Legal status in Tonga

Per-substance legal status for Tonga, 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.

44 confirmed substances44 not individually verifiedLast updated October 8, 2026

Confirmed legal status

4-AcO-DMT

Legal status: NAMED, by the Schedule 1 chapeau's extension to esters of a listed drug. Schedule 1's opening words apply the schedule to the listed drugs "designated by their international non-proprietary names or the names used in international conventions in force their isomers, esters and ethers, their salts, including the salts of any such isomer, ester or ether, and any preparations including any such substances". Schedule 1, Class A, from Schedule I of the Convention on Psychotropic Substances 1971 (page 21), names "Psilocine, psilotsin". 4-AcO-DMT (4-acetoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine, also called O-acetylpsilocin or psilacetin) is the acetate ester of psilocine's 4-hydroxyl group, so it falls within Schedule 1 directly as an ester of a named drug rather than only as an analogue. The analogue drugs clause inserted by the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020, Act 15 of 2020, section 2(a), has its own proviso excluding "a substance that is itself specified in Schedule 1", confirming that 4-AcO-DMT is reached through the chapeau rather than needing that clause. Under the displacement principle, the named entry governs and carries the full Class A bands. Two further amending Acts dated 2024 could not be retrieved this session (see documentation); if either changed the chapeau or the psilocine entry, that is not verified here.
Consequences if caught: 4-AcO-DMT is reached as an ester of psilocine, a Class A drug, so sections 3 and 4 apply directly rather than through the analogue clause. Under section 3, as substituted by Act 15 of 2020 section 3, unlawful import or export of a Class A drug is liable, for less than 1 gram, to a fine not exceeding 10,000 pa'anga or imprisonment not exceeding 3 years or both; for 1 gram or more, to a fine not exceeding 1,000,000 pa'anga or imprisonment for any period not exceeding life or both; and for 28 grams or more, to life imprisonment. Under section 4, as amended by Act 15 of 2020 section 4 and Act 19 of 2021 section 3, the same bands apply to possession, manufacture, cultivation, use or supply, except the top band is 5 kilograms or more; section 4(2) deems 0.25 grams or more to be supplying.
If prescribed / medical: No entry for 4-AcO-DMT or psilocine was located in the Therapeutic Goods Act 2001, No. 3 of 2001, or the Therapeutic Goods Regulations 2011, 2020 Revised Edition; neither instrument prints a name specific schedule for this substance.
Documentation: Searched against Illicit Drugs Control Act 2003 Schedule 1, pages 21 to 23, for "4-AcO-DMT" and "4-acetoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine"; Psilocine (psilotsin) is named at page 21 among the entries from Schedule I of the Convention on Psychotropic Substances 1971, and the Schedule 1 chapeau extends coverage to esters of the listed drugs. Also searched against the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020 section 2, the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021, the Drugs and Poisons Act 1930 Schedule A and Part III, the Therapeutic Goods Act 2001, and the Therapeutic Goods Regulations 2011; none names 4-AcO-DMT. Two further amending Acts, the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) (No.1) Act 2024 and the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) (No.2) Act 2024, are listed in the Attorney General's legislation index but their PDFs returned HTTP 404 from the official portal checked independently in this session on 2026-10-07. Section 6 of the Act exempts a travelling medical patient for up to one month with written doctor authority; section 7 exempts a lawful occupation and the Ministry of Health.

ago.gov.to · ago.gov.to · ago.gov.to · ago.gov.to · ago.gov.to · ago.gov.to · Updated October 8, 2026

4-AcO-DMT in Tonga, full detail →

Adderall

Legal status: NAMED, through its constituents. Schedule 1, Class A, from Schedule II of the Convention on Psychotropic Substances 1971 (page 22), names "Amphetamine", "Dexamphetamine" and "Levamphetamine" directly. Adderall is a mixed amphetamine salts formulation of dextroamphetamine and levoamphetamine (amphetamine). Schedule 1's chapeau extends the schedule to the listed drugs' salts and to "any preparations including any such substances", so Adderall as a preparation containing those named substances falls within Schedule 1 through them; the Act does not name proprietary products.
Consequences if caught: Adderall is reached through its named constituents, dexamphetamine, levamphetamine and amphetamine, each a Class A drug. Under section 3, as substituted by Act 15 of 2020 section 3, unlawful import or export of a Class A drug is liable, for less than 1 gram, to a fine not exceeding 10,000 pa'anga or imprisonment not exceeding 3 years or both; for 1 gram or more, to a fine not exceeding 1,000,000 pa'anga or imprisonment for any period not exceeding life or both; and for 28 grams or more, to life imprisonment. Under section 4, as amended by Act 15 of 2020 section 4 and Act 19 of 2021 section 3, the same bands apply to possession, manufacture, cultivation, use or supply, except the top band is 5 kilograms or more; section 4(2) deems 0.25 grams or more to be supplying.
If prescribed / medical: No entry for Adderall, mixed amphetamine salts, or dextroamphetamine was located in the Therapeutic Goods Act 2001, No. 3 of 2001, or the Therapeutic Goods Regulations 2011, 2020 Revised Edition; neither instrument prints a name specific schedule admitting it as a prescribable medicine distinct from the Illicit Drugs Control Act's own Class A listing of amphetamine, dexamphetamine and levamphetamine. The only route available to a person lawfully prescribed Adderall elsewhere is the section 6 international traveller's exemption, up to one month, with written authority from the treating doctor, or the section 7 occupational and Ministry of Health exemptions.
Documentation: Searched against Illicit Drugs Control Act 2003 Schedule 1, pages 21 to 23, for "Adderall" and "mixed amphetamine salts; dextroamphetamine"; Amphetamine, Dexamphetamine and Levamphetamine are named at page 22 among the entries from Schedule II of the Convention on Psychotropic Substances 1971. Also searched against the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020, the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021, the Drugs and Poisons Act 1930 Schedule A and Part III, the Therapeutic Goods Act 2001, and the Therapeutic Goods Regulations 2011; none names Adderall as a product. Two further amending Acts, the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) (No.1) Act 2024 and the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) (No.2) Act 2024, are listed in the Attorney General's legislation index but their PDFs returned HTTP 404 from the official portal checked independently in this session on 2026-10-07; if either created a dedicated medicines exemption for amphetamine salts, that is not verified here. Section 6 of the Act exempts a travelling medical patient for up to one month with written doctor authority; section 7 exempts a lawful occupation and the Ministry of Health.

