997, whose own penalty scheme for drug trafficking included the death penalty.
If prescribed / medical: Article 6, paragraph 1, subjects all 37 named members, as Table I to IV substances, to Ministério da Saúde licensing on terms the article defers to a separate instrument not yet located. Decreto-Lei 2/2025 regulates pharmacy licensing generally without naming which Table I to IV substances a doctor may prescribe, so it is not cited here as a prescription route. No prescription or medical-supply pathway for any named benzodiazepine under Lei 2/2017 has been established by this reading.
Documentation: Decreto-Lei 19/2009, de 8 de Abril, is Timor-Leste's Penal Code, and Lei 2/2017's own preamble states that the Penal Code's third amendment, Lei 5/2013, de 14 de Agosto, "não se traduziu na criminalização do tráfico ilícito e o consumo de estupefacientes e substâncias psicotrópicas" (English: did not result in the criminalization of illicit trafficking and consumption of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances), and that before Lei 2/2017 the operative drug law was Indonesia's Law 5/1997, carried over under article 165 of the Constitution of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste. Lei 2/2017 is accordingly Timor-Leste's first domestic drug-trafficking law; no later one has been found, and no drug-trafficking chapter of the Penal Code has been located. No separate traveller or import-permit rule beyond the Ministério da Saúde licensing regime in article 6 has been found. A benzodiazepine or related substance not on the 37 item list above is a separate question not addressed here.

Lei n.º 2/2017, de 25 de Janeiro, Lei de Combate ao Tráfico Ilícito de Drogas, Jornal da República, Série I, N.º 4, 25 de Janeiro de 2017, preamble and Anexo II Tabela IV (full 64 item list and closing clause) and Tabela II-C item 5 (Flunitrazepam), articles 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 26 · https://www.mj.gov.tl/jornal/public/docs/2017/serie_1/SERIE_I_NO_4.pdf (sha256 700f7867e6cff713f06a6fcb6da245ea1186582fe66309d193080ce0b7406cd6), read 2026-10-07 · Updated October 8, 2026

Benzodiazepines in Timor-Leste, full detail →

Buprenorphine

Legal status: Buprenorphine is named at Table II-C, item 2, of Lei 2/2017's Anexo II: "Buprenorfina - 21-ciclopropil-7 alfa [(s) 1-hidroxi-1,2,2-trimetilpropil]-6,14-endoetano-6,7,8,14-tetra-hidrooripavina" (English: buprenorphine, the standard IUPAC-style oripavine derivative name). Article 4, paragraph 2, states that Table II corresponds to Schedules I, II and III of the 1971 Convention, and article 5, paragraph 2(f), places short-acting barbiturate-type and non-barbiturate hypnotic substances in the II-C sub-table where buprenorphine sits alongside amobarbital, ketamine and methaqualone.
Consequences if caught: Article 7, paragraphs 1 and 2, apply the tabelas I a III band to a Table II substance: 5 to 15 years' imprisonment for unauthorized cultivation, production, manufacture, extraction, preparation, offering, sale, distribution, purchase, transport, import, export or possession, and 6 to 16 years where the person holds an authorization but acts against it. Article 9 aggravates both figures by two thirds at the minimum and maximum for listed factors (distribution to many people, supply to minors or the mentally ill, acting within a criminal organization, among others). Article 10 punishes founding, financing or joining a criminal association formed to commit article 7 or 8 crimes: 10 to 25 years for a founder, 5 to 15 years for a member, 12 to 25 years for a leader. Buprenorphine does not appear in Annex I's 16 item daily reference quantity table, so article 11's reduced-gravity band, 1 to 5 years where illicitude is considerably diminished for a Table I to III substance, has no pinned quantity figure for buprenorphine specifically; the reduced band itself still applies on the other listed factors in article 11, paragraph 1. Article 12 gives an intermediate band where the sole purpose of the article 7 act was to obtain the substance for personal use: up to 2 years' imprisonment or a fine. Article 26 punishes illicit personal consumption, or cultivation, production, manufacture, extraction, preparation, acquisition or possession for exclusive personal use, with up to 1 year's imprisonment or a fine of up to 120 days. Article 26, paragraph 2, raises this to up to 2 years' imprisonment or a fine of up to 240 days where the quantity found exceeds five times the Annex I reference figure; none of the 16 substances in Annex I's table include this one, so no figure is pinned here specifically. Article 26, paragraph 3, allows an occasional user to be excused penalty entirely in the paragraph 1 case. No death penalty is provided anywhere in Lei 2/2017. The Constitution of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, quoted in Lei 2/2017's own preamble, states that the State "proíbe, em absoluto, a existência da pena de morte" (English: absolutely prohibits the existence of the death penalty); the preamble cites this as part of why Lei 2/2017 replaced Indonesia's Law 5/1997, whose own penalty scheme for drug trafficking included the death penalty.
If prescribed / medical: Article 6, paragraph 1, subjects buprenorphine, as a Table I to IV substance, to licensing, conditions and authorizations issued by the Ministério da Saúde, on terms the article defers to a separate instrument ("nos termos a definir em diploma próprio") that has not been located. Decreto-Lei 2/2025 regulates pharmacy licensing generally and cross-refers to Lei 2/2017's tables for its definition of a controlled substance, without itself naming which Table I to IV substances a doctor may prescribe, so it is not cited here as a prescription route. No prescription or medical-supply pathway for buprenorphine, including an opioid-substitution-therapy route, under Lei 2/2017 has therefore been established by this reading.
Documentation: Decreto-Lei 19/2009, de 8 de Abril, is Timor-Leste's Penal Code, and Lei 2/2017's own preamble states that the Penal Code's third amendment, Lei 5/2013, de 14 de Agosto, "não se traduziu na criminalização do tráfico ilícito e o consumo de estupefacientes e substâncias psicotrópicas" (English: did not result in the criminalization of illicit trafficking and consumption of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances), and that before Lei 2/2017 the operative drug law was Indonesia's Law 5/1997, carried over under article 165 of the Constitution of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste. Lei 2/2017 is accordingly Timor-Leste's first domestic drug-trafficking law; no later one has been found, and no drug-trafficking chapter of the Penal Code has been located. No separate traveller or import-permit rule for buprenorphine, beyond the Ministério da Saúde licensing regime in article 6, which is itself deferred to an instrument not yet located, has been found.

Lei n.º 2/2017, de 25 de Janeiro, Lei de Combate ao Tráfico Ilícito de Drogas, Jornal da República, Série I, N.º 4, 25 de Janeiro de 2017, Anexo II Tabela II-C item 2, articles 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 26 · https://www.mj.gov.tl/jornal/public/docs/2017/serie_1/SERIE_I_NO_4.pdf (sha256 700f7867e6cff713f06a6fcb6da245ea1186582fe66309d193080ce0b7406cd6), read 2026-10-07 · Updated October 8, 2026

Buprenorphine in Timor-Leste, full detail →

Cannabinol

Legal status: Not named by that term anywhere in Anexo II to Lei n.º 2/2017, de 25 de Janeiro; a direct search for "canabinol" returned no match. Two possible routes to control were worked through rather than assumed, and they point in different directions. First, Tabela I-C defines "Cannabis, resina de" as "resina separada, em bruto ou purificada, obtida a partir da planta Cannabis" (resin separated, crude or purified, obtained from the Cannabis plant) and "Cannabis, óleo de" as "óleo separado, em bruto ou purificado, obtido a partir da planta Cannabis" (oil separated, crude or purified, obtained from the Cannabis plant). Both terms describe a plant-derived resin or oil product calibrated, per Annex I notes 3-(3) to 3-(5), by its Delta-9-THC content; as conventionally understood and as the Annex I notes treat it, "resina" and "óleo" denote the whole cannabis extract (hashish, hash oil), not a single isolated cannabinoid compound, and Table I-C carries no isomer or analogue extension clause, only a salts clause, unlike the hallucinogen table. That reading would leave a cannabinol isolate, as distinct from a plant resin or oil product, outside Table I-C. Second, and the stronger route: Tabela II-B's closing clause reads "Os derivados e sais das substâncias inscritas nesta tabela, sempre que a sua existência seja possível" (the derivatives and salts of the substances listed in this table, wherever their existence is possible), and item 14 names tetrahydrocannabinol. Cannabinol is chemically tetrahydrocannabinol's oxidation (aromatisation) product, a transformation product of THC rather than an independently biosynthesised cannabinoid, which makes it a textually defensible "derivado" of item 14's entry under this clause. "Derivado" is not defined anywhere in article 2, so this reading is not certain; no instrument, regulation or guidance confirming it has been found this session. Article 5, which sets out drafting criteria for how the tables were compiled (including a hallucinogen criterion at 5.2.d and an amphetamine-type criterion at 5.2.e), is titled and worded as explanatory criteria for table compilation, not as a standing clause that independently controls a substance never printed in the tables; it is not treated here as an operative catch-all; 5.2.d is not itself a Table II-A clause, since Table II-A's own closing text covers only salts and isomers.
Consequences if caught: If the Table II-B derivados reading governs, cannabinol's conduct consequences follow Table II-B's position within the "tabelas I a III" grouping: imprisonment of 5 to 15 years under article 7(1) for unauthorised cultivation, production, manufacture, extraction, preparation, offering, sale, distribution, purchase, transport, import or export, rising to 6 to 16 years under article 7(2) for an authorised person acting against that authorisation, and aggravated by two thirds on both limits under article 9 where a listed factor applies (8 years 4 months to 25 years on the base band). If instead cannabinol is read as outside both Table I-C and Table II-B's derivados clause, no table I to IV offence is established on this reading and no penalty band is stated. Annex I does not price cannabinol. Personal possession for exclusively personal use, if the derivados reading is taken, falls under article 26: up to 1 year imprisonment or a fine of up to 120 days.
If prescribed / medical: If cannabinol is reached by Table II-B, article 6(1) defers its licensing to a Ministério da Saúde instrument not located this session, and no prescription route is stated. If it is not reached, article 6's table I to IV licensing regime does not apply to it by that route.
Documentation: Cannabinol's answer differs from cbd's: cannabinol is chemically a derivative (an oxidation product) of the tetrahydrocannabinol named at Table II-B item 14, where cbd is tetrahydrocannabinol's biosynthetic precursor sibling rather than its derivative, which is why the two are not treated the same way.

Lei n.º 2/2017, de 25 de Janeiro, Anexo II, Tabela I-C items 2 and 3, Tabela II-B item 14 and closing clause, article 5(2)(d)-(e), and articles 2(d), 3(1), 6, 7, 9, 26 · Jornal da República, Série I, N.º 4, 25 January 2017, pp. 60-82 · https://www.mj.gov.tl/jornal/public/docs/2017/serie_1/SERIE_I_NO_4.pdf (sha256 700f7867e6cff713f06a6fcb6da245ea1186582fe66309d193080ce0b7406cd6, fetched 2026-10-07, read 2026-10-07) · Updated October 8, 2026

Cannabinol in Timor-Leste, full detail →

Cannabis / THC

Legal status: Named. Tabela I-C of Anexo II to Lei n.º 2/2017, de 25 de Janeiro, lists four cannabis entries: item 1, "Cannabis - folhas e sumidades floridas ou frutificadas da planta Cannabis sativa L. da qual não se tenha extraído a resina, qualquer que seja a designação que se lhe dê" (Cannabis, the flowering or fruiting tops and leaves of the Cannabis sativa L. plant from which the resin has not been extracted, whatever name is given to it); item 2, "Cannabis, resina de - resina separada, em bruto ou purificada, obtida a partir da planta Cannabis" (Cannabis resin, resin separated, crude or purified, obtained from the Cannabis plant); item 3, "Cannabis, óleo de - óleo separado, em bruto ou purificado, obtido a partir da planta Cannabis" (Cannabis oil, oil separated, crude or purified, obtained from the Cannabis plant); and item 4, "Cannabis - sementes não destinadas a sementeira da planta Cannabis sativa L." (Cannabis seeds not intended for sowing, of the Cannabis sativa L. plant). A closing clause subjects the salts of these to the same table, where such salts can exist. Article 2(d) defines "droga" as the plants, substances or preparations covered by tables I to IV, and article 3(1) subjects table I to IV substances to the law's regime.
Consequences if caught: Table I-C sits within the "tabelas I a III" grouping article 7(1) addresses, so cultivating, producing, manufacturing, extracting, preparing, offering, selling, distributing, buying, transporting, importing, exporting or possessing cannabis plant material, resin, oil or non-sowing seeds without authorisation is punished with imprisonment of 5 to 15 years. An authorised person acting against that authorisation is punished with 6 to 16 years under article 7(2). Article 9 aggravates both limits of article 7 by two thirds where a listed factor applies (distribution to a large number of people, supply to a minor, use of a weapon, acting within a criminal organisation, among others), computing on the base band to 8 years 4 months to 25 years. Annex I prices three cannabis forms as daily reference quantities for the article 11 reduced-gravity threshold: leaf and flowering tops at 1g, resin at 0.5g, and oil at 0.25g, the last two calibrated by Annex I's own notes 3-(3) and 3-(4) to resin and 3-(5) to oil at an assumed 20 percent Delta-9-THC concentration. Where the quantity held does not exceed 5 times these figures and illicitude is considerably diminished, article 11(1)(a) reduces the band to 1 to 5 years. Personal cultivation, production or possession for exclusively personal use falls under article 26(1): up to 1 year imprisonment or a fine of up to 120 days, rising under article 26(2) to up to 2 years imprisonment or a fine of up to 240 days where the quantity held exceeds 5 times the relevant Annex I figure.
If prescribed / medical: Article 6(1) subjects table I to IV substances, cannabis among them, to licensing, conditions and authorisations issued by the Ministério da Saúde, on terms to be defined in a separate instrument ("diploma próprio"). That instrument has not been located this session, so no medical prescription or supply route for cannabis under Lei n.º 2/2017 is stated here. Decreto-Lei n.º 2/2025 governs pharmacy and medicines-equipment licensing generally and does not itself create a prescribing route for table I to IV substances.
Documentation: Lei n.º 2/2017's own enacted preamble, read in full, states that before this law, the operative drug-trafficking regime in Timor-Leste was "a Lei n.º 5/1997 da República da Indonésia, que se mantém em vigor" (Indonesia's Law 5/1997, carried over under article 165 of the Constitution), and that the Penal Code's own third amendment, "a alteração ao Código Penal operada pela Lei n.º 5/2013, de 14 de agosto, não se traduziu na criminalização do tráfico ilícito e o consumo de estupefacientes e substâncias psicotrópicas" (the Penal Code amendment made by Law 5/2013 of 14 August did not result in criminalising illicit trafficking or the consumption of narcotic and psychotropic substances). The preamble states that, as a result, an adequate domestic regime for drug trafficking and consumption remained to be approved by legislative act, which Lei n.º 2/2017 then supplied. Decreto-Lei n.º 19/2009 (the Penal Code) and its 2013 amendment carry no drug-trafficking chapter on this reading, and Lei n.º 2/2017 is Timor-Leste's first and controlling domestic instrument for cannabis trafficking and consumption offences.

Lei n.º 2/2017, de 25 de Janeiro, preamble and Anexo II, Tabela I-C items 1-4, Anexo I notes 3-(3) to 3-(5), and articles 2(d), 3(1), 6, 7, 9, 11, 26 · Jornal da República, Série I, N.º 4, 25 January 2017, pp. 60-82 · https://www.mj.gov.tl/jornal/public/docs/2017/serie_1/SERIE_I_NO_4.pdf (sha256 700f7867e6cff713f06a6fcb6da245ea1186582fe66309d193080ce0b7406cd6, fetched 2026-10-07, read 2026-10-07) · Updated October 8, 2026

Cannabis / THC in Timor-Leste, full detail →

Cathinone

Legal status: Cathinone, the parent beta-ketone amphetamine, is named directly in Table II-A of Lei n.º 2/2017's Anexo II, item 8: "Catinona - (-)-(alfa)-aminopropiofenona" (cathinone, minus-alpha-aminopropiophenone). Cathine, cathinone's reduced relative, sits separately in Table II-B item 2 ("Catina"), and mephedrone, a ring-methylated cathinone derivative, sits separately in Table II-A item 26; the three are each named in their own right rather than through a class clause. Article 2, paragraph 1, subparagraph d, defines "droga" as any plant, substance or preparation covered by Tables I to IV; article 3 makes the tables integral to the law. This reading is as printed 25 January 2017, read on 7 October 2026.
Consequences if caught: Article 7, paragraph 1, of Lei n.º 2/2017 ("Quem, sem se encontrar autorizado, cultivar, produzir, fabricar, extrair, preparar, oferecer, puser à venda, vender, distribuir, comprar, ceder ou por qualquer título receber, proporcionar a outrem, transportar, importar, exportar, fizer transitar ou ilicitamente detiver, fora dos casos previstos no artigo 26.º, plantas, substâncias ou preparados compreendidos nas tabelas I a III é punido com pena de prisão de 5 a 15 anos", whoever, without being authorised, cultivates, produces, manufactures, extracts, prepares, offers, puts up for sale, sells, distributes, buys, transfers or by any title receives, supplies to another, transports, imports, exports, causes to transit or unlawfully holds, outside the cases in article 26, plants, substances or preparations in Tables I to III, is punished with imprisonment of 5 to 15 years) is the base band for cathinone, a Table II-A substance. Article 7, paragraph 2, raises this to 6 to 16 years where an authorisation existed and was acted against. Article 9 adds two thirds to both the minimum and maximum of article 7 where a listed aggravating factor applies, and article 10 sets 10 to 25 years, 12 to 25 for a leader, for founding or directing a group formed to commit an article 7 offence. Article 11, paragraph 1, subparagraph a, sets a reduced band of 1 to 5 years where illicitude is considerably diminished. Anexo I prints no daily reference quantity for cathinone itself, so the fivefold quantity test in article 11, paragraph 2, has no stated figure to apply here. Article 26 answers personal consumption and possession for personal use separately, at imprisonment of up to 1 year or a fine of up to 120 days.
If prescribed / medical: Lei n.º 2/2017 does not itself create a medical prescription or supply route for cathinone. Article 6, paragraph 1, subjects cultivation, production, manufacture, use, commerce, distribution, import, export, transit, transport, advertising and possession of Table I to IV substances to licensing, conditions and authorisations issued by the Ministério da Saúde, "nos termos a definir em diploma próprio" (on terms to be defined in a separate instrument), which has not been located. Decreto-Lei n.º 2/2025 governs pharmacy retail licensing generally and does not designate which Table I to IV substances a doctor may prescribe, so it is not read as a prescription route for cathinone.
Documentation: Cathinone sits in Table II-A by its own name, item 8, and does not need the khat question answered to be controlled: this entry covers the isolated beta-ketone amphetamine itself, not the plant. Whether khat leaf, which naturally carries cathinone and cathine, is itself reached by Table II-B's preparations clause is answered separately on khat's own page. Personal possession and consumption of cathinone are answered by article 26 (up to 1 year or a fine up to 120 days); cultivation, production, manufacture, extraction, preparation, offering, sale, distribution, purchase, transfer, transport, import, export and unauthorised possession for any other purpose collapse into article 7's single list, at 5 to 15 years (6 to 16 if an authorisation existed and was breached).

Lei n.º 2/2017, de 25 de Janeiro, "Lei de Combate ao Tráfico Ilícito de Drogas", Anexo II, Tabela II-A item 8 · articles 2, 3, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11 and 26 · Jornal da República, Série I, N.º 4, 25 January 2017, pages 60 to 82. https://www.mj.gov.tl/jornal/public/docs/2017/serie_1/SERIE_I_NO_4.pdf (sha256 700f7867e6cff713f06a6fcb6da245ea1186582fe66309d193080ce0b7406cd6). Read on 7 October 2026. · Updated October 8, 2026

Cathinone in Timor-Leste, full detail →

Clonazepam

Legal status: Clonazepam is named at Table IV, item 14, of Lei 2/2017's Anexo II: "Clonazepam - 7-nitro-5-(2-clorofenil)-3H-1,4-benzodiazepina-2 (1H)-ona" (English: clonazepam, 7-nitro-5-(2-chlorophenyl)-1,3-dihydro-2H-1,4-benzodiazepin-2-one). Article 4, paragraph 4, states Table IV corresponds to Schedule IV of the 1971 Convention, and Table IV lists 64 substances in total, a mixed anxiolytic, hypnotic, barbiturate and stimulant schedule rather than a benzodiazepine-only one; clonazepam is one of 37 entries in that table that are themselves benzodiazepines or thienodiazepines.
Consequences if caught: Article 7, paragraph 3, sets the Table IV band: 1 to 5 years' imprisonment for unauthorized cultivation, production, manufacture, extraction, preparation, offering, sale, distribution, purchase, transport, import, export or possession, and 2 to 8 years where the person holds an authorization but acts against it. Article 9 aggravates both figures by two thirds at the minimum and maximum for listed factors. Article 10's criminal-association band, 10 to 25 years for a founder and 12 to 25 years for a leader, applies regardless of which table the group's substances sit in. Clonazepam does not appear in Annex I's 16 item daily reference quantity table; article 11, paragraph 1(b), still reduces a Table IV offence to up to 3 years' imprisonment or a fine where illicitude is considerably diminished on the other listed factors. Article 12 gives an intermediate band where the sole purpose of the article 7 act was to obtain the substance for personal use: up to 1 year's imprisonment or a fine. Article 26 punishes illicit personal consumption or possession for exclusive personal use of a Table I to IV substance with up to 1 year's imprisonment or a fine of up to 120 days. Article 26, paragraph 2, raises this to up to 2 years' imprisonment or a fine of up to 240 days where the quantity found exceeds five times the Annex I reference figure; none of the 16 substances in Annex I's table include this one, so no figure is pinned here specifically. Article 26, paragraph 3, allows an occasional user to be excused penalty entirely in the paragraph 1 case. No death penalty is provided anywhere in Lei 2/2017. The Constitution of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, quoted in Lei 2/2017's own preamble, states that the State "proíbe, em absoluto, a existência da pena de morte" (English: absolutely prohibits the existence of the death penalty); the preamble cites this as part of why Lei 2/2017 replaced Indonesia's Law 5/1997, whose own penalty scheme for drug trafficking included the death penalty.
If prescribed / medical: Article 6, paragraph 1, subjects clonazepam, as a Table I to IV substance, to Ministério da Saúde licensing on terms the article defers to a separate instrument not yet located. Decreto-Lei 2/2025 regulates pharmacy licensing generally without naming which Table I to IV substances a doctor may prescribe, so it is not cited here as a prescription route. No prescription or medical-supply pathway for clonazepam under Lei 2/2017 has been established by this reading.
Documentation: Decreto-Lei 19/2009, de 8 de Abril, is Timor-Leste's Penal Code, and Lei 2/2017's own preamble states that the Penal Code's third amendment, Lei 5/2013, de 14 de Agosto, "não se traduziu na criminalização do tráfico ilícito e o consumo de estupefacientes e substâncias psicotrópicas" (English: did not result in the criminalization of illicit trafficking and consumption of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances), and that before Lei 2/2017 the operative drug law was Indonesia's Law 5/1997, carried over under article 165 of the Constitution of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste. Lei 2/2017 is accordingly Timor-Leste's first domestic drug-trafficking law; no later one has been found, and no drug-trafficking chapter of the Penal Code has been located. No separate traveller or import-permit rule for clonazepam, beyond the Ministério da Saúde licensing regime in article 6, which is itself deferred to an instrument not yet located, has been found.