ago.gov.to · ago.gov.to · ago.gov.to · ago.gov.to · ago.gov.to · ago.gov.to · Updated October 8, 2026

Adderall in Tonga, full detail →

Amphetamine

Legal status: NAMED. Schedule 1, Class A, from Schedule II of the Convention on Psychotropic Substances 1971 (page 22), names "Amphetamine" directly, alongside "Dexamphetamine" and "Levamphetamine" in the same sub-list. This sub-list sits under the single "CLASS A" heading printed at the top of Schedule 1 (page 21); the Act's own Endnotes confirm the only separately classed heading, "CLASS B", is an insertion by Act 18 of 2012 covering only the cannabis sub-list that follows, so amphetamine is correctly Class A.
Consequences if caught: Under section 3 of the Illicit Drugs Control Act, as substituted by the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020, Act 15 of 2020, section 3, unlawful import or export of a Class A drug such as amphetamine is liable, for a quantity of less than 1 gram, to a fine not exceeding 10,000 pa'anga or imprisonment not exceeding 3 years or both; for 1 gram or more, to a fine not exceeding 1,000,000 pa'anga or imprisonment for any period not exceeding life or both; and for 28 grams or more, to life imprisonment. Under section 4, as amended by Act 15 of 2020 section 4 and the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021, Act 19 of 2021, section 3, unlawful possession, manufacture, cultivation, use or supply carries the same three bands, except the top band is 5 kilograms or more. Section 4(2), inserted by Act 15 of 2020, deems a person possessing 0.25 grams or more of amphetamine to be supplying it.
If prescribed / medical: No entry for amphetamine was located in the Therapeutic Goods Act 2001, No. 3 of 2001, or the Therapeutic Goods Regulations 2011, 2020 Revised Edition; neither instrument prints a name specific schedule admitting it as a prescribable medicine distinct from the Illicit Drugs Control Act's own Class A listing. The only route for a lawfully prescribed patient is the section 6 international traveller's exemption, up to one month, with written authority from the treating doctor, or the section 7 occupational and Ministry of Health exemptions.
Documentation: Searched against Illicit Drugs Control Act 2003 Schedule 1, pages 21 to 23, for "amphetamine" and "alpha-methylphenethylamine"; located at page 22 among the entries from Schedule II of the Convention on Psychotropic Substances 1971. Also checked against the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020, the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021, the Drugs and Poisons Act 1930 Schedule A and Part III, the Therapeutic Goods Act 2001, and the Therapeutic Goods Regulations 2011; none of the secondary instruments names amphetamine separately. Two further amending Acts, the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) (No.1) Act 2024 and the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) (No.2) Act 2024, are listed in the Attorney General's legislation index but their PDFs returned HTTP 404 from the official portal checked independently in this session on 2026-10-07; if either altered the Schedule 1 wording for this entry, that is not verified here. Section 6 of the Act exempts a travelling medical patient for up to one month with written doctor authority; section 7 exempts a lawful occupation and the Ministry of Health.

ago.gov.to · ago.gov.to · ago.gov.to · ago.gov.to · ago.gov.to · ago.gov.to · Updated October 8, 2026

Amphetamine in Tonga, full detail →

Ayahuasca

Legal status: Caught by group, in part, through its DMT content; not reached for its other constituent. Ayahuasca is a decoction of Banisteriopsis caapi (containing harmala alkaloids, principally harmine, harmaline and tetrahydroharmine) typically combined with a DMT-bearing plant such as Psychotria viridis. Schedule 1, Class A, from Schedule I of the Convention on Psychotropic Substances 1971 (page 21), names "DMT" directly, and the chapeau extends the schedule to "any preparations including any such substances", so an ayahuasca brew containing DMT falls within Schedule 1 through its DMT content. Neither Banisteriopsis caapi nor harmine, harmaline or tetrahydroharmine is named anywhere in Schedule 1, and no separate plant level listing, of the kind Schedule 1 gives cannabis, opium and coca, covers the vine itself; for the harmala alkaloid component alone, the instruments read establish no fitting entry. Two further amending Acts dated 2024 could not be retrieved this session (see documentation); if either added a harmala alkaloid or Banisteriopsis caapi entry, that is not verified here.
Consequences if caught: A DMT-containing ayahuasca preparation is reached through the DMT entry. Under section 3, as substituted by Act 15 of 2020 section 3, unlawful import or export of a Class A drug is liable, for less than 1 gram, to a fine not exceeding 10,000 pa'anga or imprisonment not exceeding 3 years or both; for 1 gram or more, to a fine not exceeding 1,000,000 pa'anga or imprisonment for any period not exceeding life or both; and for 28 grams or more, to life imprisonment. Under section 4, as amended by Act 15 of 2020 section 4 and Act 19 of 2021 section 3, the same bands apply to possession, manufacture, cultivation, use or supply, except the top band is 5 kilograms or more; section 4(2) deems 0.25 grams or more to be supplying. The harmala alkaloid component of the brew, and the Banisteriopsis caapi plant on its own, are not independently reached by any instrument read this session.
If prescribed / medical: No entry for ayahuasca, Banisteriopsis caapi, or DMT as a medicine was located in the Therapeutic Goods Act 2001, No. 3 of 2001, or the Therapeutic Goods Regulations 2011, 2020 Revised Edition; neither instrument prints a name specific schedule for this substance.
Documentation: Searched against Illicit Drugs Control Act 2003 Schedule 1, pages 21 to 23, for "ayahuasca" and "Banisteriopsis caapi; DMT"; DMT is named directly at page 21, among the entries from Schedule I of the Convention on Psychotropic Substances 1971, but Banisteriopsis caapi and its harmala alkaloids are not named anywhere in the Schedule. Also searched against the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020, the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021, the Drugs and Poisons Act 1930 Schedule A and Part III, the Therapeutic Goods Act 2001, and the Therapeutic Goods Regulations 2011; none names ayahuasca or Banisteriopsis caapi. Two further amending Acts, the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) (No.1) Act 2024 and the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) (No.2) Act 2024, are listed in the Attorney General's legislation index but their PDFs returned HTTP 404 from the official portal checked independently in this session on 2026-10-07. Section 6 of the Act exempts a travelling medical patient for up to one month with written doctor authority; section 7 exempts a lawful occupation and the Ministry of Health.