Lei n.º 2/2017, de 25 de Janeiro, Lei de Combate ao Tráfico Ilícito de Drogas, Jornal da República, Série I, N.º 4, 25 de Janeiro de 2017, Anexo II Tabela IV item 14, articles 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 26 · https://www.mj.gov.tl/jornal/public/docs/2017/serie_1/SERIE_I_NO_4.pdf (sha256 700f7867e6cff713f06a6fcb6da245ea1186582fe66309d193080ce0b7406cd6), read 2026-10-07 · Updated October 8, 2026

Clonazepam in Timor-Leste, full detail →

Cocaine

Legal status: Cocaine is named directly in Table I-B of Lei n.º 2/2017's Anexo II: "Cocaína - éter metílico do ácido (-)-8-metil-3-benzoiloxi-8-aza-biciclo-(1,2,3)-octano-2-carboxílico; éster metílico de benzoilecgonina" (cocaine, the methyl ether of the acid named, methyl ester of benzoylecgonine), alongside the coca leaf itself and cocaine's dextrorotatory isomer at the same table. Anexo I prices the hydrochloride salt form at 0,2g (item 5) and the base ester form, chemically the same molecule prepared without the salt, at 0,03g (item 6). Table I-B's closing clause extends control to all salts of these compounds. Article 2, paragraph 1, subparagraph d, defines "droga" as any plant, substance or preparation covered by Tables I to IV; article 3 makes the tables integral to the law. This reading is as printed 25 January 2017, read on 7 October 2026.
Consequences if caught: Article 7, paragraph 1, of Lei n.º 2/2017 ("Quem, sem se encontrar autorizado, cultivar, produzir, fabricar, extrair, preparar, oferecer, puser à venda, vender, distribuir, comprar, ceder ou por qualquer título receber, proporcionar a outrem, transportar, importar, exportar, fizer transitar ou ilicitamente detiver, fora dos casos previstos no artigo 26.º, plantas, substâncias ou preparados compreendidos nas tabelas I a III é punido com pena de prisão de 5 a 15 anos", whoever, without being authorised, cultivates, produces, manufactures, extracts, prepares, offers, puts up for sale, sells, distributes, buys, transfers or by any title receives, supplies to another, transports, imports, exports, causes to transit or unlawfully holds, outside the cases in article 26, plants, substances or preparations in Tables I to III, is punished with imprisonment of 5 to 15 years) is the base band for cocaine. Article 7, paragraph 2, raises this to 6 to 16 years where an authorisation existed and was acted against. Article 9 adds two thirds to both the minimum and maximum of article 7 where a listed aggravating factor applies, and article 10 sets 10 to 25 years, 12 to 25 for a leader, for founding or directing a group formed to commit an article 7 offence. Article 11, paragraph 1, subparagraph a, sets a reduced band of 1 to 5 years where illicitude is considerably diminished, and article 11, paragraph 2, ties that test to five times the Anexo I daily reference quantity, here 1,0g for the hydrochloride salt (five times 0,2g) or 0,15g for the base form (five times 0,03g). Article 26 answers personal consumption and possession for personal use separately, at imprisonment of up to 1 year or a fine of up to 120 days. Table III, item 3, also exempts preparations containing no more than 0,1% cocaine calculated as base.
If prescribed / medical: Lei n.º 2/2017 does not itself create a medical prescription or supply route for cocaine. Article 6, paragraph 1, subjects cultivation, production, manufacture, use, commerce, distribution, import, export, transit, transport, advertising and possession of Table I to IV substances to licensing, conditions and authorisations issued by the Ministério da Saúde, "nos termos a definir em diploma próprio" (on terms to be defined in a separate instrument), which has not been located. Decreto-Lei n.º 2/2025 governs pharmacy retail licensing generally and does not designate which Table I to IV substances a doctor may prescribe, so it is not read as a prescription route for cocaine.
Documentation: Cocaine sits in Table I-B by its own name alongside the coca leaf and the dextro isomer, so no generic-clause reasoning is needed for the classification itself; the reduced-gravity threshold under article 11 differs by form, 1,0g for the salt against 0,15g for the base, reflecting Anexo I's own two-row pricing of the same drug.

Lei n.º 2/2017, de 25 de Janeiro, "Lei de Combate ao Tráfico Ilícito de Drogas", Anexo I items 5 and 6 · Anexo II, Tabela I-B and Tabela III item 3 · articles 2, 3, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11 and 26 · preamble lines naming Lei n.º 5/1997 da Indonésia and Lei n.º 5/2013 · Jornal da República, Série I, N.º 4, 25 January 2017, pages 59 to 82. https://www.mj.gov.tl/jornal/public/docs/2017/serie_1/SERIE_I_NO_4.pdf (sha256 700f7867e6cff713f06a6fcb6da245ea1186582fe66309d193080ce0b7406cd6). Read on 7 October 2026. · Updated October 8, 2026

Cocaine in Timor-Leste, full detail →

Codeine

Legal status: Codeine is named at Table I-A, item 26, of Lei 2/2017's Anexo II: "Codeína - 3-metoxi-4,5-epoxi-6-hidroxi-17-metil-7-morfineno; 3-metil-morfina" (English: codeine, 3-methoxy-4,5-epoxy-6-hydroxy-17-methyl-7-morphinene, also described as 3-methylmorphine). Article 4, paragraph 1, states Table I corresponds to Schedules I, II and IV of the 1961 Single Convention. Table III of the same Anexo II, a separate schedule, also carries a dose-limited listing naming codeine specifically, set out below; article 5, paragraph 3, describes Table III's contents as preparations that "apresentem risco de abuso" (English: present a risk of abuse), which sits uneasily with Table III's own item 1, which describes its contents as preparations that do not present great risk of use and abuse; this tension is not resolved here.
Consequences if caught: Article 7, paragraphs 1 and 2, apply the tabelas I a III band to a Table I-A substance: 5 to 15 years' imprisonment for unauthorized cultivation, production, manufacture, extraction, preparation, offering, sale, distribution, purchase, transport, import, export or possession, and 6 to 16 years where the person holds an authorization but acts against it. Article 9 aggravates both figures by two thirds at the minimum and maximum for listed factors. Article 10's criminal-association band runs 10 to 25 years for a founder and 12 to 25 years for a leader. Codeine does not appear in Annex I's 16 item daily reference quantity table, so article 11's reduced-gravity quantity test, five times that reference figure, is not pinned to a number for codeine itself; the reduced band of 1 to 5 years can still apply on illicitude's other listed factors. Article 12 gives an intermediate band where the sole purpose of the article 7 act was to obtain the substance for personal use: up to 2 years' imprisonment or a fine. Article 26 punishes illicit personal consumption or possession for exclusive personal use with up to 1 year's imprisonment or a fine of up to 120 days. Article 26, paragraph 2, raises this to up to 2 years' imprisonment or a fine of up to 240 days where the quantity found exceeds five times the Annex I reference figure; none of the 16 substances in Annex I's table include this one, so no figure is pinned here specifically. Article 26, paragraph 3, allows an occasional user to be excused penalty entirely in the paragraph 1 case. Separately, Table III, item 2, lists specific low-dose codeine preparations: "Preparações de acetildiidrocodeína, codeína, diidrocodeína, etilmorfina, folcodina, nicocodina, nicodicodina e norcodeína, quando misturadas com um ou vários outros ingredientes e a quantidade de narcótico não exceda 100 mg por unidade de administração e a concentração nas preparações farmacêuticas em forma não dividida não exceda 2,5%" (English: preparations of acetyldihydrocodeine, codeine, dihydrocodeine, ethylmorphine, pholcodine, nicocodine, nicodicodine and norcodeine, when mixed with one or more other ingredients, where the narcotic quantity does not exceed 100 mg per dosage unit and the concentration in undivided pharmaceutical preparations does not exceed 2.5 percent). Table III's own opening line (item 1) describes its contents as preparations that, by their quantitative composition, do not present great risk of use and abuse, which reads as an exemption schedule. Article 7, paragraph 1, nonetheless lists "tabelas I a III" together as all carrying the 5 to 15 year trafficking band, with no express carve-out in article 7 itself for a Table III preparation. Whether a qualifying low-dose codeine preparation is therefore outside article 7's offence entirely, or merely outside the higher Table I-A band and still caught at some lower exposure, is not resolved by the printed text.
If prescribed / medical: Article 6, paragraph 1, subjects codeine, as a Table I to IV substance, to Ministério da Saúde licensing on terms the article defers to a separate instrument not yet located. Decreto-Lei 2/2025 regulates pharmacy licensing generally without naming which Table I to IV substances a doctor may prescribe, so it is not cited here as a prescription route. Table III's dose-limited exemption, quoted above, bears on which codeine preparations the schedule reaches at all, but it is not itself a prescribing authorization and does not say who may dispense an exempt preparation or on what terms. No prescription or medical-supply pathway for codeine under Lei 2/2017 has been established by this reading.
Documentation: Decreto-Lei 19/2009, de 8 de Abril, is Timor-Leste's Penal Code, and Lei 2/2017's own preamble states that the Penal Code's third amendment, Lei 5/2013, de 14 de Agosto, "não se traduziu na criminalização do tráfico ilícito e o consumo de estupefacientes e substâncias psicotrópicas" (English: did not result in the criminalization of illicit trafficking and consumption of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances), and that before Lei 2/2017 the operative drug law was Indonesia's Law 5/1997, carried over under article 165 of the Constitution of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste. Lei 2/2017 is accordingly Timor-Leste's first domestic drug-trafficking law; no later one has been found, and no drug-trafficking chapter of the Penal Code has been located. No separate traveller or import-permit rule for codeine, beyond the Ministério da Saúde licensing regime in article 6, which is itself deferred to an instrument not yet located, has been found.

Lei n.º 2/2017, de 25 de Janeiro, Lei de Combate ao Tráfico Ilícito de Drogas, Jornal da República, Série I, N.º 4, 25 de Janeiro de 2017, Anexo II Tabela I-A item 26 and Tabela III item 2, articles 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 26 · https://www.mj.gov.tl/jornal/public/docs/2017/serie_1/SERIE_I_NO_4.pdf (sha256 700f7867e6cff713f06a6fcb6da245ea1186582fe66309d193080ce0b7406cd6), read 2026-10-07 · Updated October 8, 2026

Codeine in Timor-Leste, full detail →

Crack Cocaine

Legal status: Crack cocaine is cocaine's own alkaloid prepared as a freebase, not a separately scheduled compound, and that same alkaloid is named in Table I-B of Lei n.º 2/2017's Anexo II: "Cocaína - éter metílico do ácido (-)-8-metil-3-benzoiloxi-8-aza-biciclo-(1,2,3)-octano-2-carboxílico; éster metílico de benzoilecgonina" (cocaine, the methyl ether of the acid named, methyl ester of benzoylecgonine). The table's own chemical description already names "éster metílico de benzoilecgonina", the technical name for the cocaine molecule before it is formed into a salt, which is exactly the chemical form crack is: cocaine base, freed of the hydrochloride salt by cooking with a base such as sodium bicarbonate, rather than a different drug. Anexo I treats the two preparations of the same entry separately for dosing purposes: item 5 prices "Cocaína (cloridrato)" (cocaine hydrochloride, the powder salt) at 0,2g, and item 6 prices "Cocaína (éster metílico de benzoilecgonina)" (cocaine base, crack's own chemical form) at 0,03g, reflecting a real difference in potency and dosing between the two forms of the same substance rather than two different legal controls. Table I-B's closing clause also reaches all salts of these compounds. Crack cocaine therefore falls inside Table I-B's "Cocaína" entry directly. This reading is as printed 25 January 2017, read on 7 October 2026.
Consequences if caught: Article 7, paragraph 1, of Lei n.º 2/2017 ("Quem, sem se encontrar autorizado, cultivar, produzir, fabricar, extrair, preparar, oferecer, puser à venda, vender, distribuir, comprar, ceder ou por qualquer título receber, proporcionar a outrem, transportar, importar, exportar, fizer transitar ou ilicitamente detiver, fora dos casos previstos no artigo 26.º, plantas, substâncias ou preparados compreendidos nas tabelas I a III é punido com pena de prisão de 5 a 15 anos", whoever, without being authorised, cultivates, produces, manufactures, extracts, prepares, offers, puts up for sale, sells, distributes, buys, transfers or by any title receives, supplies to another, transports, imports, exports, causes to transit or unlawfully holds, outside the cases in article 26, plants, substances or preparations in Tables I to III, is punished with imprisonment of 5 to 15 years) is the base band for crack cocaine, a Table I-B substance. Article 7, paragraph 2, raises this to 6 to 16 years where an authorisation existed and was acted against. Article 9 adds two thirds to both the minimum and maximum of article 7 where a listed aggravating factor applies, and article 10 sets 10 to 25 years, 12 to 25 for a leader, for founding or directing a group formed to commit an article 7 offence. Article 11, paragraph 1, subparagraph a, sets a reduced band of 1 to 5 years where illicitude is considerably diminished, and article 11, paragraph 2, ties that test partly to whether the quantity held does not exceed five times the Anexo I daily reference quantity, here five times 0,03g for the base form, i.e. 0,15g, markedly lower than the 1,0g threshold (five times 0,2g) that applies to the hydrochloride salt form of the same drug. Article 26 answers personal consumption and possession for personal use separately, at imprisonment of up to 1 year or a fine of up to 120 days. Table III item 3 also carries a dilution exemption for preparations of no more than 0,1% cocaine calculated as base, which crack, by design, is never close to.
If prescribed / medical: Lei n.º 2/2017 does not itself create a medical prescription or supply route for cocaine in any form. Article 6, paragraph 1, subjects cultivation, production, manufacture, use, commerce, distribution, import, export, transit, transport, advertising and possession of Table I to IV substances to licensing, conditions and authorisations issued by the Ministério da Saúde, "nos termos a definir em diploma próprio" (on terms to be defined in a separate instrument), which has not been located. Decreto-Lei n.º 2/2025 governs pharmacy retail licensing generally and does not designate which Table I to IV substances a doctor may prescribe, so it is not read as a prescription route for cocaine or crack cocaine.
Documentation: Crack is not a distinct chemical entry in this instrument; it is the base form of the single "Cocaína" entry at Table I-B, and Anexo I's own two-row pricing (hydrochloride at 0,2g, base ester at 0,03g) shows the drafters already anticipated the base form as a separately dosed, but not separately scheduled, preparation of the same drug. The lower reference quantity for the base form means the reduced-gravity threshold under article 11 is reached at a much smaller physical quantity for crack than for powder cocaine.

Lei n.º 2/2017, de 25 de Janeiro, "Lei de Combate ao Tráfico Ilícito de Drogas", Anexo I items 5 and 6 · Anexo II, Tabela I-B and Tabela III item 3 · articles 2, 3, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11 and 26 · Jornal da República, Série I, N.º 4, 25 January 2017, pages 60 to 82. https://www.mj.gov.tl/jornal/public/docs/2017/serie_1/SERIE_I_NO_4.pdf (sha256 700f7867e6cff713f06a6fcb6da245ea1186582fe66309d193080ce0b7406cd6). Read on 7 October 2026. · Updated October 8, 2026

Crack Cocaine in Timor-Leste, full detail →

Delta-8-THC

Legal status: Named. Tabela II-B, item 14, of Anexo II to Lei n.º 2/2017, de 25 de Janeiro ("Lei de Combate ao Tráfico Ilícito de Drogas"), reads: "Tetraidrocanabinol - os seguintes isómeros: (Delta) 6a (10a), (Delta) 6a (7), (Delta) 7, (Delta) 8, (Delta) 9, (Delta) 10, (Delta) (11)." (Tetrahydrocannabinol, the following isomers: Delta 6a(10a), Delta 6a(7), Delta 7, Delta 8, Delta 9, Delta 10, Delta 11.) Delta 8 is named directly among the listed double bond isomers, so delta-8-thc is caught by the table entry itself, not by any generic clause. Article 2(d) defines "droga" as the plants, substances or preparations covered by tables I to IV, and article 3(1) subjects table I to IV substances to the law's regime; both operate on table membership, which item 14 supplies directly for this isomer.
Consequences if caught: Table II-B sits within the "tabelas I a III" grouping article 7(1) addresses, not table IV, so the base trafficking band for cultivating, producing, manufacturing, extracting, preparing, offering, selling, distributing, buying, transporting, importing, exporting or possessing delta-8-thc without authorisation is imprisonment of 5 to 15 years (article 7, paragraph 1). Where the person held an authorisation and acted against it, article 7(2) raises this to 6 to 16 years. Article 9 aggravates both the minimum and the maximum of article 7 by two thirds where a listed factor applies (distribution to a large number of people, supply to a minor or a person with mental illness, use of a weapon or disguise, acting within a criminal organisation, among others), which on the base 5 to 15 year band computes to 8 years 4 months to 25 years. Annex I does not price delta-8-thc separately; only Delta-9-THC carries a stated daily reference quantity (0.05g, assuming 20 percent concentration per note 3-(5)), so the article 11 reduced-gravity threshold (conduct within 5 times the Annex I figure, a factor weighed toward the 1 to 5 year band where illicitude is considerably diminished) cannot be computed for delta-8-thc specifically from a stated figure. Personal possession or cultivation for exclusively personal use falls under article 26(1): up to 1 year imprisonment or a fine of up to 120 days, rising to up to 2 years or a fine of up to 240 days under article 26(2) if the quantity held exceeds 5 times the (unstated, for this isomer) Annex I reference quantity.
If prescribed / medical: Article 6(1) subjects table I to IV substances, delta-8-thc among them by item 14, to licensing, conditions and authorisations issued by the Ministério da Saúde, "nos termos a definir em diploma próprio" (on terms to be defined in a separate instrument). That separate instrument was not located this session, so no prescription or medical supply route for delta-8-thc under Lei n.º 2/2017 is stated here. Decreto-Lei n.º 2/2025 governs pharmacy and medicines-equipment licensing generally and does not itself name which table I to IV substances a doctor may prescribe.
Documentation: Delta-8-thc's finding here (a named double bond isomer of tetrahydrocannabinol) is distinct in kind from thc-p (a homologue with a longer heptyl side chain, not one of item 14's listed positions) and hhc (a hydrogenated analogue, not an isomer at all); the three should not be read as sharing one answer.

Lei n.º 2/2017, de 25 de Janeiro, Anexo II, Tabela II-B item 14, and articles 2(d), 3(1), 7, 9, 11, 26 · Jornal da República, Série I, N.º 4, 25 January 2017, pp. 60-82 · https://www.mj.gov.tl/jornal/public/docs/2017/serie_1/SERIE_I_NO_4.pdf (sha256 700f7867e6cff713f06a6fcb6da245ea1186582fe66309d193080ce0b7406cd6, fetched 2026-10-07, read 2026-10-07) · Updated October 8, 2026

Delta-8-THC in Timor-Leste, full detail →

Diazepam

Legal status: Diazepam is named at Table IV, item 21, of Lei 2/2017's Anexo II: "Diazepam - 7-cloro-1,3-di-hidro-1-1-metil-5-fenil-2H-1,4-benzodiazepina-2-ona" (English: diazepam, 7-chloro-1,3-dihydro-1-methyl-5-phenyl-2H-1,4-benzodiazepin-2-one). Article 4, paragraph 4, states Table IV corresponds to Schedule IV of the 1971 Convention.
Consequences if caught: Article 7, paragraph 3, sets the Table IV band: 1 to 5 years' imprisonment for unauthorized cultivation, production, manufacture, extraction, preparation, offering, sale, distribution, purchase, transport, import, export or possession, and 2 to 8 years where the person holds an authorization but acts against it. Article 9 aggravates both figures by two thirds at the minimum and maximum for listed factors. Article 10's criminal-association band runs 10 to 25 years for a founder and 12 to 25 years for a leader, regardless of which table the group's substances sit in. Diazepam does not appear in Annex I's 16 item daily reference quantity table; article 11, paragraph 1(b), still reduces a Table IV offence to up to 3 years' imprisonment or a fine where illicitude is considerably diminished on the other listed factors. Article 12 gives an intermediate band where the sole purpose of the article 7 act was to obtain the substance for personal use: up to 1 year's imprisonment or a fine. Article 26 punishes illicit personal consumption or possession for exclusive personal use of a Table I to IV substance with up to 1 year's imprisonment or a fine of up to 120 days. Article 26, paragraph 2, raises this to up to 2 years' imprisonment or a fine of up to 240 days where the quantity found exceeds five times the Annex I reference figure; none of the 16 substances in Annex I's table include this one, so no figure is pinned here specifically. Article 26, paragraph 3, allows an occasional user to be excused penalty entirely in the paragraph 1 case. No death penalty is provided anywhere in Lei 2/2017. The Constitution of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, quoted in Lei 2/2017's own preamble, states that the State "proíbe, em absoluto, a existência da pena de morte" (English: absolutely prohibits the existence of the death penalty); the preamble cites this as part of why Lei 2/2017 replaced Indonesia's Law 5/1997, whose own penalty scheme for drug trafficking included the death penalty.
If prescribed / medical: Article 6, paragraph 1, subjects diazepam, as a Table I to IV substance, to Ministério da Saúde licensing on terms the article defers to a separate instrument not yet located. Decreto-Lei 2/2025 regulates pharmacy licensing generally without naming which Table I to IV substances a doctor may prescribe, so it is not cited here as a prescription route. No prescription or medical-supply pathway for diazepam under Lei 2/2017 has been established by this reading.
Documentation: Decreto-Lei 19/2009, de 8 de Abril, is Timor-Leste's Penal Code, and Lei 2/2017's own preamble states that the Penal Code's third amendment, Lei 5/2013, de 14 de Agosto, "não se traduziu na criminalização do tráfico ilícito e o consumo de estupefacientes e substâncias psicotrópicas" (English: did not result in the criminalization of illicit trafficking and consumption of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances), and that before Lei 2/2017 the operative drug law was Indonesia's Law 5/1997, carried over under article 165 of the Constitution of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste. Lei 2/2017 is accordingly Timor-Leste's first domestic drug-trafficking law; no later one has been found, and no drug-trafficking chapter of the Penal Code has been located. No separate traveller or import-permit rule for diazepam, beyond the Ministério da Saúde licensing regime in article 6, which is itself deferred to an instrument not yet located, has been found.

Lei n.º 2/2017, de 25 de Janeiro, Lei de Combate ao Tráfico Ilícito de Drogas, Jornal da República, Série I, N.º 4, 25 de Janeiro de 2017, Anexo II Tabela IV item 21, articles 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 26 · https://www.mj.gov.tl/jornal/public/docs/2017/serie_1/SERIE_I_NO_4.pdf (sha256 700f7867e6cff713f06a6fcb6da245ea1186582fe66309d193080ce0b7406cd6), read 2026-10-07 · Updated October 8, 2026

Diazepam in Timor-Leste, full detail →

DMT

Legal status: DMT is named directly in Table II-A of Lei n.º 2/2017's Anexo II, item 12: "DMT - N-N-dimetiltriptamina" (N,N-dimethyltryptamine), alongside five other named tryptamines in the same table (DET, DPT, Etriptamina, Bufotenina and the psilocybin/psilocin pair). Table II-A's closing clauses also reach DMT's salts and its chemical-specific isomers. Whether a plant preparation containing DMT, such as ayahuasca, is itself reached is a separate question answered on ayahuasca's own page, turning on the fact that Table II-A, unlike Table II-B, carries no preparations clause; that question does not affect DMT's own status, which is named outright. Article 2, paragraph 1, subparagraph d, defines "droga" as any plant, substance or preparation covered by Tables I to IV; article 3 makes the tables integral to the law. This reading is as printed 25 January 2017, read on 7 October 2026.
Consequences if caught: Article 7, paragraph 1, of Lei n.º 2/2017 ("Quem, sem se encontrar autorizado, cultivar, produzir, fabricar, extrair, preparar, oferecer, puser à venda, vender, distribuir, comprar, ceder ou por qualquer título receber, proporcionar a outrem, transportar, importar, exportar, fizer transitar ou ilicitamente detiver, fora dos casos previstos no artigo 26.º, plantas, substâncias ou preparados compreendidos nas tabelas I a III é punido com pena de prisão de 5 a 15 anos", whoever, without being authorised, cultivates, produces, manufactures, extracts, prepares, offers, puts up for sale, sells, distributes, buys, transfers or by any title receives, supplies to another, transports, imports, exports, causes to transit or unlawfully holds, outside the cases in article 26, plants, substances or preparations in Tables I to III, is punished with imprisonment of 5 to 15 years) is the base band for DMT, a Table II-A substance. Article 7, paragraph 2, raises this to 6 to 16 years where an authorisation existed and was acted against. Article 9 adds two thirds to both the minimum and maximum of article 7 where a listed aggravating factor applies, and article 10 sets 10 to 25 years, 12 to 25 for a leader, for founding or directing a group formed to commit an article 7 offence. Article 11, paragraph 1, subparagraph a, sets a reduced band of 1 to 5 years where illicitude is considerably diminished. Anexo I prints no daily reference quantity for DMT, so the fivefold quantity test in article 11, paragraph 2, has no stated figure here. Article 26 answers personal consumption and possession for personal use separately, at imprisonment of up to 1 year or a fine of up to 120 days.
If prescribed / medical: Lei n.º 2/2017 does not itself create a medical prescription or supply route for DMT. Article 6, paragraph 1, subjects cultivation, production, manufacture, use, commerce, distribution, import, export, transit, transport, advertising and possession of Table I to IV substances to licensing, conditions and authorisations issued by the Ministério da Saúde, "nos termos a definir em diploma próprio" (on terms to be defined in a separate instrument), which has not been located. Decreto-Lei n.º 2/2025 governs pharmacy retail licensing generally and does not designate which Table I to IV substances a doctor may prescribe, so it is not read as a prescription route for DMT.
Documentation: DMT sits in Table II-A by its own name, item 12, so no generic-clause reasoning is needed for the classification itself. Personal possession and consumption are answered by article 26 (up to 1 year or a fine up to 120 days); cultivation, production, manufacture, extraction, preparation, offering, sale, distribution, purchase, transfer, transport, import, export and unauthorised possession for any other purpose collapse into article 7's single list, at 5 to 15 years (6 to 16 if an authorisation existed and was breached).

Lei n.º 2/2017, de 25 de Janeiro, "Lei de Combate ao Tráfico Ilícito de Drogas", Anexo II, Tabela II-A item 12 · articles 2, 3, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11 and 26 · preamble lines naming Lei n.º 5/1997 da Indonésia and Lei n.º 5/2013 · Jornal da República, Série I, N.º 4, 25 January 2017, pages 59 to 82. https://www.mj.gov.tl/jornal/public/docs/2017/serie_1/SERIE_I_NO_4.pdf (sha256 700f7867e6cff713f06a6fcb6da245ea1186582fe66309d193080ce0b7406cd6). Read on 7 October 2026. · Updated October 8, 2026

DMT in Timor-Leste, full detail →

DOM

Legal status: DOM is named directly in Table II-A of Lei n.º 2/2017's Anexo II, item 15: "DOM, STP - 2-amino-1-(2,5-dimetoxi-4-metil)fenil-propano" (DOM, STP, 2-amino-1-(2,5-dimethoxy-4-methyl)phenylpropane), printed under both of its common names, DOM and STP, as one entry. Table II-A's closing clauses also reach its salts and its chemical-specific isomers, but that extension is not needed since the compound is named outright. Article 2, paragraph 1, subparagraph d, defines "droga" as any plant, substance or preparation covered by Tables I to IV; article 3 makes the tables integral to the law. This reading is as printed 25 January 2017, read on 7 October 2026.
Consequences if caught: Article 7, paragraph 1, of Lei n.º 2/2017 ("Quem, sem se encontrar autorizado, cultivar, produzir, fabricar, extrair, preparar, oferecer, puser à venda, vender, distribuir, comprar, ceder ou por qualquer título receber, proporcionar a outrem, transportar, importar, exportar, fizer transitar ou ilicitamente detiver, fora dos casos previstos no artigo 26.º, plantas, substâncias ou preparados compreendidos nas tabelas I a III é punido com pena de prisão de 5 a 15 anos", whoever, without being authorised, cultivates, produces, manufactures, extracts, prepares, offers, puts up for sale, sells, distributes, buys, transfers or by any title receives, supplies to another, transports, imports, exports, causes to transit or unlawfully holds, outside the cases in article 26, plants, substances or preparations in Tables I to III, is punished with imprisonment of 5 to 15 years) is the base band for DOM, a Table II-A substance. Article 7, paragraph 2, raises this to 6 to 16 years where an authorisation existed and was acted against. Article 9 adds two thirds to both the minimum and maximum of article 7 where a listed aggravating factor applies, and article 10 sets 10 to 25 years, 12 to 25 for a leader, for founding or directing a group formed to commit an article 7 offence. Article 11, paragraph 1, subparagraph a, sets a reduced band of 1 to 5 years where illicitude is considerably diminished. Anexo I prints no daily reference quantity for DOM, so the fivefold quantity test in article 11, paragraph 2, has no stated figure to apply here. Article 26 answers personal consumption and possession for personal use separately, at imprisonment of up to 1 year or a fine of up to 120 days.
If prescribed / medical: Lei n.º 2/2017 does not itself create a medical prescription or supply route for DOM. Article 6, paragraph 1, subjects cultivation, production, manufacture, use, commerce, distribution, import, export, transit, transport, advertising and possession of Table I to IV substances to licensing, conditions and authorisations issued by the Ministério da Saúde, "nos termos a definir em diploma próprio" (on terms to be defined in a separate instrument), which has not been located. Decreto-Lei n.º 2/2025 governs pharmacy retail licensing generally and does not designate which Table I to IV substances a doctor may prescribe, so it is not read as a prescription route for DOM.
Documentation: DOM sits in Table II-A by its own name, printed as "DOM, STP" in a single item 15, so no generic-clause reasoning is needed. Personal possession and consumption are answered by article 26 (up to 1 year or a fine up to 120 days); cultivation, production, manufacture, extraction, preparation, offering, sale, distribution, purchase, transfer, transport, import, export and unauthorised possession for any other purpose collapse into article 7's single list, at 5 to 15 years (6 to 16 if an authorisation existed and was breached).

Lei n.º 2/2017, de 25 de Janeiro, "Lei de Combate ao Tráfico Ilícito de Drogas", Anexo II, Tabela II-A item 15 · articles 2, 3, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11 and 26 · Jornal da República, Série I, N.º 4, 25 January 2017, pages 60 to 82. https://www.mj.gov.tl/jornal/public/docs/2017/serie_1/SERIE_I_NO_4.pdf (sha256 700f7867e6cff713f06a6fcb6da245ea1186582fe66309d193080ce0b7406cd6). Read on 7 October 2026. · Updated October 8, 2026

DOM in Timor-Leste, full detail →

DXM

Legal status: Expressly excluded, which is a stronger and more citable finding than ordinary absence. Table I-A's own closing note in Anexo II to Lei n.º 2/2017, de 25 de Janeiro, reads: "O dextrometorfano (+)-3-metoxi-N-metilmorfinano e o dextrorfano (+)-3-hidroxi-N-metilmorfinano estão especificamente excluídos desta tabela." (Dextromethorphan, (+)-3-methoxy-N-methylmorphinan, and dextrorphan, (+)-3-hydroxy-N-methylmorphinan, are specifically excluded from this table.) The note exists because Table I-A's own isomer extension clause ("os isómeros das substâncias inscritas nesta tabela em todos os casos em que estes isómeros possam existir com denominação química específica") would otherwise reach dextromethorphan's (+) enantiomer through its chemical relationship to the table's controlled morphinan entries. Table I-A items 65 and 67 name the (-) stereoisomers directly, "Levometorfano - (-)-3-metoxi-N-metilmorfinano [v. nota (*)]" and "Levorfanol - (-)-3-hidroxi-N-metilmorfinano [v. nota (*)]", each carrying a cross-reference to the same closing note; the note's function is to confirm that only the levo-rotatory (-) forms are controlled table entries and that the dextro-rotatory (+) forms, dextromethorphan and dextrorphan, are carved out of the table despite being chemically close to controlled entries. Racemétorfano, item 107, "(mais ou menos)-3-metoxi-N-metilmorfinano" (the racemic, plus or minus, mixture), carries no such exclusion note and remains a named table entry in its own right.
Consequences if caught: Because dextromethorphan is expressly excluded from Table I-A rather than merely absent, and does not appear named or caught by extension in any of Tables I-B, I-C, II-A, II-B, II-C, III or IV, it is not a "droga" under article 2(d) and article 7's trafficking offence (5 to 15 years for tables I to III conduct, or 1 to 5 years under article 7(3) for table IV conduct) does not apply to it on the face of this instrument. Article 26's personal-consumption offence is likewise tied to tables I to IV and does not reach it.
If prescribed / medical: Because dextromethorphan is not a table I to IV substance, article 6's drug-licensing regime (Ministério da Saúde authorisation for table I to IV substances, on terms deferred to a separate instrument not located this session) does not apply to it by that route. No finding is made here about dextromethorphan's status under ordinary medicines or over-the-counter cough-preparation regulation, which is outside this law.
Documentation: This is an express exclusion clause, not an absence requiring the article 3(3) hedge used for other Group 3 absences; the drafters named dextromethorphan and dextrorphan specifically in order to remove them from the table, which is a stronger and dated textual act than simply never listing a substance.

Lei n.º 2/2017, de 25 de Janeiro, Anexo II, Tabela I-A closing note and items 65, 67, 107, and articles 2(d), 3(1), 7, 26 · Jornal da República, Série I, N.º 4, 25 January 2017, pp. 60-82 · https://www.mj.gov.tl/jornal/public/docs/2017/serie_1/SERIE_I_NO_4.pdf (sha256 700f7867e6cff713f06a6fcb6da245ea1186582fe66309d193080ce0b7406cd6, fetched 2026-10-07, read 2026-10-07) · Updated October 8, 2026

DXM in Timor-Leste, full detail →

Ephedrine

Legal status: Named, but as a precursor, not as a drug. Tabela V, item 3, of Anexo II to Lei n.º 2/2017, de 25 de Janeiro, reads simply: "Efedrina." Article 2(e) defines "precursor" as substances frequently used in the illicit manufacture of narcotic and psychotropic substances, comprised in tables V and VI; article 3(2) subjects tables V and VI equipment, materials and substances to the law's regime separately from the table I to IV "droga" regime in article 3(1). Ephedrine is therefore controlled under this law's precursor scheme (article 8), not its drug-trafficking scheme (article 7), and that distinction governs every conduct consequence below.
Consequences if caught: Article 8(1): producing, manufacturing, importing, exporting, transiting, transporting, marketing or distributing equipment, materials or table V or VI substances without authorisation, knowing they are or will be used in the illicit cultivation, production or manufacture of table I to IV substances ("sabendo que são ou vão ser utilizados no cultivo, na produção ou no fabrico ilícitos"), is punished with imprisonment of 2 to 10 years. Article 8(2): possessing the same, under the same knowledge requirement, is punished with 1 to 8 years. Article 8(3): an authorised person acting against that authorisation is punished with 3 to 12 years for the article 8(1) conduct and 2 to 10 years for the article 8(2) conduct. Article 9 aggravates article 8's bands by two thirds on both limits where a listed factor applies, computing on the base bands to 3 years 4 months to 16 years 8 months (article 8(1)) and 1 year 8 months to 13 years 4 months (article 8(2)). The knowledge element is the operative limit here: possessing ephedrine itself, without the stated knowledge that it is or will be used for illicit drug manufacture, is not shown by this reading to be an offence under article 8; a prohibition on the substance is not automatically a penalty for bare possession, and this law's precursor offence is built around that knowledge requirement rather than possession alone.
If prescribed / medical: Article 6(2), not article 6(1), governs table V and VI substances: production, manufacture, use, trade, distribution, import, export, transit, transport, advertising, use or possession of ephedrine is subject to licensing, conditions, authorisations and an inspection system administered by the Ministério do Comércio, Indústria e Ambiente, not the Ministério da Saúde, on terms to be defined in a separate instrument ("diploma próprio"). That instrument has not been located this session, so no medical or pharmacy supply route specific to ephedrine is stated here.
Documentation: Ephedrine is the clearest Group 3 case where the drug versus precursor distinction changes which article, and which licensing ministry, applies; it should never be cited to article 7 or to Ministério da Saúde licensing.

Lei n.º 2/2017, de 25 de Janeiro, Anexo II, Tabela V item 3, and articles 2(e), 3(2), 6(2), 8, 9 · Jornal da República, Série I, N.º 4, 25 January 2017, pp. 60-82 · https://www.mj.gov.tl/jornal/public/docs/2017/serie_1/SERIE_I_NO_4.pdf (sha256 700f7867e6cff713f06a6fcb6da245ea1186582fe66309d193080ce0b7406cd6, fetched 2026-10-07, read 2026-10-07) · Updated October 8, 2026

Ephedrine in Timor-Leste, full detail →

Fentanyl

Legal status: Fentanyl is named at Table I-A, item 55, of Lei 2/2017's Anexo II: "Fentanil - 1-fenetil-4-N-propionilanilinopiperidina" (English: fentanyl, 1-phenethyl-4-N-propionilanilinopiperidine). Eleven further fentanyl-family analogues are separately named in the same table, each its own entry rather than caught by a generic clause: item 1 "Acetil-alfa-metilfentanil" (acetyl-alpha-methylfentanyl, a methylated analogue, not plain acetylfentanyl, which is a different, unmethylated compound not itself found by name in any table), item 8 "Alfa-metilfentanil", item 9 "Alfa-metiltiofentanil", item 10 "Alfentanil", item 17 "Beta-hidroxifentanil", item 18 "Beta-hidroxi-3-metilfentanil", item 73 "3-metilfentanil", item 96 "Para-fluorofentanil", item 110 "Remifentanilo", item 111 "Sufentanil" and item 116 "Tiofentanil". Article 4, paragraph 1, states Table I corresponds to Schedules I, II and IV of the 1961 Single Convention.
Consequences if caught: Article 7, paragraphs 1 and 2, apply the tabelas I a III band to a Table I-A substance: 5 to 15 years' imprisonment for unauthorized cultivation, production, manufacture, extraction, preparation, offering, sale, distribution, purchase, transport, import, export or possession, and 6 to 16 years where the person holds an authorization but acts against it, for fentanyl and for each of the eleven named analogues alike. Article 9 aggravates both figures by two thirds at the minimum and maximum for listed factors (distribution to many people, supply to minors or the mentally ill, acting within a criminal organization, among others). Article 10's criminal-association band runs 10 to 25 years for a founder and 12 to 25 years for a leader. Article 12 gives an intermediate band where the sole purpose of the article 7 act was to obtain the substance for personal use: up to 2 years' imprisonment or a fine. None of the twelve named fentanyl-family entries appears in Annex I's 16 item daily reference quantity table, so article 11's reduced-gravity quantity test has no pinned figure for this family, though the reduced band of 1 to 5 years can still apply on illicitude's other listed factors. Article 26 punishes illicit personal consumption or possession for exclusive personal use with up to 1 year's imprisonment or a fine of up to 120 days. Article 26, paragraph 2, raises this to up to 2 years' imprisonment or a fine of up to 240 days where the quantity found exceeds five times the Annex I reference figure; none of the 16 substances in Annex I's table include this one, so no figure is pinned here specifically. Article 26, paragraph 3, allows an occasional user to be excused penalty entirely in the paragraph 1 case. No death penalty is provided anywhere in Lei 2/2017. The Constitution of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, quoted in Lei 2/2017's own preamble, states that the State "proíbe, em absoluto, a existência da pena de morte" (English: absolutely prohibits the existence of the death penalty); the preamble cites this as part of why Lei 2/2017 replaced Indonesia's Law 5/1997, whose own penalty scheme for drug trafficking included the death penalty. An analogue not among the twelve named here, if one exists with its own specific chemical designation, is not addressed by this reading: Table I-A's closing clause reaches isomers, esters, ethers and salts of substances inscribed in the table, not every fentanyl-type compound generically.
If prescribed / medical: Article 6, paragraph 1, subjects fentanyl and its eleven named analogues, as Table I to IV substances, to Ministério da Saúde licensing on terms the article defers to a separate instrument not yet located. Decreto-Lei 2/2025 regulates pharmacy licensing generally without naming which Table I to IV substances a doctor may prescribe, so it is not cited here as a prescription route. No prescription or medical-supply pathway for fentanyl, including an anaesthetic or palliative-care route, under Lei 2/2017 has been established by this reading.
Documentation: Decreto-Lei 19/2009, de 8 de Abril, is Timor-Leste's Penal Code, and Lei 2/2017's own preamble states that the Penal Code's third amendment, Lei 5/2013, de 14 de Agosto, "não se traduziu na criminalização do tráfico ilícito e o consumo de estupefacientes e substâncias psicotrópicas" (English: did not result in the criminalization of illicit trafficking and consumption of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances), and that before Lei 2/2017 the operative drug law was Indonesia's Law 5/1997, carried over under article 165 of the Constitution of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste. Lei 2/2017 is accordingly Timor-Leste's first domestic drug-trafficking law; no later one has been found, and no drug-trafficking chapter of the Penal Code has been located. No traveller or import-permit rule for fentanyl beyond the Ministério da Saúde licensing regime in article 6, itself deferred to an instrument not yet located, has been found.

Lei n.º 2/2017, de 25 de Janeiro, Lei de Combate ao Tráfico Ilícito de Drogas, Jornal da República, Série I, N.º 4, 25 de Janeiro de 2017, preamble and Anexo II Tabela I-A items 1, 8, 9, 10, 17, 18, 55, 73, 96, 110, 111, 116, articles 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 26 · https://www.mj.gov.tl/jornal/public/docs/2017/serie_1/SERIE_I_NO_4.pdf (sha256 700f7867e6cff713f06a6fcb6da245ea1186582fe66309d193080ce0b7406cd6), read 2026-10-07 · Updated October 8, 2026

Fentanyl in Timor-Leste, full detail →

GHB

Legal status: GHB is named at Table II-A, item 20, of Lei 2/2017's Anexo II: "GHB [(gama)-ácido hidroxibutírico]" (English: GHB, gamma-hydroxybutyric acid). Article 4, paragraph 2, states Table II corresponds to Schedules I, II and III of the 1971 Convention, and article 5, paragraph 2(d), places in Table II-A "qualquer substância natural ou sintética que possa provocar alucinações ou distorções sensoriais graves" (English: any natural or synthetic substance capable of causing hallucinations or severe sensory distortions), the generic drafting criterion for that sub-table; GHB is independently named, so that generic criterion does not need to be relied on here.
Consequences if caught: Article 7, paragraphs 1 and 2, apply the tabelas I a III band to a Table II substance: 5 to 15 years' imprisonment for unauthorized cultivation, production, manufacture, extraction, preparation, offering, sale, distribution, purchase, transport, import, export or possession, and 6 to 16 years where the person holds an authorization but acts against it. Article 9 aggravates both figures by two thirds at the minimum and maximum for listed factors (distribution to many people, supply to minors or the mentally ill, acting within a criminal organization, among others). Article 10's criminal-association band runs 10 to 25 years for a founder and 12 to 25 years for a leader. Article 12 gives an intermediate band where the sole purpose of the article 7 act was to obtain the substance for personal use: up to 2 years' imprisonment or a fine. GHB does not appear in Annex I's 16 item daily reference quantity table, so article 11's reduced-gravity band, 1 to 5 years where illicitude is considerably diminished for a Table I to III substance, has no pinned quantity figure for GHB specifically, though the band itself can still apply on the other listed factors in article 11, paragraph 1. Article 26 punishes illicit personal consumption or possession for exclusive personal use with up to 1 year's imprisonment or a fine of up to 120 days. Article 26, paragraph 2, raises this to up to 2 years' imprisonment or a fine of up to 240 days where the quantity found exceeds five times the Annex I reference figure; none of the 16 substances in Annex I's table include this one, so no figure is pinned here specifically. Article 26, paragraph 3, allows an occasional user to be excused penalty entirely in the paragraph 1 case. No death penalty is provided anywhere in Lei 2/2017. The Constitution of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, quoted in Lei 2/2017's own preamble, states that the State "proíbe, em absoluto, a existência da pena de morte" (English: absolutely prohibits the existence of the death penalty); the preamble cites this as part of why Lei 2/2017 replaced Indonesia's Law 5/1997, whose own penalty scheme for drug trafficking included the death penalty.
If prescribed / medical: Article 6, paragraph 1, subjects GHB, as a Table I to IV substance, to Ministério da Saúde licensing on terms the article defers to a separate instrument not yet located. Decreto-Lei 2/2025 regulates pharmacy licensing generally without naming which Table I to IV substances a doctor may prescribe, so it is not cited here as a prescription route. No prescription or medical-supply pathway for GHB, including a narcolepsy-treatment route, under Lei 2/2017 has been established by this reading.
Documentation: Decreto-Lei 19/2009, de 8 de Abril, is Timor-Leste's Penal Code, and Lei 2/2017's own preamble states that the Penal Code's third amendment, Lei 5/2013, de 14 de Agosto, "não se traduziu na criminalização do tráfico ilícito e o consumo de estupefacientes e substâncias psicotrópicas" (English: did not result in the criminalization of illicit trafficking and consumption of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances), and that before Lei 2/2017 the operative drug law was Indonesia's Law 5/1997, carried over under article 165 of the Constitution of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste. Lei 2/2017 is accordingly Timor-Leste's first domestic drug-trafficking law; no later one has been found, and no drug-trafficking chapter of the Penal Code has been located. No traveller or import-permit rule for GHB beyond the Ministério da Saúde licensing regime in article 6, itself deferred to an instrument not yet located, has been found.