ago.gov.to · ago.gov.to · ago.gov.to · ago.gov.to · ago.gov.to · ago.gov.to · Updated October 8, 2026

Ayahuasca in Tonga, full detail →

Barbiturates

Legal status: Named, for twelve specific barbiturate derivatives, not for the class generically. Schedule 1 (section 2) of the Illicit Drugs Control Act, Act 7 of 2003, Cap. 4.06, 2020 Revised Edition, lists no heading called «barbiturates»; instead it names individual barbiturate compounds under three different convention schedule subgroups, all within Class A. Under «(FROM SCHEDULE II OF THE CONVENTION ON PSYCHOTROPIC SUBSTANCES, 1971)»: Secobarbital. Under «(FROM SCHEDULE III OF THE CONVENTION ON PSYCHOTROPIC SUBSTANCES, 1971)»: Amobarbital, Butalbital, Cyclobarbital, Pentobarbital. Under «(FROM SCHEDULE IV OF THE CONVENTION ON PSYCHOTROPIC SUBSTANCES, 1971)»: Allobarbital, Barbital, Butobarbital, Phenobarbital, Secbutabarbital, Vinylbital, and «Methylpheno-barbital», a line-wrapped rendering of Methylphenobarbital in the source PDF. That is twelve named barbiturate derivatives in total: one under the Schedule II subgroup, four under the Schedule III subgroup and seven under the Schedule IV subgroup. A barbiturate not on this twelve-name list, such as thiopental, is not established as named and would need its own search. The schedule's own preamble states that the drugs listed, designated by their international non-proprietary names or the names used in international conventions in force, their isomers, esters and ethers, their salts, including the salts of any such isomer, ester or ether, and any preparations including any such substances, «are illicit drugs unless exempted by law». Two later amendment Acts, the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) (No.1) Act 2024 and the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) (No.2) Act 2024, could not be retrieved this session, both the direct PDF link and the containing legislation index returned HTTP 404, so whether either changed any of these twelve entries is not verified, not ruled out.
Consequences if caught: Class A penalty, tiered by quantity, for each of the twelve named derivatives above. Section 3, as substituted in part by the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020, Act 15 of 2020, s.3, provides for unlawful import or export of a Class A drug: «(c) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of less than 1 gram, to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or both; (d) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 1 gram or more, to a fine not exceeding $1,000,000 or to imprisonment for any period not exceeding life or both; or (e) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 28 grams or more, to life imprisonment». Section 4, as substituted in part by Act 15 of 2020, s.4(a), provides for unlawful possession, manufacture, cultivation, use and supply, now numbered as sub-section (1): «(iii) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of less than 1 gram, to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or both; or (iv) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 1 gram or more, to a fine not exceeding $1,000,000 or to imprisonment for any period not exceeding life or both». The Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021, Act 19 of 2021, s.3(c), added a third tier: «(v) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 5 kilograms or more, to life imprisonment». Section 4(2), inserted by Act 15 of 2020, s.4(b), further provides that a person in possession of a Class A drug in the quantity of 0.25 grams or more «shall be deemed to be supplying» it. This supersedes the flat band read in the 2020 Revised Edition consolidation, a single fine and imprisonment figure that applied to any quantity of a Class A drug without a tier; that provision predates both amending Acts, and the quantity threshold, once Class B only, now also applies to a Class A drug at these different thresholds. The bands above are the current state read this session; the two 2024 amendment Acts named in documentation could not be retrieved (HTTP 404), so whether either changes these bands further is not verified. These tiers apply equally to each of the twelve named derivatives above; the Act does not set a different band for any one of them.
If prescribed / medical: Section 6, the international traveller's exemption, permits a person undergoing treatment of a medical condition who is entering, leaving or transiting Tonga to possess quantities of an illicit drug lawfully prescribed or supplied for that treatment, for a period of not more than one month, provided the person holds written authority from the treating doctor. Section 7 excuses a person whose lawful occupation or profession requires possession, supply or use of an illicit drug, for the specific purpose of that occupation, and separately exempts the Ministry of Health. Phenobarbital in particular remains a prescribed anticonvulsant in many countries, so this is the route that would cover its legitimate clinical use in Tonga. A search of the Drugs and Poisons Act, Act 11 of 1930 et seq. Cap. 79, 1988 Revised Edition (Schedule A and Part III), the Therapeutic Goods Act 2001, No. 3 of 2001, and the Therapeutic Goods Regulations 2011, 2020 Revised Edition, for a barbiturates specific entry recorded none in any of the three, conducted earlier in this country's research; that search was not repeated here.
Documentation: Instrument read: Illicit Drugs Control Act, Act 7 of 2003, Cap. 4.06, 2020 Revised Edition, Schedule 1, pages 21 to 23 of the official Attorney General of Tonga PDF, 26 pages, read 2026-10-07, sha256 20f27664a1f9fe17aac59a72dec336857a3a89c0d782b8a4ad46cd0b53488b23. Barbiturates is a class name covering more than one compound, so one citation cannot answer for the class; the full range of twelve named members, found by reading the three convention subgroups in full, is stated above. The Schedule IV subgroup lists seven barbiturates: Allobarbital, Barbital, Butobarbital, Phenobarbital, Secbutabarbital, Vinylbital and Methylphenobarbital. Its table follows directly after the «CLASS A» heading at the top of Schedule 1 and precedes the first appearance of a «CLASS B» heading; the Act's own endnote records that the «CLASS B» heading was inserted by Act 18 of 2012 and covers only cannabis entries, so this table and the barbiturate names in it are Class A. The Attorney General's legislation index, current 2 October 2026, separately lists the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020 (Act 15 of 2020) and the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021 (Act 19 of 2021); both amending Acts were read in full this session: the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020, Act 15 of 2020, official Attorney General of Tonga PDF, 17 pages, read 2026-10-07, sha256 55d9944a5d6d2189b6edf6dc6302b2b18c96061989449ef5ffda741a3ad5e0da; and the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021, Act 19 of 2021, official Attorney General of Tonga PDF, 6 pages, read 2026-10-07, sha256 b8f37cc6a698940395e6172e27f3622d1bc24f5dca10ad73805701af3615bad6. Neither names barbiturate specifically, but Act 15 of 2020, s.3 and s.4, and Act 19 of 2021, s.3(c), substitute the general Class A penalty bands in sections 3 and 4 that this entry falls under, quoted in consequences_street above. The two 2024 amendment Acts named above returned HTTP 404 from both the direct PDF link and the containing index, so any change they made to these entries is not verified.