Lei n.º 2/2017, de 25 de Janeiro, Lei de Combate ao Tráfico Ilícito de Drogas, Jornal da República, Série I, N.º 4, 25 de Janeiro de 2017, preamble and Anexo II Tabela II-A item 20, articles 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 26 · https://www.mj.gov.tl/jornal/public/docs/2017/serie_1/SERIE_I_NO_4.pdf (sha256 700f7867e6cff713f06a6fcb6da245ea1186582fe66309d193080ce0b7406cd6), read 2026-10-07 · Updated October 8, 2026

GHB in Timor-Leste, full detail →

Heroin

Legal status: Heroin is named at Table I-A, item 58, of Lei 2/2017's Anexo II: "Heroína - 3,6-diacetoxi-4,5-epoxi-17-metil-7-morfineno; diacetilmorfina" (English: heroin, 3,6-diacetoxy-4,5-epoxy-17-methyl-7-morphinene, also described as diacetylmorphine). Article 4, paragraph 1, states Table I corresponds to Schedules I, II and IV of the 1961 Single Convention.
Consequences if caught: Article 7, paragraphs 1 and 2, apply the tabelas I a III band to a Table I-A substance: 5 to 15 years' imprisonment for unauthorized cultivation, production, manufacture, extraction, preparation, offering, sale, distribution, purchase, transport, import, export or possession, and 6 to 16 years where the person holds an authorization but acts against it. Article 9 aggravates both figures by two thirds at the minimum and maximum for listed factors (distribution to many people, supply to minors or the mentally ill, acting within a criminal organization, among others). Article 10's criminal-association band runs 10 to 25 years for a founder and 12 to 25 years for a leader. Annex I sets a daily reference quantity of 0.25g for heroin at Table I-A, drawn from International Narcotics Control Board data and from epidemiological data on habitual use (notas 1 e 2); article 11, paragraph 2, directs that special weight be given to whether the quantity does not exceed five times that figure, i.e. 1.25g, in applying the reduced-gravity band of 1 to 5 years under paragraph 1(a). Article 12 gives an intermediate band where the sole purpose of the article 7 act was to obtain the substance for personal use: up to 2 years' imprisonment or a fine. Article 26 punishes illicit personal consumption or possession for exclusive personal use with up to 1 year's imprisonment or a fine of up to 120 days. Article 26, paragraph 2, raises this where the quantity found under paragraph 1 exceeds five times the Annex I reference figure, i.e. 1.25g: up to 2 years' imprisonment or a fine of up to 240 days. Article 26, paragraph 3, allows an occasional user to be excused penalty entirely in the paragraph 1 case. No death penalty is provided anywhere in Lei 2/2017. The Constitution of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, quoted in Lei 2/2017's own preamble, states that the State "proíbe, em absoluto, a existência da pena de morte" (English: absolutely prohibits the existence of the death penalty); the preamble cites this as part of why Lei 2/2017 replaced Indonesia's Law 5/1997, whose own penalty scheme for drug trafficking included the death penalty.
If prescribed / medical: Article 6, paragraph 1, subjects heroin, as a Table I to IV substance, to Ministério da Saúde licensing on terms the article defers to a separate instrument not yet located. Decreto-Lei 2/2025 regulates pharmacy licensing generally without naming which Table I to IV substances a doctor may prescribe, so it is not cited here as a prescription route. No prescription or medical-supply pathway for heroin under Lei 2/2017 has been established by this reading.
Documentation: Decreto-Lei 19/2009, de 8 de Abril, is Timor-Leste's Penal Code. Lei 2/2017's own preamble states that the Penal Code's third amendment, Lei 5/2013, de 14 de Agosto, "não se traduziu na criminalização do tráfico ilícito e o consumo de estupefacientes e substâncias psicotrópicas" (English: did not result in the criminalization of illicit trafficking and consumption of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances), and that before Lei 2/2017 the operative drug law was Indonesia's Law 5/1997, carried over under article 165 of the Constitution of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste. Lei 3/2017's own preamble, a separate instrument in the same gazette issue, independently describes Decreto-Lei 19/2009 as reserving its Chapter III for crimes against personal liberty, not drug offences. Lei 2/2017 is accordingly Timor-Leste's first domestic drug-trafficking law; no later one has been found, and no drug-trafficking chapter of the Penal Code has been located; the full text of Decreto-Lei 19/2009 itself has not been read here, so this finding rests on what both 2017 laws' preambles say about it, not on a direct read of that Code. No traveller or import-permit rule for heroin beyond the Ministério da Saúde licensing regime in article 6, itself deferred to an instrument not yet located, has been found.

Lei n.º 2/2017, de 25 de Janeiro, Lei de Combate ao Tráfico Ilícito de Drogas, Jornal da República, Série I, N.º 4, 25 de Janeiro de 2017, preamble and Anexo II Tabela I-A item 58, Anexo I item 1, articles 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 26 · Lei n.º 3/2017, de 25 de Janeiro, preamble (describing Decreto-Lei n.º 19/2009's Chapter III) · https://www.mj.gov.tl/jornal/public/docs/2017/serie_1/SERIE_I_NO_4.pdf (sha256 700f7867e6cff713f06a6fcb6da245ea1186582fe66309d193080ce0b7406cd6), read 2026-10-07 · Updated October 8, 2026

Heroin in Timor-Leste, full detail →

HHC

Legal status: Not named anywhere in Anexo II to Lei n.º 2/2017, de 25 de Janeiro, and not an isomer of tetrahydrocannabinol. Table II-B, item 14, names tetrahydrocannabinol by its double bond position isomers only: "os seguintes isómeros: (Delta) 6a(10a), (Delta) 6a(7), (Delta) 7, (Delta) 8, (Delta) 9, (Delta) 10, (Delta) (11)". Hexahydrocannabinol (hhc) is produced by hydrogenating tetrahydrocannabinol, adding hydrogen across the carbon-carbon double bond that gives THC its "tetrahydro" (and its Delta-numbered) structure; it has no such double bond left to be positioned, so it cannot be one of item 14's listed isomers, which is a chemically distinct finding from delta-8-thc's (see that cell), where the named entry reaches delta-8 directly as a listed double bond position. The stronger question is Table II-B's closing "derivados" clause: "Os derivados e sais das substâncias inscritas nesta tabela, sempre que a sua existência seja possível" (the derivatives and salts of the substances listed in this table, wherever their existence is possible). Hhc is produced synthetically from tetrahydrocannabinol by hydrogenation, which is a textually defensible reading of "derivado" of item 14's entry, on the same reasoning applied to cannabinol (THC's oxidation product, see that cell). "Derivado" is undefined in article 2, and no instrument or guidance confirming this reading for hhc specifically has been found this session. This absence from a named isomer entry is stated as in force on 25 January 2017, Lei n.º 2/2017's own enactment date, and does not rule out a later amendment this session did not find.
Consequences if caught: If the Table II-B derivados reading governs, hhc's conduct consequences follow article 7(1): 5 to 15 years for unauthorised cultivation, production, manufacture, extraction, preparation, offering, sale, distribution, purchase, transport, import or export, rising to 6 to 16 years under article 7(2) for an authorised person acting against that authorisation, and aggravated by two thirds on both limits under article 9 where a listed factor applies (8 years 4 months to 25 years on the base band). If hhc is read as outside the derivados clause, no table I to IV penalty band is stated here. Annex I does not price hhc. Personal possession for exclusively personal use, under the derivados reading, falls under article 26: up to 1 year imprisonment or a fine of up to 120 days.
If prescribed / medical: If hhc is read as within Table II-B, article 6(1) defers its licensing to a Ministério da Saúde instrument not located this session, and no prescription route is stated. If it is read as outside the tables, article 6's regime does not apply to it by that route.
Documentation: Hhc is not a delta isomer of standard THC; it is a hydrogenated analogue, chemically distinct from the double bond position list item 14 names; the two findings are not conflated here even though both reach a tentative control answer through the same Table II-B derivados clause.

Lei n.º 2/2017, de 25 de Janeiro, Anexo II, Tabela II-B item 14 and closing clause, and articles 2(d), 3(1), 6, 7, 9, 26 · Jornal da República, Série I, N.º 4, 25 January 2017, pp. 60-82 · https://www.mj.gov.tl/jornal/public/docs/2017/serie_1/SERIE_I_NO_4.pdf (sha256 700f7867e6cff713f06a6fcb6da245ea1186582fe66309d193080ce0b7406cd6, fetched 2026-10-07, read 2026-10-07) · Updated October 8, 2026

HHC in Timor-Leste, full detail →

Hydrocodone

Legal status: Hydrocodone is named at Table I-A, item 59, of Lei 2/2017's Anexo II: "Hidrocodona - 3-metoxi-4,5-epoxi-6-oxo-17 metilmorfina; di-hidrocodeina" (English: hydrocodone, 3-methoxy-4,5-epoxy-6-oxo-17-methylmorphine, also described as dihydrocodeinone). Article 4, paragraph 1, states Table I corresponds to Schedules I, II and IV of the 1961 Single Convention.
Consequences if caught: Article 7, paragraphs 1 and 2, apply the tabelas I a III band to a Table I-A substance: 5 to 15 years' imprisonment for unauthorized cultivation, production, manufacture, extraction, preparation, offering, sale, distribution, purchase, transport, import, export or possession, and 6 to 16 years where the person holds an authorization but acts against it. Article 9 aggravates both figures by two thirds at the minimum and maximum for listed factors. Article 10's criminal-association band runs 10 to 25 years for a founder and 12 to 25 years for a leader. Hydrocodone does not appear in Annex I's 16 item daily reference quantity table, so article 11's reduced-gravity quantity test is not pinned to a figure for hydrocodone specifically, though the reduced band of 1 to 5 years can still apply on illicitude's other listed factors. Article 12 gives an intermediate band where the sole purpose of the article 7 act was to obtain the substance for personal use: up to 2 years' imprisonment or a fine. Article 26 punishes illicit personal consumption or possession for exclusive personal use with up to 1 year's imprisonment or a fine of up to 120 days. Article 26, paragraph 2, raises this to up to 2 years' imprisonment or a fine of up to 240 days where the quantity found exceeds five times the Annex I reference figure; none of the 16 substances in Annex I's table include this one, so no figure is pinned here specifically. Article 26, paragraph 3, allows an occasional user to be excused penalty entirely in the paragraph 1 case. No death penalty is provided anywhere in Lei 2/2017. The Constitution of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, quoted in Lei 2/2017's own preamble, states that the State "proíbe, em absoluto, a existência da pena de morte" (English: absolutely prohibits the existence of the death penalty); the preamble cites this as part of why Lei 2/2017 replaced Indonesia's Law 5/1997, whose own penalty scheme for drug trafficking included the death penalty.
If prescribed / medical: Article 6, paragraph 1, subjects hydrocodone, as a Table I to IV substance, to Ministério da Saúde licensing on terms the article defers to a separate instrument not yet located. Decreto-Lei 2/2025 regulates pharmacy licensing generally without naming which Table I to IV substances a doctor may prescribe, so it is not cited here as a prescription route. No prescription or medical-supply pathway for hydrocodone under Lei 2/2017 has been established by this reading.
Documentation: Decreto-Lei 19/2009, de 8 de Abril, is Timor-Leste's Penal Code, and Lei 2/2017's own preamble states that the Penal Code's third amendment, Lei 5/2013, de 14 de Agosto, "não se traduziu na criminalização do tráfico ilícito e o consumo de estupefacientes e substâncias psicotrópicas" (English: did not result in the criminalization of illicit trafficking and consumption of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances), and that before Lei 2/2017 the operative drug law was Indonesia's Law 5/1997, carried over under article 165 of the Constitution of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste. Lei 2/2017 is accordingly Timor-Leste's first domestic drug-trafficking law; no later one has been found, and no drug-trafficking chapter of the Penal Code has been located. No separate traveller or import-permit rule for hydrocodone, beyond the Ministério da Saúde licensing regime in article 6, which is itself deferred to an instrument not yet located, has been found.

Lei n.º 2/2017, de 25 de Janeiro, Lei de Combate ao Tráfico Ilícito de Drogas, Jornal da República, Série I, N.º 4, 25 de Janeiro de 2017, Anexo II Tabela I-A item 59, articles 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 26 · https://www.mj.gov.tl/jornal/public/docs/2017/serie_1/SERIE_I_NO_4.pdf (sha256 700f7867e6cff713f06a6fcb6da245ea1186582fe66309d193080ce0b7406cd6), read 2026-10-07 · Updated October 8, 2026

Hydrocodone in Timor-Leste, full detail →

Ketamine

Legal status: Ketamine is named at Table II-C, item 7, of Lei 2/2017's Anexo II, printed in English inside an otherwise Portuguese table: "Ketamina - (±)-2-(2-chlorophenyl)-2-(methylamino)-cyclohexanone". That is quoted exactly as printed; it is not a transcription error to be corrected to Portuguese. Article 4, paragraph 2, states Table II corresponds to Schedules I, II and III of the 1971 Convention, and article 5, paragraph 2(f), places short-acting barbiturate-type and non-barbiturate hypnotic substances, ketamine among them, in the II-C sub-table.
Consequences if caught: Article 7, paragraphs 1 and 2, apply the tabelas I a III band to a Table II substance: 5 to 15 years' imprisonment for unauthorized cultivation, production, manufacture, extraction, preparation, offering, sale, distribution, purchase, transport, import, export or possession, and 6 to 16 years where the person holds an authorization but acts against it. Article 9 aggravates both figures by two thirds at the minimum and maximum for listed factors (distribution to many people, supply to minors, acting within a criminal organization, among others). Article 10's criminal-association band runs 10 to 25 years for a founder and 12 to 25 years for a leader. Annex I sets a daily reference quantity of 0.6g for ketamine at Table II-C, drawn from doses listed in official medicine formularies (nota 3-(1)); article 11, paragraph 2, directs that special weight be given to whether the quantity does not exceed five times that figure, i.e. 3g, in applying the reduced-gravity band of 1 to 5 years under paragraph 1(a). Article 12 gives an intermediate band where the sole purpose of the article 7 act was to obtain the substance for personal use: up to 2 years' imprisonment or a fine. Article 26 punishes illicit personal consumption or possession for exclusive personal use with up to 1 year's imprisonment or a fine of up to 120 days. Article 26, paragraph 2, raises this where the quantity found under paragraph 1 exceeds five times the Annex I reference figure, i.e. 3g: up to 2 years' imprisonment or a fine of up to 240 days. Article 26, paragraph 3, allows an occasional user to be excused penalty entirely in the paragraph 1 case. No death penalty is provided anywhere in Lei 2/2017. The Constitution of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, quoted in Lei 2/2017's own preamble, states that the State "proíbe, em absoluto, a existência da pena de morte" (English: absolutely prohibits the existence of the death penalty); the preamble cites this as part of why Lei 2/2017 replaced Indonesia's Law 5/1997, whose own penalty scheme for drug trafficking included the death penalty.
If prescribed / medical: Article 6, paragraph 1, subjects ketamine, as a Table I to IV substance, to Ministério da Saúde licensing on terms the article defers to a separate instrument not yet located. Decreto-Lei 2/2025 regulates pharmacy licensing generally without naming which Table I to IV substances a doctor may prescribe, so it is not cited here as a prescription route. No prescription or medical-supply pathway for ketamine, including a veterinary or anaesthetic-use route, under Lei 2/2017 has been established by this reading.
Documentation: Decreto-Lei 19/2009, de 8 de Abril, is Timor-Leste's Penal Code, and Lei 2/2017's own preamble states that the Penal Code's third amendment, Lei 5/2013, de 14 de Agosto, "não se traduziu na criminalização do tráfico ilícito e o consumo de estupefacientes e substâncias psicotrópicas" (English: did not result in the criminalization of illicit trafficking and consumption of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances), and that before Lei 2/2017 the operative drug law was Indonesia's Law 5/1997, carried over under article 165 of the Constitution of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste. Lei 2/2017 is accordingly Timor-Leste's first domestic drug-trafficking law; no later one has been found, and no drug-trafficking chapter of the Penal Code has been located. No separate traveller or import-permit rule for ketamine, beyond the Ministério da Saúde licensing regime in article 6, which is itself deferred to an instrument not yet located, has been found.

Lei n.º 2/2017, de 25 de Janeiro, Lei de Combate ao Tráfico Ilícito de Drogas, Jornal da República, Série I, N.º 4, 25 de Janeiro de 2017, Anexo II Tabela II-C item 7, Anexo I item 16, articles 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 26 · https://www.mj.gov.tl/jornal/public/docs/2017/serie_1/SERIE_I_NO_4.pdf (sha256 700f7867e6cff713f06a6fcb6da245ea1186582fe66309d193080ce0b7406cd6), read 2026-10-07 · Updated October 8, 2026

Ketamine in Timor-Leste, full detail →

Khat

Legal status: Khat, the plant Catha edulis, is not named by that name anywhere in Lei n.º 2/2017's tables, and a direct search for "khat", "catha edulis" and "qat" returned no match. Its two active alkaloids are named: cathinone at Table II-A item 8 ("Catinona") and cathine at Table II-B item 2 ("Catina"). The reasoning here reaches a different conclusion from ayahuasca's, and the difference is structural, turning on which table cathine sits in, rather than a single answer applied to every plant entry regardless of its own text. Article 2, paragraph 1, subparagraph g, defines "Preparado" (preparation) as "uma solução ou uma mistura, sólida ou líquida, que inclua um ou vários estupefacientes ou substâncias, bem como um ou vários estupefacientes ou substâncias em forma dosificada" (a solution or a mixture, solid or liquid, that includes one or several narcotics or substances, as well as one or several narcotics or substances in dosed form). That definition does not require a deliberate human act of compounding; it only requires that the material be a mixture, solid or liquid, that includes the substance. A chewed khat leaf is, as a matter of plant chemistry, a solid mixture of cellulose, water and numerous alkaloids including cathine, so it falls within article 2(g)'s own wording for "preparado". Table II-B's closing clause extends control to "todos os preparados em que estas substâncias estejam associadas a outros compostos, qualquer que seja a ação destes" (all preparations in which these substances are combined with other compounds, whatever their action), and cathine sits in Table II-B. Reading the two provisions together, khat leaf is a preparation in which cathine is associated with other compounds within the meaning of the Act's own defined terms, so it is reached through Table II-B, via cathine, even without a dedicated leaf entry. That is a different and more affirmative route than the constituent-only reasoning used for ayahuasca, because Table II-A, where cathinone and DMT both sit, carries no equivalent preparations clause; cathine's presence in Table II-B rather than II-A is what makes the difference. Against this, Table I-C shows the drafters do sometimes choose to name raw plant material directly, listing cannabis leaf as its own item distinct from resin and oil, which could suggest a leaf needs its own entry to be caught; but that naming choice does not displace Table II-B's own, textually separate preparations clause, which does not require a dedicated plant entry to operate. This reading is as printed 25 January 2017, read on 7 October 2026; it has not been tested against any Timor-Leste court or regulatory ruling, and it is a closer, more contestable call than the ayahuasca brew question.
Consequences if caught: On the reasoning above, khat leaf is reached through Table II-B's preparations clause via its cathine content, so the Tables I-III band under article 7 applies to it in the same way it applies to cathine itself. Article 7, paragraph 1 ("Quem, sem se encontrar autorizado, cultivar, produzir, fabricar, extrair, preparar, oferecer, puser à venda, vender, distribuir, comprar, ceder ou por qualquer título receber, proporcionar a outrem, transportar, importar, exportar, fizer transitar ou ilicitamente detiver, fora dos casos previstos no artigo 26.º, plantas, substâncias ou preparados compreendidos nas tabelas I a III é punido com pena de prisão de 5 a 15 anos", whoever, without being authorised, cultivates, produces, manufactures, extracts, prepares, offers, puts up for sale, sells, distributes, buys, transfers or by any title receives, supplies to another, transports, imports, exports, causes to transit or unlawfully holds, outside the cases in article 26, plants, substances or preparations in Tables I to III, is punished with imprisonment of 5 to 15 years) sets that band, rising to 6 to 16 years under article 7, paragraph 2, where an authorisation existed and was acted against, with article 9's two-thirds aggravation and article 10's 10 to 25 year organised-group band available on top. Article 11, paragraph 1, subparagraph a, sets a reduced band of 1 to 5 years where illicitude is considerably diminished; Anexo I prints no daily reference quantity for cathine or khat, so the fivefold test has no stated figure here. Article 26 answers personal consumption and possession for personal use separately, at imprisonment of up to 1 year or a fine of up to 120 days. If a court instead read "preparado" to require a deliberate compounding act that a naturally growing leaf does not undergo, none of this band would apply to the raw leaf and only a proved cathine or cathinone extract would carry it.
If prescribed / medical: Lei n.º 2/2017 does not itself create a medical prescription or supply route for khat, cathine or cathinone. Article 6, paragraph 1, subjects Table I to IV substances to licensing, conditions and authorisations issued by the Ministério da Saúde, "nos termos a definir em diploma próprio" (on terms to be defined in a separate instrument), which has not been located. Decreto-Lei n.º 2/2025 governs pharmacy retail licensing generally and does not designate which substances a doctor may prescribe, so it is not read as a prescription route here.
Documentation: Khat and ayahuasca reach different answers in this instrument for a textual reason, not a difference in how plants are treated generally: cathine sits in Table II-B, which carries both a derivatives/salts clause and a preparations clause reaching any mixture combining the substance with other compounds, while DMT sits in Table II-A, which carries neither a preparations clause nor a derivatives clause, only salts and chemical-specific isomers. Article 2, paragraph g's broad definition of "preparado", which does not require deliberate human compounding, is what lets a naturally occurring plant matrix count as a preparation under Table II-B's own wording. This is still a reasoned, contestable reading rather than a certainty, since a court could instead hold that "preparado" implies some processing step a growing or dried leaf never undergoes. Search log: grepped the Anexo II table text for "khat", "catha edulis" and "qat"; none appear.