ago.gov.to · ago.gov.to · ago.gov.to · https://ago.gov.to/cms/images/LEGISLATION/AMENDING/2025/2025-0026/IllicitDrugsControlAmendmentNo1Act2024.pdf (returned HTTP 404, not retrieved) · https://ago.gov.to/cms/images/LEGISLATION/AMENDING/2025/2025-0027/IllicitDrugsControlAmendmentNo2Act2024.pdf (returned HTTP 404, not retrieved) · ago.gov.to · ago.gov.to · ago.gov.to · Updated October 8, 2026

Barbiturates in Tonga, full detail →

Benzodiazepines

Legal status: Named, as a class. Schedule 1 (section 2) of the Illicit Drugs Control Act, Act 7 of 2003, Cap. 4.06, 2020 Revised Edition, names benzodiazepine-class substances individually rather than as a labelled group; every named member sits under Class A, before the Schedule's own «CLASS B12» heading. In the subgroup headed «(FROM SCHEDULE III OF THE CONVENTION ON PSYCHOTROPIC SUBSTANCES, 1971)», Flunitrazepam is named. In the subgroup headed «(FROM SCHEDULE IV OF THE CONVENTION ON PSYCHOTROPIC SUBSTANCES, 1971)», the following are named, read exactly as printed: Alprazolam, Bromazepam, Brotizolam, Camazepam, Chlordiazepoxide, Clobazam, Clonazepam, Clorazepate, Clotiazepam, Clozazolam (as printed in the schedule), Delorazepam, Diazepam, Estazolam, Ethyl loflazepate, Fludiazepam, Flurazepam, Halazepam, Haloxazolam, Ketazolam, Loprazolam, Lorazepam, Lormetazepam, Medazepam, Midazolam, Nimetazepam, Nitrazepam, Nordazepam, Oxazepam, Oxazolam, Pinazepam, Prazepam, Temazepam, Tetrazepam and Triazolam. The same subgroup also lists Allobarbital, Aminorex, Amphepramone, Barbital, Benzphetamine, Butobarbital, Ethchlorvynol, Ethinamate, Etilamphetamine, Fencamfamin, Fenproporex, Lefetamine, Mazindol, Mefenorex, Meprobamate, Mesocarb, Methylpheno-barbital (a line-wrap artefact in the official PDF for Methylphenobarbital), Methylprylon, Pemoline, Phendimetrazine, Phenobarbital, Phentermine, Pipradrol, Pyrovalerone, Secbutabarbital and Vinylbital, none of which is a benzodiazepine and none of which is treated as one here. This is a class finding built by reading every name in the relevant subgroups rather than answering from one member. Two later amendment Acts, the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) (No.1) Act 2024 and the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) (No.2) Act 2024, could not be retrieved this session, both the direct PDF link and the containing legislation index returned HTTP 404, so whether either amended this Schedule 1 entry, for any named member, is not verified, not ruled out.
Consequences if caught: Class A penalty, amended, applying uniformly to every named member above. Section 3's Class A paragraph (c) was deleted and replaced by the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020, Act 15 of 2020, its own section 3, with «(c) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of less than 1 gram, to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or both; (d) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 1 gram or more, to a fine not exceeding $1,000,000 or to imprisonment for any period not exceeding life or both; or (e) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 28 grams or more, to life imprisonment», the last tier the maximum available with no fine alternative at that quantity, though the court retains ordinary sentencing discretion. Section 4's Class A paragraph (iii) was replaced the same way, «(iii) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of less than 1 gram, to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or both; or (iv) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 1 gram or more, to a fine not exceeding $1,000,000 or to imprisonment for any period not exceeding life or both», and the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021, Act 19 of 2021, its own section 3(c), inserted a further «(v) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 5 kilograms or more, to life imprisonment». Section 4 has no 28 gram tier; that threshold is section 3's import and export figure only. Act 15 of 2020's new section 4(2) deems possession of «a Class A drug in the quantity of 0.25 grams or more» to be supplying, so any of the named benzodiazepines above, held in a quantity well under a gram, already carries the supply characterisation rather than simple possession.
If prescribed / medical: Several of the named members, including diazepam, lorazepam, clonazepam, alprazolam, midazolam, nitrazepam and temazepam, are in ordinary clinical use elsewhere as anxiolytics, sedatives, hypnotics and anticonvulsants. Section 6 (international traveller's exemption) permits a person entering, leaving or transiting Tonga to carry quantities lawfully prescribed for treating a medical condition for up to one month with written authority from the treating doctor, and section 7 excuses lawful occupational possession, supply or use and exempts Ministry of Health activity. These are the only express lawful routes stated in the Illicit Drugs Control Act itself; a search of the Drugs and Poisons Act, Act 11 of 1930 et seq. Cap. 79, 1988 Revised Edition (Schedule A and Part III), the Therapeutic Goods Act 2001, No. 3 of 2001, and the Therapeutic Goods Regulations 2011, 2020 Revised Edition, for a benzodiazepine specific dispensing regime recorded none distinct from these two sections in any of the three, conducted earlier in this country's research; that search was not repeated here.
Documentation: Instrument read: Illicit Drugs Control Act, Act 7 of 2003, Cap. 4.06, 2020 Revised Edition, Schedule 1, pages 21 to 23 of the official Attorney General of Tonga PDF, 26 pages, read 2026-10-07, sha256 20f27664a1f9fe17aac59a72dec336857a3a89c0d782b8a4ad46cd0b53488b23; every name in the Schedule III and Schedule IV Psychotropic Substances 1971 subgroups read individually and sorted by hand into benzodiazepine and non-benzodiazepine members, rather than searched for the word «benzodiazepine», which does not appear anywhere in the schedule. Amendment Acts read in full this session, both fetched fresh and hash verified: Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020, Act 15 of 2020, its own sections 3 and 4, 17 pages, sha256 55d9944a5d6d2189b6edf6dc6302b2b18c96061989449ef5ffda741a3ad5e0da; Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021, Act 19 of 2021, its own section 3(c), 6 pages, sha256 b8f37cc6a698940395e6172e27f3622d1bc24f5dca10ad73805701af3615bad6. The two 2024 amendment Acts returned HTTP 404 from both the direct PDF link and the containing legislation index this session, so any change they made to any named member's entry is not verified.