Lei n.º 2/2017, de 25 de Janeiro, "Lei de Combate ao Tráfico Ilícito de Drogas", article 2, paragraph 1, subparagraph g · Anexo II, Tabela II-A item 8, Tabela II-B item 2 and closing clause, Tabela I-C item 1 · articles 3, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11 and 26 · Jornal da República, Série I, N.º 4, 25 January 2017, pages 60 to 82. https://www.mj.gov.tl/jornal/public/docs/2017/serie_1/SERIE_I_NO_4.pdf (sha256 700f7867e6cff713f06a6fcb6da245ea1186582fe66309d193080ce0b7406cd6). Read on 7 October 2026. · Updated October 8, 2026

Khat in Timor-Leste, full detail →

Lorazepam

Legal status: Lorazepam is named at Table IV, item 36, of Lei 2/2017's Anexo II: "Lorazepam - 7-cloro-5 (2-clorofenil)-1,3-di-hidro-3-hidroxi-2H-1,4-benzodiazepina-2-ona" (English: lorazepam, 7-chloro-5-(2-chlorophenyl)-1,3-dihydro-3-hydroxy-2H-1,4-benzodiazepin-2-one). Article 4, paragraph 4, states Table IV corresponds to Schedule IV of the 1971 Convention.
Consequences if caught: Article 7, paragraph 3, sets the Table IV band: 1 to 5 years' imprisonment for unauthorized cultivation, production, manufacture, extraction, preparation, offering, sale, distribution, purchase, transport, import, export or possession, and 2 to 8 years where the person holds an authorization but acts against it. Article 9 aggravates both figures by two thirds at the minimum and maximum for listed factors. Article 10's criminal-association band runs 10 to 25 years for a founder and 12 to 25 years for a leader. Lorazepam does not appear in Annex I's 16 item daily reference quantity table; article 11, paragraph 1(b), still reduces a Table IV offence to up to 3 years' imprisonment or a fine where illicitude is considerably diminished on the other listed factors. Article 12 gives an intermediate band where the sole purpose of the article 7 act was to obtain the substance for personal use: up to 1 year's imprisonment or a fine. Article 26 punishes illicit personal consumption or possession for exclusive personal use of a Table I to IV substance with up to 1 year's imprisonment or a fine of up to 120 days. Article 26, paragraph 2, raises this to up to 2 years' imprisonment or a fine of up to 240 days where the quantity found exceeds five times the Annex I reference figure; none of the 16 substances in Annex I's table include this one, so no figure is pinned here specifically. Article 26, paragraph 3, allows an occasional user to be excused penalty entirely in the paragraph 1 case. No death penalty is provided anywhere in Lei 2/2017. The Constitution of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, quoted in Lei 2/2017's own preamble, states that the State "proíbe, em absoluto, a existência da pena de morte" (English: absolutely prohibits the existence of the death penalty); the preamble cites this as part of why Lei 2/2017 replaced Indonesia's Law 5/1997, whose own penalty scheme for drug trafficking included the death penalty.
If prescribed / medical: Article 6, paragraph 1, subjects lorazepam, as a Table I to IV substance, to Ministério da Saúde licensing on terms the article defers to a separate instrument not yet located. Decreto-Lei 2/2025 regulates pharmacy licensing generally without naming which Table I to IV substances a doctor may prescribe, so it is not cited here as a prescription route. No prescription or medical-supply pathway for lorazepam under Lei 2/2017 has been established by this reading.
Documentation: Decreto-Lei 19/2009, de 8 de Abril, is Timor-Leste's Penal Code, and Lei 2/2017's own preamble states that the Penal Code's third amendment, Lei 5/2013, de 14 de Agosto, "não se traduziu na criminalização do tráfico ilícito e o consumo de estupefacientes e substâncias psicotrópicas" (English: did not result in the criminalization of illicit trafficking and consumption of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances), and that before Lei 2/2017 the operative drug law was Indonesia's Law 5/1997, carried over under article 165 of the Constitution of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste. Lei 2/2017 is accordingly Timor-Leste's first domestic drug-trafficking law; no later one has been found, and no drug-trafficking chapter of the Penal Code has been located. No separate traveller or import-permit rule for lorazepam, beyond the Ministério da Saúde licensing regime in article 6, which is itself deferred to an instrument not yet located, has been found.

Lei n.º 2/2017, de 25 de Janeiro, Lei de Combate ao Tráfico Ilícito de Drogas, Jornal da República, Série I, N.º 4, 25 de Janeiro de 2017, Anexo II Tabela IV item 36, articles 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 26 · https://www.mj.gov.tl/jornal/public/docs/2017/serie_1/SERIE_I_NO_4.pdf (sha256 700f7867e6cff713f06a6fcb6da245ea1186582fe66309d193080ce0b7406cd6), read 2026-10-07 · Updated October 8, 2026

Lorazepam in Timor-Leste, full detail →

LSD

Legal status: LSD is named directly in Table II-A of Lei n.º 2/2017's Anexo II, item 21: "Lisergida, LSD, LSD-25-(mais ou menos)-N-N-dietilisergamida; dietilamida do ácido dextro-lisérgico" (lysergide, LSD, LSD-25, plus-or-minus N,N-diethylisergamide; dextro-lysergic acid diethylamide), printed under three of its common names in one entry. Lysergic acid itself, the precursor used in LSD's synthesis, is named separately in Table V item 1 ("Ácido lisérgico") as a precursor, not as a drug under article 2(e); that is a different molecule used for a different regulatory purpose and does not affect LSD's own, separate control at Table II-A item 21. Anexo I prices LSD at a daily reference quantity of 0,0002g, the smallest figure in the whole annex. Article 2, paragraph 1, subparagraph d, defines "droga" as any plant, substance or preparation covered by Tables I to IV; article 3 makes the tables integral to the law. This reading is as printed 25 January 2017, read on 7 October 2026.
Consequences if caught: Article 7, paragraph 1, of Lei n.º 2/2017 ("Quem, sem se encontrar autorizado, cultivar, produzir, fabricar, extrair, preparar, oferecer, puser à venda, vender, distribuir, comprar, ceder ou por qualquer título receber, proporcionar a outrem, transportar, importar, exportar, fizer transitar ou ilicitamente detiver, fora dos casos previstos no artigo 26.º, plantas, substâncias ou preparados compreendidos nas tabelas I a III é punido com pena de prisão de 5 a 15 anos", whoever, without being authorised, cultivates, produces, manufactures, extracts, prepares, offers, puts up for sale, sells, distributes, buys, transfers or by any title receives, supplies to another, transports, imports, exports, causes to transit or unlawfully holds, outside the cases in article 26, plants, substances or preparations in Tables I to III, is punished with imprisonment of 5 to 15 years) is the base band for LSD, a Table II-A substance. Article 7, paragraph 2, raises this to 6 to 16 years where an authorisation existed and was acted against. Article 9 adds two thirds to both the minimum and maximum of article 7 where a listed aggravating factor applies, and article 10 sets 10 to 25 years, 12 to 25 for a leader, for founding or directing a group formed to commit an article 7 offence. Article 11, paragraph 1, subparagraph a, sets a reduced band of 1 to 5 years where illicitude is considerably diminished, and article 11, paragraph 2, ties that test to five times the Anexo I daily reference quantity, here five times 0,0002g, i.e. 0,001g, meaning even a very small quantity of LSD exceeds the reduced-gravity threshold given how potent it is by weight. Article 26 answers personal consumption and possession for personal use separately, at imprisonment of up to 1 year or a fine of up to 120 days.
If prescribed / medical: Lei n.º 2/2017 does not itself create a medical prescription or supply route for LSD. Article 6, paragraph 1, subjects cultivation, production, manufacture, use, commerce, distribution, import, export, transit, transport, advertising and possession of Table I to IV substances to licensing, conditions and authorisations issued by the Ministério da Saúde, "nos termos a definir em diploma próprio" (on terms to be defined in a separate instrument), which has not been located. Decreto-Lei n.º 2/2025 governs pharmacy retail licensing generally and does not designate which Table I to IV substances a doctor may prescribe, so it is not read as a prescription route for LSD.
Documentation: LSD sits in Table II-A by its own name, item 21, under three common names in one entry; lysergic acid, its precursor, sits in a different table under a different regulatory head (article 8, precursors) and does not affect LSD's own control. Personal possession and consumption are answered by article 26 (up to 1 year or a fine up to 120 days); cultivation, production, manufacture, extraction, preparation, offering, sale, distribution, purchase, transfer, transport, import, export and unauthorised possession for any other purpose collapse into article 7's single list, at 5 to 15 years (6 to 16 if an authorisation existed and was breached), with the reduced-gravity band of article 11 reached only below 0,001g given LSD's extreme potency.

Lei n.º 2/2017, de 25 de Janeiro, "Lei de Combate ao Tráfico Ilícito de Drogas", Anexo I item 11 · Anexo II, Tabela II-A item 21, Tabela V item 1 · articles 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 26 · preamble lines naming Lei n.º 5/1997 da Indonésia and Lei n.º 5/2013 · Jornal da República, Série I, N.º 4, 25 January 2017, pages 59 to 82. https://www.mj.gov.tl/jornal/public/docs/2017/serie_1/SERIE_I_NO_4.pdf (sha256 700f7867e6cff713f06a6fcb6da245ea1186582fe66309d193080ce0b7406cd6). Read on 7 October 2026. · Updated October 8, 2026

LSD in Timor-Leste, full detail →

MDA

Legal status: MDA is named directly in Table II-A of Lei n.º 2/2017's Anexo II, item 34: "Tenanfetamina-MDA - (mais ou menos)-3,4 N-metilenodioxi, (alfa)-" (tenamfetamine-MDA, plus-or-minus 3,4 N-methylenedioxy, alpha-). "Tenanfetamina" is the international nonproprietary name for MDA, so the label is unambiguous even though the printed formula itself breaks off mid-word at "(alfa)-", both in the table-formatted extraction and in the plain reading-order extraction of the same gazette page, where the entry runs directly into the next item's number with no further text; comparable entries elsewhere in the same table (for example MMDA at item 27, "5-metoxi-3,4-metilenodioxi-(alfa) metilfeniletilamina") complete the same phrase pattern with a final radical name that item 34's own text never supplies. That looks like a printing or scanning defect in the gazette itself, not something this entry corrects. Separately, and this is the anomaly to flag rather than resolve: item 22 of the same table, labelled "MDMA", reads "MDMA - 3,4-metilenadioxianfetamina" (MDMA, 3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine); that chemical description is literally MDA's own formula, omitting the N-methyl group that chemically distinguishes MDMA from MDA. So the statute carries an internal mismatch at item 22, where the label says MDMA but the printed formula reads as MDA, while item 34, quoted above, separately and unambiguously labels MDA by its own INN, with only its own formula cut short. Both entries are quoted here verbatim; neither is silently corrected. MDA is named by item 34's label regardless of how that item's formula is printed, and this reading is as printed 25 January 2017, read on 7 October 2026.
Consequences if caught: Article 7, paragraph 1, of Lei n.º 2/2017 ("Quem, sem se encontrar autorizado, cultivar, produzir, fabricar, extrair, preparar, oferecer, puser à venda, vender, distribuir, comprar, ceder ou por qualquer título receber, proporcionar a outrem, transportar, importar, exportar, fizer transitar ou ilicitamente detiver, fora dos casos previstos no artigo 26.º, plantas, substâncias ou preparados compreendidos nas tabelas I a III é punido com pena de prisão de 5 a 15 anos", whoever, without being authorised, cultivates, produces, manufactures, extracts, prepares, offers, puts up for sale, sells, distributes, buys, transfers or by any title receives, supplies to another, transports, imports, exports, causes to transit or unlawfully holds, outside the cases in article 26, plants, substances or preparations in Tables I to III, is punished with imprisonment of 5 to 15 years) is the base band for MDA, a Table II-A substance. Article 7, paragraph 2, raises this to 6 to 16 years where an authorisation existed and was acted against. Article 9 adds two thirds to both the minimum and maximum of article 7 where a listed aggravating factor applies, and article 10 sets 10 to 25 years, 12 to 25 for a leader, for founding or directing a group formed to commit an article 7 offence. Article 11, paragraph 1, subparagraph a, sets a reduced band of 1 to 5 years where illicitude is considerably diminished. Anexo I prints a daily reference quantity of 0,15g against MDMA at item 12 of that annex, but no separate figure against MDA or against item 34, so the fivefold quantity test in article 11, paragraph 2, has no stated figure for MDA itself. Article 26 answers personal consumption and possession for personal use separately, at imprisonment of up to 1 year or a fine of up to 120 days.
If prescribed / medical: Lei n.º 2/2017 does not itself create a medical prescription or supply route for MDA. Article 6, paragraph 1, subjects cultivation, production, manufacture, use, commerce, distribution, import, export, transit, transport, advertising and possession of Table I to IV substances to licensing, conditions and authorisations issued by the Ministério da Saúde, "nos termos a definir em diploma próprio" (on terms to be defined in a separate instrument), which has not been located. Decreto-Lei n.º 2/2025 governs pharmacy retail licensing generally and does not designate which Table I to IV substances a doctor may prescribe, so it is not read as a prescription route for MDA.
Documentation: MDA is named in its own right at item 34 under its INN, tenamfetamine, and that naming does not depend on resolving the separate anomaly at item 22, where the label "MDMA" sits over a formula that reads as MDA's own. Both entries are reproduced verbatim above because the site must not silently pick one reading over the other: a reader relying on item 22's formula alone could mistakenly conclude MDMA and MDA are printed as the same control, which they are not, since each carries its own distinct item number, and MDA's control under item 34 stands independently of what item 22 says. Personal possession and consumption of MDA are answered by article 26 (up to 1 year or a fine up to 120 days); cultivation, production, manufacture, extraction, preparation, offering, sale, distribution, purchase, transfer, transport, import, export and unauthorised possession for any other purpose collapse into article 7's single list, at 5 to 15 years (6 to 16 if an authorisation existed and was breached).

Lei n.º 2/2017, de 25 de Janeiro, "Lei de Combate ao Tráfico Ilícito de Drogas", Anexo II, Tabela II-A items 22, 27 and 34 · Anexo I item 12 · articles 2, 3, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11 and 26 · Jornal da República, Série I, N.º 4, 25 January 2017, pages 60 to 82. https://www.mj.gov.tl/jornal/public/docs/2017/serie_1/SERIE_I_NO_4.pdf (sha256 700f7867e6cff713f06a6fcb6da245ea1186582fe66309d193080ce0b7406cd6). Read on 7 October 2026. · Updated October 8, 2026

MDA in Timor-Leste, full detail →

MDMA

Legal status: MDMA is named directly in Table II-A of Lei n.º 2/2017's Anexo II, item 22: "MDMA - 3,4-metilenadioxianfetamina" (MDMA, 3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine). That printed chemical description is an anomaly worth flagging plainly rather than correcting: "3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine" is literally MDA's own formula, omitting the N-methyl group that chemically distinguishes MDMA from MDA, so item 22 pairs an unambiguous label, MDMA, with a formula that reads as a different, related drug. Separately, and independently, MDA itself is named at item 34: "Tenanfetamina-MDA - (mais ou menos)-3,4 N-metilenodioxi, (alfa)-" (tenamfetamine-MDA, plus-or-minus 3,4 N-methylenedioxy, alpha-), under its own INN, tenamfetamine, though that entry's own printed formula breaks off mid-word at "(alfa)-" in both the table and the plain reading-order extraction of the same gazette page, unlike the complete parallel phrasing of neighbouring entries such as MMDA at item 27. Both entries are quoted here verbatim; neither is silently corrected, and neither anomaly changes the outcome for MDMA, since item 22's own label is unambiguous: MDMA is named by that label regardless of the formula printed beside it. Anexo I prices MDMA at a daily reference quantity of 0,15g, with its own note (note 6) that the usual dose in the literature ranges 80 to 160 mg of pure substance but may appear mixed with impurities including MDA or caffeine, or in combination with heroin, which is the Act's own acknowledgement that MDMA sold on the street is frequently adulterated with the very substance item 22's formula resembles. Article 2, paragraph 1, subparagraph d, defines "droga" as any plant, substance or preparation covered by Tables I to IV; article 3 makes the tables integral to the law. This reading is as printed 25 January 2017, read on 7 October 2026.
Consequences if caught: Article 7, paragraph 1, of Lei n.º 2/2017 ("Quem, sem se encontrar autorizado, cultivar, produzir, fabricar, extrair, preparar, oferecer, puser à venda, vender, distribuir, comprar, ceder ou por qualquer título receber, proporcionar a outrem, transportar, importar, exportar, fizer transitar ou ilicitamente detiver, fora dos casos previstos no artigo 26.º, plantas, substâncias ou preparados compreendidos nas tabelas I a III é punido com pena de prisão de 5 a 15 anos", whoever, without being authorised, cultivates, produces, manufactures, extracts, prepares, offers, puts up for sale, sells, distributes, buys, transfers or by any title receives, supplies to another, transports, imports, exports, causes to transit or unlawfully holds, outside the cases in article 26, plants, substances or preparations in Tables I to III, is punished with imprisonment of 5 to 15 years) is the base band for MDMA, a Table II-A substance. Article 7, paragraph 2, raises this to 6 to 16 years where an authorisation existed and was acted against. Article 9 adds two thirds to both the minimum and maximum of article 7 where a listed aggravating factor applies, and article 10 sets 10 to 25 years, 12 to 25 for a leader, for founding or directing a group formed to commit an article 7 offence. Article 11, paragraph 1, subparagraph a, sets a reduced band of 1 to 5 years where illicitude is considerably diminished, and article 11, paragraph 2, ties that test to five times the Anexo I daily reference quantity, here five times 0,15g, i.e. 0,75g. Article 26 answers personal consumption and possession for personal use separately, at imprisonment of up to 1 year or a fine of up to 120 days.
If prescribed / medical: Lei n.º 2/2017 does not itself create a medical prescription or supply route for MDMA. Article 6, paragraph 1, subjects cultivation, production, manufacture, use, commerce, distribution, import, export, transit, transport, advertising and possession of Table I to IV substances to licensing, conditions and authorisations issued by the Ministério da Saúde, "nos termos a definir em diploma próprio" (on terms to be defined in a separate instrument), which has not been located. Decreto-Lei n.º 2/2025 governs pharmacy retail licensing generally and does not designate which Table I to IV substances a doctor may prescribe, so it is not read as a prescription route for MDMA.
Documentation: MDMA is named in its own right at item 22 under its own common label, and that naming does not depend on resolving the printed formula's own apparent mismatch with MDA's formula, a mismatch recorded here rather than corrected. A reader comparing MDMA's and MDA's pages on this site should see both printed entries, since each carries its own distinct item number and its own, separate control under article 7. Personal possession and consumption of MDMA are answered by article 26 (up to 1 year or a fine up to 120 days); cultivation, production, manufacture, extraction, preparation, offering, sale, distribution, purchase, transfer, transport, import, export and unauthorised possession for any other purpose collapse into article 7's single list, at 5 to 15 years (6 to 16 if an authorisation existed and was breached).