Benzodiazepines in Tonga, full detail →

Buprenorphine

Legal status: Named. Schedule 1 (section 2) of the Illicit Drugs Control Act, Act 7 of 2003, Cap. 4.06, 2020 Revised Edition, lists «Buprenorphine» under Class A, in the subgroup headed «(FROM SCHEDULE III OF THE CONVENTION ON PSYCHOTROPIC SUBSTANCES, 1971)». The schedule's own preamble states that the drugs listed, designated by their international non-proprietary names or the names used in international conventions in force, their isomers, esters and ethers, their salts, including the salts of any such isomer, ester or ether, and any preparations including any such substances, «are illicit drugs unless exempted by law». Section 2 defines an illicit drug as «any drug of Class A or Class B listed in Schedule I or anything prescribed by regulation to be an illicit drug». Two later amendment Acts, the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) (No.1) Act 2024 and the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) (No.2) Act 2024, could not be retrieved this session, both the direct PDF link and the containing legislation index returned HTTP 404, so whether either amended this Schedule 1 entry is not verified, not ruled out.
Consequences if caught: Class A penalty, tiered by quantity. Section 3, as substituted in part by the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020, Act 15 of 2020, s.3, provides for unlawful import or export of a Class A drug: «(c) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of less than 1 gram, to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or both; (d) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 1 gram or more, to a fine not exceeding $1,000,000 or to imprisonment for any period not exceeding life or both; or (e) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 28 grams or more, to life imprisonment». Section 4, as substituted in part by Act 15 of 2020, s.4(a), provides for unlawful possession, manufacture, cultivation, use and supply, now numbered as sub-section (1): «(iii) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of less than 1 gram, to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or both; or (iv) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 1 gram or more, to a fine not exceeding $1,000,000 or to imprisonment for any period not exceeding life or both». The Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021, Act 19 of 2021, s.3(c), added a third tier: «(v) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 5 kilograms or more, to life imprisonment». Section 4(2), inserted by Act 15 of 2020, s.4(b), further provides that a person in possession of a Class A drug in the quantity of 0.25 grams or more «shall be deemed to be supplying» it. This supersedes the flat band read in the 2020 Revised Edition consolidation, a single fine and imprisonment figure that applied to any quantity of a Class A drug without a tier; that provision predates both amending Acts, and the quantity threshold, once Class B only, now also applies to a Class A drug at these different thresholds. The bands above are the current state read this session; the two 2024 amendment Acts named in documentation could not be retrieved (HTTP 404), so whether either changes these bands further is not verified. Buprenorphine, as a Class A drug, is reached by these tiers at whichever threshold the quantity involved meets.
If prescribed / medical: Section 6, the international traveller's exemption, permits a person undergoing treatment of a medical condition who is entering, leaving or transiting Tonga to possess quantities of an illicit drug lawfully prescribed or supplied for that treatment, for a period of not more than one month, provided the person holds written authority from the treating doctor. Section 7 excuses a person whose lawful occupation or profession requires possession, supply or use of an illicit drug, for the specific purpose of that occupation, and separately exempts the Ministry of Health. Buprenorphine is a widely used opioid substitution medicine, so this route is the operative one for any legitimate clinical supply in Tonga. A search of the Drugs and Poisons Act, Act 11 of 1930 et seq. Cap. 79, 1988 Revised Edition (Schedule A and Part III), the Therapeutic Goods Act 2001, No. 3 of 2001, and the Therapeutic Goods Regulations 2011, 2020 Revised Edition, for a buprenorphine specific entry recorded none in any of the three, conducted earlier in this country's research; that search was not repeated here.
Documentation: Instrument read: Illicit Drugs Control Act, Act 7 of 2003, Cap. 4.06, 2020 Revised Edition, Schedule 1, pages 21 to 23 of the official Attorney General of Tonga PDF, 26 pages, read 2026-10-07, sha256 20f27664a1f9fe17aac59a72dec336857a3a89c0d782b8a4ad46cd0b53488b23. Schedule 1's own heading carries an amendment footnote recording that it was amended by Act 18 of 2012, the same amendment that inserted the separate Class B cannabis list after this entry. The Attorney General's legislation index, current 2 October 2026, separately lists the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020 (Act 15 of 2020) and the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021 (Act 19 of 2021); both amending Acts were read in full this session: the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020, Act 15 of 2020, official Attorney General of Tonga PDF, 17 pages, read 2026-10-07, sha256 55d9944a5d6d2189b6edf6dc6302b2b18c96061989449ef5ffda741a3ad5e0da; and the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021, Act 19 of 2021, official Attorney General of Tonga PDF, 6 pages, read 2026-10-07, sha256 b8f37cc6a698940395e6172e27f3622d1bc24f5dca10ad73805701af3615bad6. Neither names buprenorphine specifically, but Act 15 of 2020, s.3 and s.4, and Act 19 of 2021, s.3(c), substitute the general Class A penalty bands in sections 3 and 4 that this entry falls under, quoted in consequences_street above. The two 2024 amendment Acts named above returned HTTP 404 from both the direct PDF link and the containing index, so any change they made to this entry is not verified.