Lei n.º 2/2017, de 25 de Janeiro, "Lei de Combate ao Tráfico Ilícito de Drogas", Anexo I item 12 and note 6 · Anexo II, Tabela II-A items 22, 27 and 34 · articles 2, 3, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11 and 26 · preamble lines naming Lei n.º 5/1997 da Indonésia and Lei n.º 5/2013 · Jornal da República, Série I, N.º 4, 25 January 2017, pages 59 to 82. https://www.mj.gov.tl/jornal/public/docs/2017/serie_1/SERIE_I_NO_4.pdf (sha256 700f7867e6cff713f06a6fcb6da245ea1186582fe66309d193080ce0b7406cd6). Read on 7 October 2026. · Updated October 8, 2026

MDMA in Timor-Leste, full detail →

Mephedrone (4-MMC)

Legal status: Mephedrone is named directly in Table II-A of Lei n.º 2/2017's Anexo II, item 26, printed with no formula, only its two names: "4-metilmetcatinona (mefedrona)" (4-methylmethcathinone, mephedrone). Cathinone, mephedrone's parent beta-ketone amphetamine, is separately named at item 8. Mephedrone was added to the United Nations 1971 Convention's schedules by a Commission on Narcotic Drugs decision in 2015, before this Act's own 2017 enactment date, so its presence here is consistent with the schedule as originally drafted and is not, on its own, evidence of any later update to the printed list. Article 2, paragraph 1, subparagraph d, defines "droga" as any plant, substance or preparation covered by Tables I to IV; article 3 makes the tables integral to the law. This reading is as printed 25 January 2017, read on 7 October 2026.
Consequences if caught: Article 7, paragraph 1, of Lei n.º 2/2017 ("Quem, sem se encontrar autorizado, cultivar, produzir, fabricar, extrair, preparar, oferecer, puser à venda, vender, distribuir, comprar, ceder ou por qualquer título receber, proporcionar a outrem, transportar, importar, exportar, fizer transitar ou ilicitamente detiver, fora dos casos previstos no artigo 26.º, plantas, substâncias ou preparados compreendidos nas tabelas I a III é punido com pena de prisão de 5 a 15 anos", whoever, without being authorised, cultivates, produces, manufactures, extracts, prepares, offers, puts up for sale, sells, distributes, buys, transfers or by any title receives, supplies to another, transports, imports, exports, causes to transit or unlawfully holds, outside the cases in article 26, plants, substances or preparations in Tables I to III, is punished with imprisonment of 5 to 15 years) is the base band for mephedrone, a Table II-A substance. Article 7, paragraph 2, raises this to 6 to 16 years where an authorisation existed and was acted against. Article 9 adds two thirds to both the minimum and maximum of article 7 where a listed aggravating factor applies, and article 10 sets 10 to 25 years, 12 to 25 for a leader, for founding or directing a group formed to commit an article 7 offence. Article 11, paragraph 1, subparagraph a, sets a reduced band of 1 to 5 years where illicitude is considerably diminished. Anexo I prints no daily reference quantity for mephedrone, so the fivefold quantity test in article 11, paragraph 2, has no stated figure to apply here. Article 26 answers personal consumption and possession for personal use separately, at imprisonment of up to 1 year or a fine of up to 120 days.
If prescribed / medical: Lei n.º 2/2017 does not itself create a medical prescription or supply route for mephedrone. Article 6, paragraph 1, subjects cultivation, production, manufacture, use, commerce, distribution, import, export, transit, transport, advertising and possession of Table I to IV substances to licensing, conditions and authorisations issued by the Ministério da Saúde, "nos termos a definir em diploma próprio" (on terms to be defined in a separate instrument), which has not been located. Decreto-Lei n.º 2/2025 governs pharmacy retail licensing generally and does not designate which Table I to IV substances a doctor may prescribe, so it is not read as a prescription route for mephedrone.
Documentation: Mephedrone sits in Table II-A by its own name, item 26, naming it by both its systematic name and its street name in one entry, so no generic-clause reasoning is needed for the classification itself. Personal possession and consumption are answered by article 26 (up to 1 year or a fine up to 120 days); cultivation, production, manufacture, extraction, preparation, offering, sale, distribution, purchase, transfer, transport, import, export and unauthorised possession for any other purpose collapse into article 7's single list, at 5 to 15 years (6 to 16 if an authorisation existed and was breached). Separately, and a pattern this site records rather than resolves: 3-MMC, mephedrone's positional isomer, and MDPV, whose non-methylenedioxy structural parent pyrovalerone is named at Table IV item 54, are both absent from every table by their own name, despite a comparable United Nations scheduling history to mephedrone's; see the 3-mmc and mdpv pages for the isomer-clause reasoning each requires.

Lei n.º 2/2017, de 25 de Janeiro, "Lei de Combate ao Tráfico Ilícito de Drogas", Anexo II, Tabela II-A item 26 · articles 2, 3, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11 and 26 · Jornal da República, Série I, N.º 4, 25 January 2017, pages 60 to 82. https://www.mj.gov.tl/jornal/public/docs/2017/serie_1/SERIE_I_NO_4.pdf (sha256 700f7867e6cff713f06a6fcb6da245ea1186582fe66309d193080ce0b7406cd6). Read on 7 October 2026. · Updated October 8, 2026

Mephedrone (4-MMC) in Timor-Leste, full detail →

Mescaline

Legal status: Mescaline is named directly in Table II-A of Lei n.º 2/2017's Anexo II, item 23: "Mescalina - 3,4,5-trimetoxifenetilamina" (mescaline, 3,4,5-trimethoxyphenethylamine). Table II-A's closing clauses also reach its salts and its chemical-specific isomers. Peyote, the cactus mescaline naturally occurs in, is not separately named in any table, which is a question answered on peyote's own page rather than here: Table II-A carries no preparations clause, the same structural gap recorded for DMT and ayahuasca, so the cactus itself is not reached merely because mescaline, its active alkaloid, is named. Article 2, paragraph 1, subparagraph d, defines "droga" as any plant, substance or preparation covered by Tables I to IV; article 3 makes the tables integral to the law. This reading is as printed 25 January 2017, read on 7 October 2026.
Consequences if caught: Article 7, paragraph 1, of Lei n.º 2/2017 ("Quem, sem se encontrar autorizado, cultivar, produzir, fabricar, extrair, preparar, oferecer, puser à venda, vender, distribuir, comprar, ceder ou por qualquer título receber, proporcionar a outrem, transportar, importar, exportar, fizer transitar ou ilicitamente detiver, fora dos casos previstos no artigo 26.º, plantas, substâncias ou preparados compreendidos nas tabelas I a III é punido com pena de prisão de 5 a 15 anos", whoever, without being authorised, cultivates, produces, manufactures, extracts, prepares, offers, puts up for sale, sells, distributes, buys, transfers or by any title receives, supplies to another, transports, imports, exports, causes to transit or unlawfully holds, outside the cases in article 26, plants, substances or preparations in Tables I to III, is punished with imprisonment of 5 to 15 years) is the base band for mescaline, a Table II-A substance. Article 7, paragraph 2, raises this to 6 to 16 years where an authorisation existed and was acted against. Article 9 adds two thirds to both the minimum and maximum of article 7 where a listed aggravating factor applies, and article 10 sets 10 to 25 years, 12 to 25 for a leader, for founding or directing a group formed to commit an article 7 offence. Article 11, paragraph 1, subparagraph a, sets a reduced band of 1 to 5 years where illicitude is considerably diminished. Anexo I prints no daily reference quantity for mescaline, so the fivefold quantity test in article 11, paragraph 2, has no stated figure here. Article 26 answers personal consumption and possession for personal use separately, at imprisonment of up to 1 year or a fine of up to 120 days.
If prescribed / medical: Lei n.º 2/2017 does not itself create a medical prescription or supply route for mescaline. Article 6, paragraph 1, subjects cultivation, production, manufacture, use, commerce, distribution, import, export, transit, transport, advertising and possession of Table I to IV substances to licensing, conditions and authorisations issued by the Ministério da Saúde, "nos termos a definir em diploma próprio" (on terms to be defined in a separate instrument), which has not been located. Decreto-Lei n.º 2/2025 governs pharmacy retail licensing generally and does not designate which Table I to IV substances a doctor may prescribe, so it is not read as a prescription route for mescaline.
Documentation: Mescaline sits in Table II-A by its own name, item 23, so no generic-clause reasoning is needed for the classification itself. Personal possession and consumption are answered by article 26 (up to 1 year or a fine up to 120 days); cultivation, production, manufacture, extraction, preparation, offering, sale, distribution, purchase, transfer, transport, import, export and unauthorised possession for any other purpose collapse into article 7's single list, at 5 to 15 years (6 to 16 if an authorisation existed and was breached).

Lei n.º 2/2017, de 25 de Janeiro, "Lei de Combate ao Tráfico Ilícito de Drogas", Anexo II, Tabela II-A item 23 · articles 2, 3, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11 and 26 · preamble lines naming Lei n.º 5/1997 da Indonésia and Lei n.º 5/2013 · Jornal da República, Série I, N.º 4, 25 January 2017, pages 59 to 82. https://www.mj.gov.tl/jornal/public/docs/2017/serie_1/SERIE_I_NO_4.pdf (sha256 700f7867e6cff713f06a6fcb6da245ea1186582fe66309d193080ce0b7406cd6). Read on 7 October 2026. · Updated October 8, 2026

Mescaline in Timor-Leste, full detail →

Methadone

Legal status: Methadone is named at Table I-A, item 68, of Lei 2/2017's Anexo II: "Metadona - 6-dimetilamino-4,4-difenil-3-heptanona" (English: methadone, 6-dimethylamino-4,4-diphenyl-3-heptanone). A separate entry, item 69, names its synthesis intermediate, "Metadona, intermediário de - 4-ciano-2-dimetilamino-4,4-difenilbutano" (English: methadone intermediate, 4-cyano-2-dimethylamino-4,4-diphenylbutane), also at Table I-A. Article 4, paragraph 1, states Table I corresponds to Schedules I, II and IV of the 1961 Single Convention.
Consequences if caught: Article 7, paragraphs 1 and 2, apply the tabelas I a III band to a Table I-A substance: 5 to 15 years' imprisonment for unauthorized cultivation, production, manufacture, extraction, preparation, offering, sale, distribution, purchase, transport, import, export or possession, and 6 to 16 years where the person holds an authorization but acts against it. Article 9 aggravates both figures by two thirds at the minimum and maximum for listed factors. Article 10's criminal-association band runs 10 to 25 years for a founder and 12 to 25 years for a leader. Annex I sets a daily reference quantity of 0.1g for methadone at Table I-A, drawn from epidemiological data on habitual use (nota 2); article 11, paragraph 2, directs that special weight be given to whether the quantity does not exceed five times that figure, i.e. 0.5g, in applying the reduced-gravity band of 1 to 5 years under paragraph 1(a). Article 12 gives an intermediate band where the sole purpose of the article 7 act was to obtain the substance for personal use: up to 2 years' imprisonment or a fine. Article 26 punishes illicit personal consumption or possession for exclusive personal use with up to 1 year's imprisonment or a fine of up to 120 days. Article 26, paragraph 2, raises this where the quantity found under paragraph 1 exceeds five times the Annex I reference figure, i.e. 0.5g: up to 2 years' imprisonment or a fine of up to 240 days. Article 26, paragraph 3, allows an occasional user to be excused penalty entirely in the paragraph 1 case. No death penalty is provided anywhere in Lei 2/2017. The Constitution of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, quoted in Lei 2/2017's own preamble, states that the State "proíbe, em absoluto, a existência da pena de morte" (English: absolutely prohibits the existence of the death penalty); the preamble cites this as part of why Lei 2/2017 replaced Indonesia's Law 5/1997, whose own penalty scheme for drug trafficking included the death penalty.
If prescribed / medical: Article 6, paragraph 1, subjects methadone, as a Table I to IV substance, to Ministério da Saúde licensing on terms the article defers to a separate instrument not yet located. Decreto-Lei 2/2025 regulates pharmacy licensing generally without naming which Table I to IV substances a doctor may prescribe, so it is not cited here as a prescription route. No prescription or medical-supply pathway for methadone, including an opioid-substitution-therapy route, under Lei 2/2017 has been established by this reading.
Documentation: Decreto-Lei 19/2009, de 8 de Abril, is Timor-Leste's Penal Code, and Lei 2/2017's own preamble states that the Penal Code's third amendment, Lei 5/2013, de 14 de Agosto, "não se traduziu na criminalização do tráfico ilícito e o consumo de estupefacientes e substâncias psicotrópicas" (English: did not result in the criminalization of illicit trafficking and consumption of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances), and that before Lei 2/2017 the operative drug law was Indonesia's Law 5/1997, carried over under article 165 of the Constitution of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste. Lei 2/2017 is accordingly Timor-Leste's first domestic drug-trafficking law; no later one has been found, and no drug-trafficking chapter of the Penal Code has been located. No separate traveller or import-permit rule for methadone, beyond the Ministério da Saúde licensing regime in article 6, which is itself deferred to an instrument not yet located, has been found.

Lei n.º 2/2017, de 25 de Janeiro, Lei de Combate ao Tráfico Ilícito de Drogas, Jornal da República, Série I, N.º 4, 25 de Janeiro de 2017, Anexo II Tabela I-A items 68 and 69, Anexo I item 2, articles 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 26 · https://www.mj.gov.tl/jornal/public/docs/2017/serie_1/SERIE_I_NO_4.pdf (sha256 700f7867e6cff713f06a6fcb6da245ea1186582fe66309d193080ce0b7406cd6), read 2026-10-07 · Updated October 8, 2026

Methadone in Timor-Leste, full detail →

Methamphetamine

Legal status: Methamphetamine is named directly in Table II-B of Lei n.º 2/2017's Anexo II, item 10: "Metanfetamina - (+)-2-metilamino-1-fenilpropano" (methamphetamine, the dextro isomer), with its racemate separately named at item 11: "Metanfetamina, racemato - (mais ou menos)-2-metilamina-1-fenilpropano". Table II-B's closing clause also reaches derivatives, salts and any preparation in which these substances are combined with other compounds. Anexo I prices methamphetamine at a daily reference quantity of 0,2g, at Table II-B. Article 2, paragraph 1, subparagraph d, defines "droga" as any plant, substance or preparation covered by Tables I to IV; article 3 makes the tables integral to the law. This reading is as printed 25 January 2017, read on 7 October 2026.
Consequences if caught: Article 7, paragraph 1, of Lei n.º 2/2017 ("Quem, sem se encontrar autorizado, cultivar, produzir, fabricar, extrair, preparar, oferecer, puser à venda, vender, distribuir, comprar, ceder ou por qualquer título receber, proporcionar a outrem, transportar, importar, exportar, fizer transitar ou ilicitamente detiver, fora dos casos previstos no artigo 26.º, plantas, substâncias ou preparados compreendidos nas tabelas I a III é punido com pena de prisão de 5 a 15 anos", whoever, without being authorised, cultivates, produces, manufactures, extracts, prepares, offers, puts up for sale, sells, distributes, buys, transfers or by any title receives, supplies to another, transports, imports, exports, causes to transit or unlawfully holds, outside the cases in article 26, plants, substances or preparations in Tables I to III, is punished with imprisonment of 5 to 15 years) is the base band for methamphetamine, a Table II-B substance, applying equally to the dextro isomer at item 10 and to the racemate at item 11. Article 7, paragraph 2, raises this to 6 to 16 years where an authorisation existed and was acted against. Article 9 adds two thirds to both the minimum and maximum of article 7 where a listed aggravating factor applies, and article 10 sets 10 to 25 years, 12 to 25 for a leader, for founding or directing a group formed to commit an article 7 offence. Article 11, paragraph 1, subparagraph a, sets a reduced band of 1 to 5 years where illicitude is considerably diminished, and article 11, paragraph 2, ties that test to five times the Anexo I daily reference quantity, here five times 0,2g, i.e. 1,0g. Article 26 answers personal consumption and possession for personal use separately, at imprisonment of up to 1 year or a fine of up to 120 days.
If prescribed / medical: Lei n.º 2/2017 does not itself create a medical prescription or supply route for methamphetamine. Article 6, paragraph 1, subjects cultivation, production, manufacture, use, commerce, distribution, import, export, transit, transport, advertising and possession of Table I to IV substances to licensing, conditions and authorisations issued by the Ministério da Saúde, "nos termos a definir em diploma próprio" (on terms to be defined in a separate instrument), which has not been located. Decreto-Lei n.º 2/2025 governs pharmacy retail licensing generally and does not designate which Table I to IV substances a doctor may prescribe, so it is not read as a prescription route for methamphetamine.
Documentation: Methamphetamine sits in Table II-B by its own name, with the dextro isomer at item 10 and the racemate separately named at item 11, both carrying the same band since neither item's text distinguishes a different penalty. Personal possession and consumption are answered by article 26 (up to 1 year or a fine up to 120 days); cultivation, production, manufacture, extraction, preparation, offering, sale, distribution, purchase, transfer, transport, import, export and unauthorised possession for any other purpose collapse into article 7's single list, at 5 to 15 years (6 to 16 if an authorisation existed and was breached).

Lei n.º 2/2017, de 25 de Janeiro, "Lei de Combate ao Tráfico Ilícito de Drogas", Anexo I item 14 · Anexo II, Tabela II-B items 10 and 11 · articles 2, 3, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11 and 26 · preamble lines naming Lei n.º 5/1997 da Indonésia and Lei n.º 5/2013 · Jornal da República, Série I, N.º 4, 25 January 2017, pages 59 to 82. https://www.mj.gov.tl/jornal/public/docs/2017/serie_1/SERIE_I_NO_4.pdf (sha256 700f7867e6cff713f06a6fcb6da245ea1186582fe66309d193080ce0b7406cd6). Read on 7 October 2026. · Updated October 8, 2026

Methamphetamine in Timor-Leste, full detail →

Methaqualone (Quaaludes)

Legal status: Methaqualone is named at Table II-C, item 9, of Lei 2/2017's Anexo II: "Metaqualona - 2-metil-3-o-tolil-4(3H)-quinazolinona" (English: methaqualone, 2-methyl-3-o-tolyl-4(3H)-quinazolinone). Article 4, paragraph 2, states Table II corresponds to Schedules I, II and III of the 1971 Convention, and article 5, paragraph 2(f), places short-acting barbiturate-type and non-barbiturate hypnotic substances, methaqualone among them, in the II-C sub-table alongside buprenorphine and ketamine.
Consequences if caught: Article 7, paragraphs 1 and 2, apply the tabelas I a III band to a Table II substance: 5 to 15 years' imprisonment for unauthorized cultivation, production, manufacture, extraction, preparation, offering, sale, distribution, purchase, transport, import, export or possession, and 6 to 16 years where the person holds an authorization but acts against it. Article 9 aggravates both figures by two thirds at the minimum and maximum for listed factors. Article 10's criminal-association band runs 10 to 25 years for a founder and 12 to 25 years for a leader. Methaqualone does not appear in Annex I's 16 item daily reference quantity table, so article 11's reduced-gravity quantity test has no pinned figure for it specifically, though the reduced band of 1 to 5 years can still apply on illicitude's other listed factors. Article 12 gives an intermediate band where the sole purpose of the article 7 act was to obtain the substance for personal use: up to 2 years' imprisonment or a fine. Article 26 punishes illicit personal consumption or possession for exclusive personal use with up to 1 year's imprisonment or a fine of up to 120 days. Article 26, paragraph 2, raises this to up to 2 years' imprisonment or a fine of up to 240 days where the quantity found exceeds five times the Annex I reference figure; none of the 16 substances in Annex I's table include this one, so no figure is pinned here specifically. Article 26, paragraph 3, allows an occasional user to be excused penalty entirely in the paragraph 1 case. No death penalty is provided anywhere in Lei 2/2017. The Constitution of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, quoted in Lei 2/2017's own preamble, states that the State "proíbe, em absoluto, a existência da pena de morte" (English: absolutely prohibits the existence of the death penalty); the preamble cites this as part of why Lei 2/2017 replaced Indonesia's Law 5/1997, whose own penalty scheme for drug trafficking included the death penalty.
If prescribed / medical: Article 6, paragraph 1, subjects methaqualone, as a Table I to IV substance, to Ministério da Saúde licensing on terms the article defers to a separate instrument not yet located. Decreto-Lei 2/2025 regulates pharmacy licensing generally without naming which Table I to IV substances a doctor may prescribe, so it is not cited here as a prescription route. No prescription or medical-supply pathway for methaqualone under Lei 2/2017 has been established by this reading.
Documentation: Decreto-Lei 19/2009, de 8 de Abril, is Timor-Leste's Penal Code, and Lei 2/2017's own preamble states that the Penal Code's third amendment, Lei 5/2013, de 14 de Agosto, "não se traduziu na criminalização do tráfico ilícito e o consumo de estupefacientes e substâncias psicotrópicas" (English: did not result in the criminalization of illicit trafficking and consumption of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances), and that before Lei 2/2017 the operative drug law was Indonesia's Law 5/1997, carried over under article 165 of the Constitution of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste. Lei 2/2017 is accordingly Timor-Leste's first domestic drug-trafficking law; no later one has been found, and no drug-trafficking chapter of the Penal Code has been located. No separate traveller or import-permit rule for methaqualone, beyond the Ministério da Saúde licensing regime in article 6, which is itself deferred to an instrument not yet located, has been found.

Lei n.º 2/2017, de 25 de Janeiro, Lei de Combate ao Tráfico Ilícito de Drogas, Jornal da República, Série I, N.º 4, 25 de Janeiro de 2017, Anexo II Tabela II-C item 9, articles 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 26 · https://www.mj.gov.tl/jornal/public/docs/2017/serie_1/SERIE_I_NO_4.pdf (sha256 700f7867e6cff713f06a6fcb6da245ea1186582fe66309d193080ce0b7406cd6), read 2026-10-07 · Updated October 8, 2026

Methaqualone (Quaaludes) in Timor-Leste, full detail →

Methylphenidate

Legal status: Named. Tabela II-B, item 13, of Anexo II to Lei n.º 2/2017, de 25 de Janeiro, reads: "Metilfenidato - éster metílico do ácido 2 fenil-2-(2-piperidil) acético." (Methylphenidate, methyl ester of 2-phenyl-2-(2-piperidyl) acetic acid.) Article 2(d) defines "droga" as the plants, substances or preparations covered by tables I to IV, and article 3(1) subjects them to the law's regime; item 13 supplies table membership directly.
Consequences if caught: Table II-B sits within the "tabelas I a III" grouping, not table IV, so cultivating, producing, manufacturing, extracting, preparing, offering, selling, distributing, buying, transporting, importing, exporting or possessing methylphenidate without authorisation carries imprisonment of 5 to 15 years under article 7(1). An authorised person acting against that authorisation is punished with 6 to 16 years under article 7(2). Article 9 aggravates both limits of article 7 by two thirds where a listed factor applies, computing on the base band to 8 years 4 months to 25 years. Annex I does not price methylphenidate, so the article 11 reduced-gravity threshold (conduct within 5 times the Annex I daily reference quantity, weighed toward a reduced 1 to 5 year band under article 11(1)(a) where illicitude is considerably diminished) cannot be stated numerically for this substance. Personal possession or production for exclusively personal use is punished under article 26(1) with up to 1 year imprisonment or a fine of up to 120 days, rising to up to 2 years or a fine of up to 240 days under article 26(2) where the quantity held is large (the exact 5-times threshold is unstated here, as above).
If prescribed / medical: Article 6(1) subjects table I to IV substances, including methylphenidate, to licensing, conditions and authorisations issued by the Ministério da Saúde, on terms to be defined in a separate instrument ("diploma próprio"). That instrument was not located this session, so no prescription or medical supply route for methylphenidate under Lei n.º 2/2017 is stated here, despite methylphenidate's wide legitimate use elsewhere as an ADHD medicine; Decreto-Lei n.º 2/2025 governs pharmacy licensing generally and does not name a prescribing route for individual table I to IV substances.
Documentation: Methylphenidate's wide legitimate use elsewhere as an ADHD medicine does not change its status as a named Table II-B entry under Lei n.º 2/2017.