Buprenorphine in Tonga, full detail →

Cannabis / THC

Legal status: Named. Schedule 1 (section 2) of the Illicit Drugs Control Act, Act 7 of 2003, Cap. 4.06, 2020 Revised Edition, lists cannabis under its own «CLASS B12» heading, which the Act's own endnote records as inserted by Act 18 of 2012, reading in full, with the Schedule's own dash between the parenthetical and its clarifying clause rendered here as a comma per house style: «Cannabis and Cannabis resin. Cannabis fruit. Cannabis plant (whether fresh, dried, or otherwise), that is, any part of any plant of the genus cannabis. Cannabis seed. Cannabis oil.» Cannabis is therefore a Class B drug, the only Class B entry in the whole of Schedule 1; every other named substance in the Schedule sits under the earlier «CLASS A» heading. Two later amendment Acts, the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) (No.1) Act 2024 and the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) (No.2) Act 2024, could not be retrieved this session, both the direct PDF link and the containing legislation index returned HTTP 404, so whether either amended this Schedule 1 entry is not verified, not ruled out.
Consequences if caught: Class B penalty, untouched by the 2020 and 2021 amendments. Sections 3 and 4 each carry a Class B paragraph that neither the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020, Act 15 of 2020, nor the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021, Act 19 of 2021, touched: both amendment Acts replaced or inserted only Class A paragraphs, Act 15 of 2020's own section 3 by its own text deleting paragraph (c) and replacing it, and its own section 4 by deleting sub-paragraph (iii), each naming that paragraph specifically, and Act 19 of 2021's own section 3(c) inserting a further Class A sub-paragraph (v). The Class B paragraphs are not, however, unamended since 2003: the Act's own endnotes record that sections 3 and 4 were themselves substituted by Act 18 of 2012 (endnotes 5 and 8), and that the Class B paragraphs, (a) and (b) in section 3 and (i) and (ii) in section 4, were each further amended by Act 16 of 2015 (endnotes 6, 7, 9 and 10). The Class B text now in force, as the 2020 Revised Edition prints it, reads: «(a) in respect of a Class B drug in the quantity of less than 28 grams, to a fine not exceeding $5,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 1 year or both; (b) in respect of a Class B drug in the quantity of 28 grams or more, to a fine not exceeding $50,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 7 years or both» at section 3, and the identically worded (i) and (ii) at section 4; which words Act 16 of 2015 changed from the 2012 substitution is not established from the endnote reference alone. Cannabis carries no life-imprisonment tier under either section; that figure, and the quantity thresholds that trigger it, apply only to a Class A drug. Act 15 of 2020's new section 4(2)(a) separately deems possession of «a Class B drug in the quantity of 7 grams or more» to be supplying it, a lower threshold than the 28 grams that separates the two Class B penalty tiers themselves.
If prescribed / medical: No legal recreational or medical cannabis regime is stated anywhere in the Illicit Drugs Control Act. Section 6 (international traveller's exemption) and section 7 (occupational and Ministry of Health exemption) are the only express lawful use routes under this Act, and a search of the Drugs and Poisons Act, Act 11 of 1930 et seq. Cap. 79, 1988 Revised Edition (Schedule A and Part III), the Therapeutic Goods Act 2001, No. 3 of 2001, or the Therapeutic Goods Regulations 2011, 2020 Revised Edition, located no separate medical cannabis authorisation scheme, conducted earlier in this country's research; that search was not repeated here.
Documentation: Instrument read: Illicit Drugs Control Act, Act 7 of 2003, Cap. 4.06, 2020 Revised Edition, Schedule 1, pages 21 to 23 of the official Attorney General of Tonga PDF, 26 pages, read 2026-10-07, sha256 20f27664a1f9fe17aac59a72dec336857a3a89c0d782b8a4ad46cd0b53488b23; the «CLASS B12» heading and its five cannabis lines read and quoted in full. Amendment Acts read in full this session, both fetched fresh and hash verified: Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020, Act 15 of 2020, its own sections 3 and 4, 17 pages, sha256 55d9944a5d6d2189b6edf6dc6302b2b18c96061989449ef5ffda741a3ad5e0da, confirmed to touch only the Class A paragraphs by paragraph number; Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021, Act 19 of 2021, its own section 3(c), 6 pages, sha256 b8f37cc6a698940395e6172e27f3622d1bc24f5dca10ad73805701af3615bad6, likewise Class A only. The two 2024 amendment Acts returned HTTP 404 from both the direct PDF link and the containing legislation index this session, so any change they made to the Class B entry or its penalty paragraphs is not verified.

Cannabis / THC in Tonga, full detail →

Cathinone

Legal status: NAMED. Schedule 1, Class A, from Schedule I of the Convention on Psychotropic Substances 1971 (page 21), names "Cathinone" directly. This sub-list sits under the single "CLASS A" heading printed at the top of Schedule 1 (page 21); the Act's own Endnotes confirm the only separately classed heading, "CLASS B", is an insertion by Act 18 of 2012 covering only the cannabis sub-list that follows, so cathinone is correctly Class A.
Consequences if caught: Under section 3 of the Illicit Drugs Control Act, as substituted by the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020, Act 15 of 2020, section 3, unlawful import or export of a Class A drug such as cathinone is liable, for a quantity of less than 1 gram, to a fine not exceeding 10,000 pa'anga or imprisonment not exceeding 3 years or both; for 1 gram or more, to a fine not exceeding 1,000,000 pa'anga or imprisonment for any period not exceeding life or both; and for 28 grams or more, to life imprisonment. Under section 4, as amended by Act 15 of 2020 section 4 and the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021, Act 19 of 2021, section 3, unlawful possession, manufacture, cultivation, use or supply carries the same three bands, except the top band is 5 kilograms or more. Section 4(2), inserted by Act 15 of 2020, deems a person possessing 0.25 grams or more of cathinone to be supplying it.
If prescribed / medical: No entry for cathinone was located in the Therapeutic Goods Act 2001, No. 3 of 2001, or the Therapeutic Goods Regulations 2011, 2020 Revised Edition; neither instrument prints a name specific schedule admitting it as a prescribable medicine distinct from the Illicit Drugs Control Act's own Class A listing. The only route for a lawfully prescribed patient is the section 6 international traveller's exemption, up to one month, with written authority from the treating doctor, or the section 7 occupational and Ministry of Health exemptions.
Documentation: Searched against Illicit Drugs Control Act 2003 Schedule 1, pages 21 to 23, for "cathinone" and "(S)-2-amino-1-phenylpropan-1-one"; located at page 21 among the entries from Schedule I of the Convention on Psychotropic Substances 1971. Also checked against the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020, the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021, the Drugs and Poisons Act 1930 Schedule A and Part III, the Therapeutic Goods Act 2001, and the Therapeutic Goods Regulations 2011; none of the secondary instruments names cathinone separately. Two further amending Acts, the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) (No.1) Act 2024 and the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) (No.2) Act 2024, are listed in the Attorney General's legislation index but their PDFs returned HTTP 404 from the official portal checked independently in this session on 2026-10-07; if either altered the Schedule 1 wording for this entry, that is not verified here. Section 6 of the Act exempts a travelling medical patient for up to one month with written doctor authority; section 7 exempts a lawful occupation and the Ministry of Health.

ago.gov.to · ago.gov.to · ago.gov.to · ago.gov.to · ago.gov.to · ago.gov.to · Updated October 8, 2026

Cathinone in Tonga, full detail →

Clonazepam

Legal status: Named. Schedule 1 (section 2) of the Illicit Drugs Control Act, Act 7 of 2003, Cap. 4.06, 2020 Revised Edition, lists «Clonazepam» under Class A, in the subgroup headed «(FROM SCHEDULE IV OF THE CONVENTION ON PSYCHOTROPIC SUBSTANCES, 1971)». The schedule's own preamble states that the drugs listed, designated by their international non-proprietary names or the names used in international conventions in force, their isomers, esters and ethers, their salts, including the salts of any such isomer, ester or ether, and any preparations including any such substances, «are illicit drugs unless exempted by law». Section 2 defines an illicit drug as «any drug of Class A or Class B listed in Schedule I or anything prescribed by regulation to be an illicit drug». Two later amendment Acts, the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) (No.1) Act 2024 and the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) (No.2) Act 2024, could not be retrieved this session, both the direct PDF link and the containing legislation index returned HTTP 404, so whether either amended this Schedule 1 entry is not verified, not ruled out.
Consequences if caught: Class A penalty, tiered by quantity. Section 3, as substituted in part by the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020, Act 15 of 2020, s.3, provides for unlawful import or export of a Class A drug: «(c) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of less than 1 gram, to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or both; (d) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 1 gram or more, to a fine not exceeding $1,000,000 or to imprisonment for any period not exceeding life or both; or (e) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 28 grams or more, to life imprisonment». Section 4, as substituted in part by Act 15 of 2020, s.4(a), provides for unlawful possession, manufacture, cultivation, use and supply, now numbered as sub-section (1): «(iii) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of less than 1 gram, to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or both; or (iv) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 1 gram or more, to a fine not exceeding $1,000,000 or to imprisonment for any period not exceeding life or both». The Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021, Act 19 of 2021, s.3(c), added a third tier: «(v) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 5 kilograms or more, to life imprisonment». Section 4(2), inserted by Act 15 of 2020, s.4(b), further provides that a person in possession of a Class A drug in the quantity of 0.25 grams or more «shall be deemed to be supplying» it. This supersedes the flat band read in the 2020 Revised Edition consolidation, a single fine and imprisonment figure that applied to any quantity of a Class A drug without a tier; that provision predates both amending Acts, and the quantity threshold, once Class B only, now also applies to a Class A drug at these different thresholds. The bands above are the current state read this session; the two 2024 amendment Acts named in documentation could not be retrieved (HTTP 404), so whether either changes these bands further is not verified. Clonazepam, as a Class A drug, is reached by these tiers at whichever threshold the quantity involved meets.
If prescribed / medical: Section 6, the international traveller's exemption, permits a person undergoing treatment of a medical condition who is entering, leaving or transiting Tonga to possess quantities of an illicit drug lawfully prescribed or supplied for that treatment, for a period of not more than one month, provided the person holds written authority from the treating doctor. Section 7 excuses a person whose lawful occupation or profession requires possession, supply or use of an illicit drug, for the specific purpose of that occupation, and separately exempts the Ministry of Health. Clonazepam is a benzodiazepine prescribed for seizure and anxiety disorders, so this is the route that would cover any legitimate clinical supply in Tonga. A search of the Drugs and Poisons Act, Act 11 of 1930 et seq. Cap. 79, 1988 Revised Edition (Schedule A and Part III), the Therapeutic Goods Act 2001, No. 3 of 2001, and the Therapeutic Goods Regulations 2011, 2020 Revised Edition, for a clonazepam specific entry recorded none in any of the three, conducted earlier in this country's research; that search was not repeated here.
Documentation: Instrument read: Illicit Drugs Control Act, Act 7 of 2003, Cap. 4.06, 2020 Revised Edition, Schedule 1, pages 21 to 23 of the official Attorney General of Tonga PDF, 26 pages, read 2026-10-07, sha256 20f27664a1f9fe17aac59a72dec336857a3a89c0d782b8a4ad46cd0b53488b23. Schedule 1's own heading carries an amendment footnote recording that it was amended by Act 18 of 2012, the same amendment that inserted the separate Class B cannabis list after this entry. The Attorney General's legislation index, current 2 October 2026, separately lists the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020 (Act 15 of 2020) and the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021 (Act 19 of 2021); both amending Acts were read in full this session: the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020, Act 15 of 2020, official Attorney General of Tonga PDF, 17 pages, read 2026-10-07, sha256 55d9944a5d6d2189b6edf6dc6302b2b18c96061989449ef5ffda741a3ad5e0da; and the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021, Act 19 of 2021, official Attorney General of Tonga PDF, 6 pages, read 2026-10-07, sha256 b8f37cc6a698940395e6172e27f3622d1bc24f5dca10ad73805701af3615bad6. Neither names clonazepam specifically, but Act 15 of 2020, s.3 and s.4, and Act 19 of 2021, s.3(c), substitute the general Class A penalty bands in sections 3 and 4 that this entry falls under, quoted in consequences_street above. The two 2024 amendment Acts named above returned HTTP 404 from both the direct PDF link and the containing index, so any change they made to this entry is not verified.