Lei n.º 2/2017, de 25 de Janeiro, Anexo II, Tabela II-B item 13, and articles 2(d), 3(1), 6, 7, 9, 11, 26 · Jornal da República, Série I, N.º 4, 25 January 2017, pp. 60-82 · https://www.mj.gov.tl/jornal/public/docs/2017/serie_1/SERIE_I_NO_4.pdf (sha256 700f7867e6cff713f06a6fcb6da245ea1186582fe66309d193080ce0b7406cd6, fetched 2026-10-07, read 2026-10-07) · Updated October 8, 2026

Methylphenidate in Timor-Leste, full detail →

Morphine

Legal status: Morphine is named at Table I-A, item 78, of Lei 2/2017's Anexo II: "Morfina - 3,6-diidroxi-4,5-epoxi-17-metil-7-morfineno" (English: morphine, 3,6-dihydroxy-4,5-epoxy-17-methyl-7-morphinene). Article 4, paragraph 1, states Table I corresponds to Schedules I, II and IV of the 1961 Single Convention. Table III of the same Anexo II also carries a concentration-limited listing naming morphine specifically, set out below; it is a different figure from the Annex I daily-use reference quantity and the two must not be conflated. Article 5, paragraph 3, describes Table III's contents as preparations that "apresentem risco de abuso" (English: present a risk of abuse), which sits uneasily with Table III's own item 1, which describes its contents as preparations that do not present great risk of use and abuse; this tension is not resolved here.
Consequences if caught: Article 7, paragraphs 1 and 2, apply the tabelas I a III band to a Table I-A substance: 5 to 15 years' imprisonment for unauthorized cultivation, production, manufacture, extraction, preparation, offering, sale, distribution, purchase, transport, import, export or possession, and 6 to 16 years where the person holds an authorization but acts against it. Article 9 aggravates both figures by two thirds at the minimum and maximum for listed factors. Article 10's criminal-association band runs 10 to 25 years for a founder and 12 to 25 years for a leader. Annex I sets a daily reference quantity of 0.2g for morphine at Table I-A; article 11, paragraph 2, directs that special weight be given to whether the quantity does not exceed five times that figure, i.e. 1g, in applying the reduced-gravity band of 1 to 5 years under paragraph 1(a). Article 12 gives an intermediate band where the sole purpose of the article 7 act was to obtain the substance for personal use: up to 2 years' imprisonment or a fine. Article 26 punishes illicit personal consumption or possession for exclusive personal use with up to 1 year's imprisonment or a fine of up to 120 days. Article 26, paragraph 2, raises this where the quantity found under paragraph 1 exceeds five times the Annex I reference figure, i.e. 1g: up to 2 years' imprisonment or a fine of up to 240 days. Article 26, paragraph 3, allows an occasional user to be excused penalty entirely in the paragraph 1 case. Separately, Table III, item 3, lists certain dilute preparations by concentration rather than mass: "Preparações de cocaína contendo no máximo 0,1% de cocaína, calculada em cocaína base, e preparações de ópio ou morfina que contenham no máximo 0,2% de morfina, calculada em morfina base anidra, quando em qualquer delas existam um ou vários ingredientes, activos ou inertes, de modo que a cocaína e o ópio ou morfina não possam ser facilmente recuperados ou não estejam em preparações que constituam perigo para a saúde" (English: preparations of cocaine containing at most 0.1 percent cocaine, calculated as cocaine base, and preparations of opium or morphine containing at most 0.2 percent morphine, calculated as anhydrous morphine base, where in either case one or more active or inert ingredients are present such that the cocaine or the opium or morphine cannot be easily recovered or are not in preparations that constitute a danger to health). That 0.2 percent concentration threshold for a diluted preparation is a separate measure from the 0.2g Annex I daily reference quantity for pure morphine; the two numbers happen to share a digit and nothing more. Table III's own opening line (item 1) describes its contents as preparations that, by their quantitative composition, do not present great risk of use and abuse, which reads as an exemption schedule, yet article 7, paragraph 1, lists tabelas I a III together as all carrying the 5 to 15 year trafficking band, with no express carve-out in article 7 itself for a Table III preparation. Whether a qualifying dilute morphine preparation is therefore outside article 7's offence entirely, or merely outside the higher Table I-A band and still caught at some lower exposure, is not resolved by the printed text.
If prescribed / medical: Article 6, paragraph 1, subjects morphine, as a Table I to IV substance, to Ministério da Saúde licensing on terms the article defers to a separate instrument not yet located. Decreto-Lei 2/2025 regulates pharmacy licensing generally without naming which Table I to IV substances a doctor may prescribe, so it is not cited here as a prescription route. Table III's dilution exemption, quoted above, bears on which morphine preparations the schedule reaches at all, but it is not itself a prescribing authorization and does not say who may dispense an exempt preparation or on what terms. No prescription or medical-supply pathway for morphine, including a palliative-care route, under Lei 2/2017 has been established by this reading.
Documentation: Decreto-Lei 19/2009, de 8 de Abril, is Timor-Leste's Penal Code, and Lei 2/2017's own preamble states that the Penal Code's third amendment, Lei 5/2013, de 14 de Agosto, "não se traduziu na criminalização do tráfico ilícito e o consumo de estupefacientes e substâncias psicotrópicas" (English: did not result in the criminalization of illicit trafficking and consumption of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances), and that before Lei 2/2017 the operative drug law was Indonesia's Law 5/1997, carried over under article 165 of the Constitution of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste. Lei 2/2017 is accordingly Timor-Leste's first domestic drug-trafficking law; no later one has been found, and no drug-trafficking chapter of the Penal Code has been located. No separate traveller or import-permit rule for morphine, beyond the Ministério da Saúde licensing regime in article 6, which is itself deferred to an instrument not yet located, has been found.

Lei n.º 2/2017, de 25 de Janeiro, Lei de Combate ao Tráfico Ilícito de Drogas, Jornal da República, Série I, N.º 4, 25 de Janeiro de 2017, Anexo II Tabela I-A item 78 and Tabela III item 3, Anexo I item 3, articles 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 26 · https://www.mj.gov.tl/jornal/public/docs/2017/serie_1/SERIE_I_NO_4.pdf (sha256 700f7867e6cff713f06a6fcb6da245ea1186582fe66309d193080ce0b7406cd6), read 2026-10-07 · Updated October 8, 2026

Morphine in Timor-Leste, full detail →

Nimetazepam

Legal status: Nimetazepam is named at Table IV, item 46, of Lei 2/2017's Anexo II: "Nimetazepam - 1,3-di-hidro-1-metil-7-nitro-5-fenil-2H-1,4-benzodiazepina-2-ona" (English: nimetazepam, 1,3-dihydro-1-methyl-7-nitro-5-phenyl-2H-1,4-benzodiazepin-2-one). Article 4, paragraph 4, states Table IV corresponds to Schedule IV of the 1971 Convention.
Consequences if caught: Article 7, paragraph 3, sets the Table IV band: 1 to 5 years' imprisonment for unauthorized cultivation, production, manufacture, extraction, preparation, offering, sale, distribution, purchase, transport, import, export or possession, and 2 to 8 years where the person holds an authorization but acts against it. Article 9 aggravates both figures by two thirds at the minimum and maximum for listed factors. Article 10's criminal-association band runs 10 to 25 years for a founder and 12 to 25 years for a leader. Nimetazepam does not appear in Annex I's 16 item daily reference quantity table; article 11, paragraph 1(b), still reduces a Table IV offence to up to 3 years' imprisonment or a fine where illicitude is considerably diminished on the other listed factors. Article 12 gives an intermediate band where the sole purpose of the article 7 act was to obtain the substance for personal use: up to 1 year's imprisonment or a fine. Article 26 punishes illicit personal consumption or possession for exclusive personal use of a Table I to IV substance with up to 1 year's imprisonment or a fine of up to 120 days. Article 26, paragraph 2, raises this to up to 2 years' imprisonment or a fine of up to 240 days where the quantity found exceeds five times the Annex I reference figure; none of the 16 substances in Annex I's table include this one, so no figure is pinned here specifically. Article 26, paragraph 3, allows an occasional user to be excused penalty entirely in the paragraph 1 case. No death penalty is provided anywhere in Lei 2/2017. The Constitution of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, quoted in Lei 2/2017's own preamble, states that the State "proíbe, em absoluto, a existência da pena de morte" (English: absolutely prohibits the existence of the death penalty); the preamble cites this as part of why Lei 2/2017 replaced Indonesia's Law 5/1997, whose own penalty scheme for drug trafficking included the death penalty.
If prescribed / medical: Article 6, paragraph 1, subjects nimetazepam, as a Table I to IV substance, to Ministério da Saúde licensing on terms the article defers to a separate instrument not yet located. Decreto-Lei 2/2025 regulates pharmacy licensing generally without naming which Table I to IV substances a doctor may prescribe, so it is not cited here as a prescription route. No prescription or medical-supply pathway for nimetazepam under Lei 2/2017 has been established by this reading.
Documentation: Decreto-Lei 19/2009, de 8 de Abril, is Timor-Leste's Penal Code, and Lei 2/2017's own preamble states that the Penal Code's third amendment, Lei 5/2013, de 14 de Agosto, "não se traduziu na criminalização do tráfico ilícito e o consumo de estupefacientes e substâncias psicotrópicas" (English: did not result in the criminalization of illicit trafficking and consumption of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances), and that before Lei 2/2017 the operative drug law was Indonesia's Law 5/1997, carried over under article 165 of the Constitution of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste. Lei 2/2017 is accordingly Timor-Leste's first domestic drug-trafficking law; no later one has been found, and no drug-trafficking chapter of the Penal Code has been located. No separate traveller or import-permit rule for nimetazepam, beyond the Ministério da Saúde licensing regime in article 6, which is itself deferred to an instrument not yet located, has been found.

Lei n.º 2/2017, de 25 de Janeiro, Lei de Combate ao Tráfico Ilícito de Drogas, Jornal da República, Série I, N.º 4, 25 de Janeiro de 2017, Anexo II Tabela IV item 46, articles 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 26 · https://www.mj.gov.tl/jornal/public/docs/2017/serie_1/SERIE_I_NO_4.pdf (sha256 700f7867e6cff713f06a6fcb6da245ea1186582fe66309d193080ce0b7406cd6), read 2026-10-07 · Updated October 8, 2026

Nimetazepam in Timor-Leste, full detail →

Opium

Legal status: Opium is named twice at Table I-A of Lei 2/2017's Anexo II. Item 91: "Ópio - o suco coagulado espontaneamente obtido da cápsula da Papaver somniferum L. e que não tenha sofrido mais do que as manipulações necessárias para o seu empacotamento e transporte, qualquer que seja o seu teor em morfina" (English: opium, the spontaneously coagulated juice obtained from the capsule of Papaver somniferum L. that has undergone no more than the handling necessary for its packaging and transport, whatever its morphine content). Item 92: "Ópio - mistura de alcaloides sob a forma de cloridratos e brometos" (English: opium, a mixture of alkaloids in the form of hydrochlorides and bromides). Article 4, paragraph 1, states Table I corresponds to Schedules I, II and IV of the 1961 Single Convention.
Consequences if caught: Article 7, paragraphs 1 and 2, apply the tabelas I a III band to a Table I-A substance: 5 to 15 years' imprisonment for unauthorized cultivation, production, manufacture, extraction, preparation, offering, sale, distribution, purchase, transport, import, export or possession, and 6 to 16 years where the person holds an authorization but acts against it. Article 9 aggravates both figures by two thirds at the minimum and maximum for listed factors. Article 10's criminal-association band runs 10 to 25 years for a founder and 12 to 25 years for a leader. Annex I sets a daily reference quantity of 1g for opium (suco) at Table I-A, drawn from doses equipotent to the reference abuse substance (nota 3-(2)); article 11, paragraph 2, directs that special weight be given to whether the quantity does not exceed five times that figure, i.e. 5g, in applying the reduced-gravity band of 1 to 5 years under paragraph 1(a). Article 12 gives an intermediate band where the sole purpose of the article 7 act was to obtain the substance for personal use: up to 2 years' imprisonment or a fine. Article 26 punishes illicit personal consumption or possession for exclusive personal use with up to 1 year's imprisonment or a fine of up to 120 days. Article 26, paragraph 2, raises this where the quantity found under paragraph 1 exceeds five times the Annex I reference figure, i.e. 5g: up to 2 years' imprisonment or a fine of up to 240 days. Article 26, paragraph 3, allows an occasional user to be excused penalty entirely in the paragraph 1 case. No death penalty is provided anywhere in Lei 2/2017. The Constitution of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, quoted in Lei 2/2017's own preamble, states that the State "proíbe, em absoluto, a existência da pena de morte" (English: absolutely prohibits the existence of the death penalty); the preamble cites this as part of why Lei 2/2017 replaced Indonesia's Law 5/1997, whose own penalty scheme for drug trafficking included the death penalty.
If prescribed / medical: Article 6, paragraph 1, subjects opium, as a Table I to IV substance, to Ministério da Saúde licensing on terms the article defers to a separate instrument not yet located. Decreto-Lei 2/2025 regulates pharmacy licensing generally without naming which Table I to IV substances a doctor may prescribe, so it is not cited here as a prescription route. No prescription or medical-supply pathway for opium under Lei 2/2017 has been established by this reading.
Documentation: Decreto-Lei 19/2009, de 8 de Abril, is Timor-Leste's Penal Code, and Lei 2/2017's own preamble states that the Penal Code's third amendment, Lei 5/2013, de 14 de Agosto, "não se traduziu na criminalização do tráfico ilícito e o consumo de estupefacientes e substâncias psicotrópicas" (English: did not result in the criminalization of illicit trafficking and consumption of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances), and that before Lei 2/2017 the operative drug law was Indonesia's Law 5/1997, carried over under article 165 of the Constitution of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste. Lei 2/2017 is accordingly Timor-Leste's first domestic drug-trafficking law; no later one has been found, and no drug-trafficking chapter of the Penal Code has been located. No separate traveller or import-permit rule for opium, beyond the Ministério da Saúde licensing regime in article 6, which is itself deferred to an instrument not yet located, has been found.

Lei n.º 2/2017, de 25 de Janeiro, Lei de Combate ao Tráfico Ilícito de Drogas, Jornal da República, Série I, N.º 4, 25 de Janeiro de 2017, Anexo II Tabela I-A items 91 and 92, Anexo I item 4, articles 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 26 · https://www.mj.gov.tl/jornal/public/docs/2017/serie_1/SERIE_I_NO_4.pdf (sha256 700f7867e6cff713f06a6fcb6da245ea1186582fe66309d193080ce0b7406cd6), read 2026-10-07 · Updated October 8, 2026

Opium in Timor-Leste, full detail →

Oxycodone

Legal status: Oxycodone is named at Table I-A, item 94, of Lei 2/2017's Anexo II: "Oxicodona - 3-metoxi-4,5-epoxi-6-oxo-14-hidroxi-17-metilmorfinano; 14-hidroxidiidrocodeinona" (English: oxycodone, 3-methoxy-4,5-epoxy-6-oxo-14-hydroxy-17-methylmorphinan, also described as 14-hydroxydihydrocodeinone). Article 4, paragraph 1, states Table I corresponds to Schedules I, II and IV of the 1961 Single Convention.
Consequences if caught: Article 7, paragraphs 1 and 2, apply the tabelas I a III band to a Table I-A substance: 5 to 15 years' imprisonment for unauthorized cultivation, production, manufacture, extraction, preparation, offering, sale, distribution, purchase, transport, import, export or possession, and 6 to 16 years where the person holds an authorization but acts against it. Article 9 aggravates both figures by two thirds at the minimum and maximum for listed factors. Article 10's criminal-association band runs 10 to 25 years for a founder and 12 to 25 years for a leader. Oxycodone does not appear in Annex I's 16 item daily reference quantity table, so article 11's reduced-gravity quantity test has no pinned figure for it specifically, though the reduced band of 1 to 5 years can still apply on illicitude's other listed factors. Article 12 gives an intermediate band where the sole purpose of the article 7 act was to obtain the substance for personal use: up to 2 years' imprisonment or a fine. Article 26 punishes illicit personal consumption or possession for exclusive personal use with up to 1 year's imprisonment or a fine of up to 120 days. Article 26, paragraph 2, raises this to up to 2 years' imprisonment or a fine of up to 240 days where the quantity found exceeds five times the Annex I reference figure; none of the 16 substances in Annex I's table include this one, so no figure is pinned here specifically. Article 26, paragraph 3, allows an occasional user to be excused penalty entirely in the paragraph 1 case. No death penalty is provided anywhere in Lei 2/2017. The Constitution of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, quoted in Lei 2/2017's own preamble, states that the State "proíbe, em absoluto, a existência da pena de morte" (English: absolutely prohibits the existence of the death penalty); the preamble cites this as part of why Lei 2/2017 replaced Indonesia's Law 5/1997, whose own penalty scheme for drug trafficking included the death penalty.
If prescribed / medical: Article 6, paragraph 1, subjects oxycodone, as a Table I to IV substance, to Ministério da Saúde licensing on terms the article defers to a separate instrument not yet located. Decreto-Lei 2/2025 regulates pharmacy licensing generally without naming which Table I to IV substances a doctor may prescribe, so it is not cited here as a prescription route. No prescription or medical-supply pathway for oxycodone under Lei 2/2017 has been established by this reading.
Documentation: Decreto-Lei 19/2009, de 8 de Abril, is Timor-Leste's Penal Code, and Lei 2/2017's own preamble states that the Penal Code's third amendment, Lei 5/2013, de 14 de Agosto, "não se traduziu na criminalização do tráfico ilícito e o consumo de estupefacientes e substâncias psicotrópicas" (English: did not result in the criminalization of illicit trafficking and consumption of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances), and that before Lei 2/2017 the operative drug law was Indonesia's Law 5/1997, carried over under article 165 of the Constitution of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste. Lei 2/2017 is accordingly Timor-Leste's first domestic drug-trafficking law; no later one has been found, and no drug-trafficking chapter of the Penal Code has been located. No separate traveller or import-permit rule for oxycodone, beyond the Ministério da Saúde licensing regime in article 6, which is itself deferred to an instrument not yet located, has been found.

Lei n.º 2/2017, de 25 de Janeiro, Lei de Combate ao Tráfico Ilícito de Drogas, Jornal da República, Série I, N.º 4, 25 de Janeiro de 2017, Anexo II Tabela I-A item 94, articles 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 26 · https://www.mj.gov.tl/jornal/public/docs/2017/serie_1/SERIE_I_NO_4.pdf (sha256 700f7867e6cff713f06a6fcb6da245ea1186582fe66309d193080ce0b7406cd6), read 2026-10-07 · Updated October 8, 2026

Oxycodone in Timor-Leste, full detail →

PCP

Legal status: PCP is named at Table II-A, item 19, of Lei 2/2017's Anexo II, quoted exactly as printed, including the final word's unusual spelling "fenilciclo-hexi" rather than the expected "fenilciclo-hexil" (phenylcyclohexyl), which is how the gazette prints it, not a transcription error introduced here: "Fenciclidina, PCP - 1-(1-fenilciclo-hexi) piperidina" (English: phencyclidine, PCP, 1-(1-phenylcyclohexyl)piperidine). Article 4, paragraph 2, states Table II corresponds to Schedules I, II and III of the 1971 Convention. PCP is independently named, so article 5, paragraph 2(d)'s generic hallucinogen clause for Table II-A does not need to be relied on here.
Consequences if caught: Article 7, paragraphs 1 and 2, apply the tabelas I a III band to a Table II substance: 5 to 15 years' imprisonment for unauthorized cultivation, production, manufacture, extraction, preparation, offering, sale, distribution, purchase, transport, import, export or possession, and 6 to 16 years where the person holds an authorization but acts against it. Article 9 aggravates both figures by two thirds at the minimum and maximum for listed factors (distribution to many people, supply to minors or the mentally ill, acting within a criminal organization, among others). Article 10's criminal-association band runs 10 to 25 years for a founder and 12 to 25 years for a leader. Article 12 gives an intermediate band where the sole purpose of the article 7 act was to obtain the substance for personal use: up to 2 years' imprisonment or a fine. Annex I sets a daily reference quantity of 0.01g for PCP at Table II-A, drawn from doses mentioned in official medicine formularies (nota 3-(1)); article 11, paragraph 2, directs that special weight be given to whether the quantity does not exceed five times that figure, i.e. 0.05g, in applying the reduced-gravity band of 1 to 5 years under paragraph 1(a). Article 26 punishes illicit personal consumption or possession for exclusive personal use with up to 1 year's imprisonment or a fine of up to 120 days. Article 26, paragraph 2, raises this where the quantity found under paragraph 1 exceeds five times the Annex I reference figure, i.e. 0.05g: up to 2 years' imprisonment or a fine of up to 240 days. Article 26, paragraph 3, allows an occasional user to be excused penalty entirely in the paragraph 1 case. No death penalty is provided anywhere in Lei 2/2017. The Constitution of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, quoted in Lei 2/2017's own preamble, states that the State "proíbe, em absoluto, a existência da pena de morte" (English: absolutely prohibits the existence of the death penalty); the preamble cites this as part of why Lei 2/2017 replaced Indonesia's Law 5/1997, whose own penalty scheme for drug trafficking included the death penalty.
If prescribed / medical: Article 6, paragraph 1, subjects PCP, as a Table I to IV substance, to Ministério da Saúde licensing on terms the article defers to a separate instrument not yet located. Decreto-Lei 2/2025 regulates pharmacy licensing generally without naming which Table I to IV substances a doctor may prescribe, so it is not cited here as a prescription route. No prescription or medical-supply pathway for PCP under Lei 2/2017 has been established by this reading.
Documentation: Decreto-Lei 19/2009, de 8 de Abril, is Timor-Leste's Penal Code, and Lei 2/2017's own preamble states that the Penal Code's third amendment, Lei 5/2013, de 14 de Agosto, "não se traduziu na criminalização do tráfico ilícito e o consumo de estupefacientes e substâncias psicotrópicas" (English: did not result in the criminalization of illicit trafficking and consumption of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances), and that before Lei 2/2017 the operative drug law was Indonesia's Law 5/1997, carried over under article 165 of the Constitution of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste. Lei 2/2017 is accordingly Timor-Leste's first domestic drug-trafficking law; no later one has been found, and no drug-trafficking chapter of the Penal Code has been located. No traveller or import-permit rule for PCP beyond the Ministério da Saúde licensing regime in article 6, itself deferred to an instrument not yet located, has been found.

Lei n.º 2/2017, de 25 de Janeiro, Lei de Combate ao Tráfico Ilícito de Drogas, Jornal da República, Série I, N.º 4, 25 de Janeiro de 2017, preamble and Anexo II Tabela II-A item 19, Anexo I item 10, articles 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 26 · https://www.mj.gov.tl/jornal/public/docs/2017/serie_1/SERIE_I_NO_4.pdf (sha256 700f7867e6cff713f06a6fcb6da245ea1186582fe66309d193080ce0b7406cd6), read 2026-10-07 · Updated October 8, 2026

PCP in Timor-Leste, full detail →

Pink Cocaine / Tusi

Legal status: Pink cocaine is a mixture with no single defining compound, not a compound in its own right, so no one table entry answers for it; this site's own prior research notes describe it as usually ketamine combined with MDMA. Each of the substances typically found in it is independently named in Anexo II to Lei n.º 2/2017, de 25 de Janeiro: ketamine at Tabela II-C item 7 ("Ketamina - (±)-2-(2-chlorophenyl)-2-(methylamino)-cyclohexanone", printed in English in the gazette), 2C-B at Tabela II-A item 3 ("2C-B (4-bromo-2,5-dimetoxifenetilamina)"), and MDMA at Tabela II-A item 22 ("MDMA - 3,4-metilenadioxianfetamina"), the last of which the law's own table entry describes with a chemical formula that literally matches MDA rather than MDMA, an anomaly recorded under Timor-Leste's own mdma finding and not corrected here, since this entry answers for pink cocaine exactly as the law prints the MDMA table entry. Because pink cocaine is a mixture rather than a single scheduled substance, the finding here answers through its constituents, and the reader's exposure is the higher of what each constituent carries, not the lowest.
Consequences if caught: Tables II-A and II-C both sit within the "tabelas I a III" grouping article 7(1) addresses, so whichever constituent is identified in a given seizure, cultivating, producing, manufacturing, extracting, preparing, offering, selling, distributing, buying, transporting, importing, exporting or possessing it without authorisation carries imprisonment of 5 to 15 years, rising to 6 to 16 years under article 7(2) for an authorised person acting against that authorisation, and aggravated by two thirds on both limits under article 9 where a listed factor applies (8 years 4 months to 25 years on the base band). Because all three typical constituents sit in the same table I to III grouping, the pink-cocaine band does not vary by which constituent is proven, unlike a mixture where one component carries a materially lower band. Annex I prices MDMA at 0.15g and ketamine at 0.6g as daily reference quantities for the article 11 reduced-gravity threshold (conduct within 5 times this figure, weighed toward a reduced 1 to 5 year band where illicitude is considerably diminished); 2C-B is not priced in Annex I. Personal possession for exclusively personal use of any constituent falls under article 26: up to 1 year imprisonment or a fine of up to 120 days, rising to up to 2 years or a fine of up to 240 days where the quantity held exceeds 5 times the relevant Annex I figure.
If prescribed / medical: Article 6(1) defers table I to IV licensing, including for ketamine, 2C-B and MDMA, to a separate Ministério da Saúde instrument ("diploma próprio") not located this session. Ketamine has legitimate anaesthetic uses elsewhere; no prescription or medical-supply route for it, or for the mixture, is stated here under this law specifically.
Documentation: Pink cocaine is not itself defined or named anywhere in Lei n.º 2/2017; the finding here rests entirely on the independent table entries for its typical constituents, consistent with Timor-Leste's own mdma and ketamine findings.

Lei n.º 2/2017, de 25 de Janeiro, Anexo II, Tabela II-A items 3 and 22, Tabela II-C item 7, and articles 6, 7, 9, 11, 26 · QA_NOTES.md (this site's own research note describing pink cocaine as a mixture, usually ketamine and MDMA) · Jornal da República, Série I, N.º 4, 25 January 2017, pp. 60-82 · https://www.mj.gov.tl/jornal/public/docs/2017/serie_1/SERIE_I_NO_4.pdf (sha256 700f7867e6cff713f06a6fcb6da245ea1186582fe66309d193080ce0b7406cd6, fetched 2026-10-07, read 2026-10-07) · Updated October 8, 2026

Pink Cocaine / Tusi in Timor-Leste, full detail →

Psilocybin

Legal status: Named. Tabela II-A of Anexo II to Lei n.º 2/2017, de 25 de Janeiro, carries two separate entries: item 31, "Psilocibina - fosfatodiidrogenado de 3-(2-dimetila-minoetil)-4-indolilo" (Psilocybin, dihydrogen phosphate ester of 3-(2-dimethylaminoethyl)-4-indolyl), and item 32, "Psilocina - 3-(-2-dimetilaminoetil)-4-(hidroxi-indol)" (Psilocin, 3-(2-dimethylaminoethyl)-4-(hydroxyindole)). Both the phosphorylated prodrug and its active dephosphorylated metabolite are named directly, a related but separate finding worth stating together rather than treating as one entry. The mushroom itself, as plant or fungal material, is not separately named in either table; Table II-A's closing clause reaches salts and isomers of its listed entries, not preparations, so a psilocybin mushroom or a preparation of one is a separate, unreached question from the two named compounds, the same structural distinction that closing clause produces for ayahuasca, khat and peyote under this law. The mushroom's absence from a separate named entry is stated as in force on 25 January 2017, Lei n.º 2/2017's own enactment date, and does not rule out a later amendment this session did not find.
Consequences if caught: Table II-A sits within the "tabelas I a III" grouping article 7(1) addresses, so cultivating, producing, manufacturing, extracting, preparing, offering, selling, distributing, buying, transporting, importing, exporting or possessing psilocybin or psilocin without authorisation is punished with imprisonment of 5 to 15 years, rising to 6 to 16 years under article 7(2) for an authorised person acting against that authorisation, and aggravated by two thirds on both limits under article 9 where a listed factor applies (8 years 4 months to 25 years on the base band). Annex I does not price psilocybin or psilocin, so the article 11 reduced-gravity 5-times threshold cannot be stated numerically for either. A psilocybin mushroom or a preparation of it, as distinct from the isolated compounds, carries no stated table I to IV penalty band here. Personal possession of isolated psilocybin or psilocin for exclusively personal use falls under article 26(1): up to 1 year imprisonment or a fine of up to 120 days.
If prescribed / medical: Article 6(1) defers psilocybin and psilocin's licensing to a Ministério da Saúde instrument not located this session, and no medical prescription or supply route is stated here under Lei n.º 2/2017.
Documentation: Lei n.º 2/2017's own enacted preamble, read in full, states that before this law, the operative drug-trafficking regime in Timor-Leste was Indonesia's Law 5/1997, carried over under article 165 of the Constitution ("a legislação vigente é a Lei n.º 5/1997 da República da Indonésia, que se mantém em vigor"), and that the Penal Code's own third amendment, Lei n.º 5/2013, "não se traduziu na criminalização do tráfico ilícito e o consumo de estupefacientes e substâncias psicotrópicas" (did not result in criminalising illicit trafficking or consumption of narcotic and psychotropic substances). The preamble states that an adequate domestic regime remained to be approved, which Lei n.º 2/2017 then supplied. Decreto-Lei n.º 19/2009 (the Penal Code) carries no drug-trafficking chapter on this reading, and Lei n.º 2/2017 is Timor-Leste's first and controlling domestic instrument for psilocybin trafficking and consumption offences.

Lei n.º 2/2017, de 25 de Janeiro, preamble and Anexo II, Tabela II-A items 31, 32 and closing clause, and articles 2(d), 3(1), 6, 7, 9, 26 · Jornal da República, Série I, N.º 4, 25 January 2017, pp. 60-82 · https://www.mj.gov.tl/jornal/public/docs/2017/serie_1/SERIE_I_NO_4.pdf (sha256 700f7867e6cff713f06a6fcb6da245ea1186582fe66309d193080ce0b7406cd6, fetched 2026-10-07, read 2026-10-07) · Updated October 8, 2026

Psilocybin in Timor-Leste, full detail →

Xanax (Alprazolam)

Legal status: Alprazolam is named at Table IV, item 2, of Lei 2/2017's Anexo II: "Alprazolam - 8-cloro-1-metil-6-fenil-4 H-s-triazol [4,3-(alfa)] [1,4] benzodiazepina" (English: alprazolam, 8-chloro-1-methyl-6-phenyl-4H-s-triazolo[4,3-a][1,4]benzodiazepine). Article 4, paragraph 4, states that Table IV corresponds to Schedule IV of the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances, and article 3 subjects plants, substances and preparations in Tables I to IV to this law's regime.
Consequences if caught: Article 7, paragraph 3, sets the band for Table IV substances: 1 to 5 years' imprisonment for unauthorized cultivation, production, manufacture, extraction, preparation, offering, sale, distribution, purchase, transport, import, export or possession (paragraph 3(a), applying paragraph 1's list of acts), and 2 to 8 years where the person holds an authorization but acts against it (paragraph 3(b), applying paragraph 2). Article 9 aggravates both figures by two thirds at the minimum and maximum where a listed factor applies, among them distribution to a large number of people, supply to minors or the mentally ill, and acting within a criminal organization. Article 10 separately punishes founding, financing or joining a criminal association formed to commit article 7 or 8 crimes: 10 to 25 years for a promoter or founder, 5 to 15 years for a member, 12 to 25 years for a leader or director, regardless of which table the association's substances fall under. Article 11, paragraph 1(b), reduces the band to up to 3 years' imprisonment or a fine where illicitude is considerably diminished for a Table IV substance; alprazolam does not appear in Annex I's 16 item daily reference quantity table, so the quantity limb of that reduced band is not pinned by a figure for this particular substance. Article 12 gives an intermediate band where the sole purpose of the article 7 act was to obtain the substance for personal use: up to 1 year's imprisonment or a fine. Article 26 punishes illicit personal consumption, or cultivation, production, manufacture, extraction, preparation, acquisition or possession for one's own exclusive use, of a Table I to IV substance with up to 1 year's imprisonment or a fine of up to 120 days. Article 26, paragraph 2, raises this to up to 2 years' imprisonment or a fine of up to 240 days where the quantity found exceeds five times the Annex I reference figure; none of the 16 substances in Annex I's table include this one, so no figure is pinned here specifically. Article 26, paragraph 3, allows an occasional user to be excused penalty entirely in the paragraph 1 case. No death penalty is provided anywhere in Lei 2/2017. The Constitution of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, quoted in Lei 2/2017's own preamble, states that the State "proíbe, em absoluto, a existência da pena de morte" (English: absolutely prohibits the existence of the death penalty); the preamble cites this as part of why Lei 2/2017 replaced Indonesia's Law 5/1997, whose own penalty scheme for drug trafficking included the death penalty. The highest figure reachable under Lei 2/2017 itself is not article 10's 25 years for an association leader: article 9's two-thirds aggravation applies to the penalties in articles 7 and 8 generally, so a Table I to III offence under article 7, paragraph 2 (6 to 16 years, authorized but acting against the authorization), aggravated under article 9, runs to roughly 10 to 26 years and 8 months, above article 10's 25 year ceiling for a leader; this combination does not arise for alprazolam itself, a Table IV substance, where the equivalent aggravated figure is roughly 3 years 4 months to 13 years 4 months.
If prescribed / medical: Article 6, paragraph 1, subjects the cultivation, production, manufacture, use, trade, distribution, import, export, transit, transport, advertising, use or possession of a Table I to IV substance, alprazolam included, to licensing, conditions and authorizations issued by the Ministério da Saúde, on terms the article itself defers to a separate instrument ("nos termos a definir em diploma próprio"). That separate instrument, which would create an actual prescribing or pharmacy-supply route, has not been located. Decreto-Lei 2/2025 regulates pharmacy licensing generally and cross-refers to Lei 2/2017's own tables for its definition of a controlled substance; it does not itself name which Table I to IV substances a doctor may prescribe, so it is not cited here as a prescription route. No prescription or medical-supply pathway for alprazolam under Lei 2/2017 has therefore been established by this reading.
Documentation: Decreto-Lei 19/2009, de 8 de Abril, is Timor-Leste's Penal Code, and Lei 2/2017's own preamble states that the Penal Code's third amendment, Lei 5/2013, de 14 de Agosto, "não se traduziu na criminalização do tráfico ilícito e o consumo de estupefacientes e substâncias psicotrópicas" (English: did not result in the criminalization of illicit trafficking and consumption of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances), and that before Lei 2/2017 the operative drug law was Indonesia's Law 5/1997, carried over under article 165 of the Constitution of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste. Lei 2/2017 is accordingly Timor-Leste's first domestic drug-trafficking law; no later one has been found, and no drug-trafficking chapter of the Penal Code has been located. No separate traveller or import-permit rule for alprazolam, beyond the Ministério da Saúde licensing regime in article 6, which is itself deferred to an instrument not yet located, has been found.

Lei n.º 2/2017, de 25 de Janeiro, Lei de Combate ao Tráfico Ilícito de Drogas, Jornal da República, Série I, N.º 4, 25 de Janeiro de 2017, Anexo II Tabela IV item 2, articles 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 26 · https://www.mj.gov.tl/jornal/public/docs/2017/serie_1/SERIE_I_NO_4.pdf (sha256 700f7867e6cff713f06a6fcb6da245ea1186582fe66309d193080ce0b7406cd6), read 2026-10-07 · Updated October 8, 2026

Xanax (Alprazolam) in Timor-Leste, full detail →

Zolpidem

Legal status: Zolpidem is named at Table IV, item 64, of Lei 2/2017's Anexo II, printed in lower case in the statute itself, as part of a numbered list otherwise in sentence case: "zolpidem {N, N, 6-trimetil-2-(ró)-tolilimidazol [1,2-(alfa)] piridina-3-acetamida}" (English: zolpidem, N,N,6-trimethyl-2-(p-tolyl)imidazo[1,2-a]pyridine-3-acetamide). That lower-case printing is quoted exactly as it appears and is not corrected here. Article 4, paragraph 4, states Table IV corresponds to Schedule IV of the 1971 Convention.
Consequences if caught: Article 7, paragraph 3, sets the Table IV band: 1 to 5 years' imprisonment for unauthorized cultivation, production, manufacture, extraction, preparation, offering, sale, distribution, purchase, transport, import, export or possession, and 2 to 8 years where the person holds an authorization but acts against it. Article 9 aggravates both figures by two thirds at the minimum and maximum for listed factors. Article 10's criminal-association band runs 10 to 25 years for a founder and 12 to 25 years for a leader. Zolpidem does not appear in Annex I's 16 item daily reference quantity table; article 11, paragraph 1(b), still reduces a Table IV offence to up to 3 years' imprisonment or a fine where illicitude is considerably diminished on the other listed factors. Article 12 gives an intermediate band where the sole purpose of the article 7 act was to obtain the substance for personal use: up to 1 year's imprisonment or a fine. Article 26 punishes illicit personal consumption or possession for exclusive personal use of a Table I to IV substance with up to 1 year's imprisonment or a fine of up to 120 days. Article 26, paragraph 2, raises this to up to 2 years' imprisonment or a fine of up to 240 days where the quantity found exceeds five times the Annex I reference figure; none of the 16 substances in Annex I's table include this one, so no figure is pinned here specifically. Article 26, paragraph 3, allows an occasional user to be excused penalty entirely in the paragraph 1 case. No death penalty is provided anywhere in Lei 2/2017. The Constitution of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, quoted in Lei 2/2017's own preamble, states that the State "proíbe, em absoluto, a existência da pena de morte" (English: absolutely prohibits the existence of the death penalty); the preamble cites this as part of why Lei 2/2017 replaced Indonesia's Law 5/1997, whose own penalty scheme for drug trafficking included the death penalty.
If prescribed / medical: Article 6, paragraph 1, subjects zolpidem, as a Table I to IV substance, to Ministério da Saúde licensing on terms the article defers to a separate instrument not yet located. Decreto-Lei 2/2025 regulates pharmacy licensing generally without naming which Table I to IV substances a doctor may prescribe, so it is not cited here as a prescription route. No prescription or medical-supply pathway for zolpidem under Lei 2/2017 has been established by this reading.
Documentation: Decreto-Lei 19/2009, de 8 de Abril, is Timor-Leste's Penal Code, and Lei 2/2017's own preamble states that the Penal Code's third amendment, Lei 5/2013, de 14 de Agosto, "não se traduziu na criminalização do tráfico ilícito e o consumo de estupefacientes e substâncias psicotrópicas" (English: did not result in the criminalization of illicit trafficking and consumption of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances), and that before Lei 2/2017 the operative drug law was Indonesia's Law 5/1997, carried over under article 165 of the Constitution of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste. Lei 2/2017 is accordingly Timor-Leste's first domestic drug-trafficking law; no later one has been found, and no drug-trafficking chapter of the Penal Code has been located. No separate traveller or import-permit rule for zolpidem, beyond the Ministério da Saúde licensing regime in article 6, which is itself deferred to an instrument not yet located, has been found.

Lei n.º 2/2017, de 25 de Janeiro, Lei de Combate ao Tráfico Ilícito de Drogas, Jornal da República, Série I, N.º 4, 25 de Janeiro de 2017, Anexo II Tabela IV item 64, articles 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 26 · https://www.mj.gov.tl/jornal/public/docs/2017/serie_1/SERIE_I_NO_4.pdf (sha256 700f7867e6cff713f06a6fcb6da245ea1186582fe66309d193080ce0b7406cd6), read 2026-10-07 · Updated October 8, 2026

Zolpidem in Timor-Leste, full detail →

Not individually verified

41 substances are not individually verified for Timor-Leste

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 Timor-Leste’s drug authority or your embassy.

Substance	What we found
1P-LSD	Not confirmed. Lei n.º 2/2017 carries no closing statement that would let an absence read as a settled negative, so...
2-FDCK	Not confirmed. 2-FDCK (2-fluorodeschloroketamine) is not named in Table II-C or in any other table of Lei 2/2017's...
25I-NBOMe	Not confirmed. Lei n.º 2/2017 carries no closing statement that would let an absence read as a settled negative, so...
2C-E	Not confirmed. 2C-E is not named by that name anywhere in Lei n.º 2/2017's tables. Four other members of the...
3-MMC	Not confirmed. 3-MMC is not named by that name anywhere in Lei n.º 2/2017's tables. Its 4-substituted positional...
4-AcO-DMT	Not confirmed. Lei n.º 2/2017 carries no closing statement that would let an absence read as a settled negative, so...
4-HO-MET	Not confirmed. Lei n.º 2/2017 carries no closing statement that would let an absence read as a settled negative, so...
5-MeO-DMT (Bufo / Toad)	Not confirmed. Lei n.º 2/2017 carries no closing statement that would let an absence read as a settled negative, so...
6-APB	Not confirmed. Lei n.º 2/2017 carries no closing statement that would let an absence read as a settled negative, so...
7-Hydroxymitragynine (7-OH)	Not confirmed. A direct search of Anexo II to Lei n.º 2/2017, de 25 de Janeiro, for "mitragina", "mitraginina" and...
Alcohol	Not confirmed. Article 2(d) defines "droga" as the plants, substances or preparations covered by Tables I to IV of...
Amanita muscaria	Not confirmed. Amanita muscaria is a single species, not a class, and neither it nor its active compounds are named....
Amyl Nitrite	Not confirmed. A direct search of Anexo II to Lei n.º 2/2017, de 25 de Janeiro, for "nitrito" returned no match...
Ayahuasca	Not confirmed. Lei n.º 2/2017 carries no closing statement that would let an absence read as a settled negative, so...
Caffeine	Not confirmed. The only place the word "cafeína" appears anywhere in Lei n.º 2/2017 is a footnote to Anexo I's MDMA...
CBD	Not confirmed. Not named by that term anywhere in Anexo II to Lei n.º 2/2017, de 25 de Janeiro; a direct search for...
Etizolam	Not confirmed. Etizolam is not named in Table IV or in any other table of Lei 2/2017's Anexo II, as at 25 January...
Gabapentin	Not confirmed. Gabapentin is not named in any of Tables I to VI of Lei 2/2017's Anexo II, as at 25 January 2017, the...
GBL	Not confirmed. GBL (gama-butirolactona, gamma-butyrolactone) is not named in any of Tables I to VI of Lei 2/2017's...
Kratom	Not confirmed. Kratom is a single plant, not a class, and its active alkaloid is the first question. Mitragynine...
LSA (Morning Glory)	Not confirmed. Lei n.º 2/2017 carries no closing statement that would let an absence read as a settled negative, so...
MDPV	Not confirmed. Lei n.º 2/2017 carries no closing statement that would let an absence read as a settled negative, so...
Memantine	Not confirmed. A direct search of Anexo II to Lei n.º 2/2017, de 25 de Janeiro, for "memantina" returned no match...
Methylone	Not confirmed. Lei n.º 2/2017 carries no closing statement that would let an absence read as a settled negative, so...
Mitragynine	Not confirmed, confirmed only as a table-absence by a direct search rather than inferred from the kratom entry....
Modafinil	Not confirmed. A direct search of Anexo II to Lei n.º 2/2017, de 25 de Janeiro, for "modafinil" returned no match...
MXE	Not confirmed. MXE (methoxetamine) is not named in Table II-C or in any other table of Lei 2/2017's Anexo II, as at...
Nicotine	Not confirmed. On the schedule as printed, nicotine does not appear in Tables I to IV under article 2(d), nor in...
Nitrous Oxide	Not confirmed. A direct search of Anexo II to Lei n.º 2/2017, de 25 de Janeiro, for "óxido nitroso", "protóxido de...
Peyote	Not confirmed. Lei n.º 2/2017 carries no closing statement that would let an absence read as a settled negative, so...
Phenibut	Not confirmed. A direct search of Anexo II to Lei n.º 2/2017, de 25 de Janeiro, for "fenibut" returned no match...
Poppers	Not confirmed, as a class. Poppers is a street name for a family of alkyl nitrite esters, most commonly amyl, butyl...
Pregabalin	Not confirmed. Pregabalin is not named in any of Tables I to VI of Lei 2/2017's Anexo II, as at 25 January 2017, the...
Quetiapine	Not confirmed. Quetiapine is not named in any of Tables I to VI of Lei 2/2017's Anexo II, as at 25 January 2017, the...
Salvia divinorum	Not confirmed. Salvia divinorum is a single plant, not a class, and its active compound is not named. A direct...
Scopolamine (Devil's Breath)	Not confirmed. Scopolamine had not been independently verified against Timor-Leste's own tables before this session...
Synthetic Cannabinoids (K2 / Spice)	Not confirmed. This is a class slug, not one compound, and one member's listing cannot answer for the class. The...
THC-P	Not confirmed. Not named anywhere in Anexo II to Lei n.º 2/2017, de 25 de Janeiro, and not an isomer of...
Tobacco	Not confirmed. On the schedule as printed, tobacco does not appear in Tables I to IV under article 2(d), nor in...
Tramadol	Not confirmed. Tramadol is not named in any of Tables I to VI of Lei 2/2017's Anexo II, as at 25 January 2017, the...
Xylazine	Not confirmed. Xylazine is not named in any of Tables I to VI of Lei 2/2017's Anexo II, as at 25 January 2017, the...

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