Clonazepam in Tonga, full detail →

Cocaine

Legal status: Named. Schedule 1 (section 2) of the Illicit Drugs Control Act, Act 7 of 2003, Cap. 4.06, 2020 Revised Edition, lists «Cocaine» under Class A, in the subgroup headed «(FROM SCHEDULE I OF THE CONVENTION ON NARCOTIC DRUGS, 1961)»; the same subgroup separately lists «Coca (leaf)» as its own entry. The schedule's preamble states that the drugs listed, designated by their international non-proprietary names, their isomers, esters and ethers, their salts, including the salts of any such isomer, ester or ether, and any preparations including any such substances, «are illicit drugs unless exempted by law». Section 2 defines an illicit drug as «any drug of Class A or Class B listed in Schedule I or anything prescribed by regulation to be an illicit drug». Two later amendment Acts, the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) (No.1) Act 2024 and the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) (No.2) Act 2024, could not be retrieved this session, both the direct PDF link and the containing legislation index returned HTTP 404, so whether either amended this Schedule 1 entry is not verified, not ruled out.
Consequences if caught: Class A penalty, amended. Section 3's Class A paragraph (c) was deleted and replaced by the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020, Act 15 of 2020, its own section 3, with «(c) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of less than 1 gram, to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or both; (d) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 1 gram or more, to a fine not exceeding $1,000,000 or to imprisonment for any period not exceeding life or both; or (e) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 28 grams or more, to life imprisonment», the last tier the maximum available with no fine alternative at that quantity, though the court retains ordinary sentencing discretion. Section 4's Class A paragraph (iii) was replaced the same way, «(iii) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of less than 1 gram, to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or both; or (iv) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 1 gram or more, to a fine not exceeding $1,000,000 or to imprisonment for any period not exceeding life or both», and the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021, Act 19 of 2021, its own section 3(c), inserted a further «(v) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 5 kilograms or more, to life imprisonment». Section 4 carries no 28 gram tier at all; that threshold belongs to section 3's import and export offence only. Act 15 of 2020 also inserted a new section 4(2): possession of «a Class A drug in the quantity of 0.25 grams or more... shall be deemed to be supplying» it, so cocaine quantities well under a gram already expose a person to the supply characterisation rather than simple possession.
If prescribed / medical: Cocaine has a narrow, historic medical use as a topical local anaesthetic, chiefly in ear, nose and throat surgery; no such prescribing regime is recorded in any instrument this session located for Tonga. Section 6 (international traveller's exemption) and section 7 (occupational and Ministry of Health exemption) of the Illicit Drugs Control Act are the only express lawful use routes under this Act, and a hospital's clinical supply for that narrow surgical use would fall under section 7's occupational exemption rather than any dedicated prescribing regime. A search of the Drugs and Poisons Act, Act 11 of 1930 et seq. Cap. 79, 1988 Revised Edition (Schedule A and Part III), the Therapeutic Goods Act 2001, No. 3 of 2001, and the Therapeutic Goods Regulations 2011, 2020 Revised Edition, for a cocaine specific entry recorded none in any of the three, conducted earlier in this country's research; that search was not repeated here.
Documentation: Instrument read: Illicit Drugs Control Act, Act 7 of 2003, Cap. 4.06, 2020 Revised Edition, Schedule 1, pages 21 to 23 of the official Attorney General of Tonga PDF, 26 pages, read 2026-10-07, sha256 20f27664a1f9fe17aac59a72dec336857a3a89c0d782b8a4ad46cd0b53488b23; «Cocaine» and «Coca (leaf)» both found under the Schedule I Narcotic Drugs 1961 subgroup of Class A. Amendment Acts read in full this session, both fetched fresh and hash verified: Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020, Act 15 of 2020, its own sections 3 and 4, 17 pages, sha256 55d9944a5d6d2189b6edf6dc6302b2b18c96061989449ef5ffda741a3ad5e0da; Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021, Act 19 of 2021, its own section 3(c), 6 pages, sha256 b8f37cc6a698940395e6172e27f3622d1bc24f5dca10ad73805701af3615bad6. The two 2024 amendment Acts, Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) (No.1) Act 2024 and Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) (No.2) Act 2024, returned HTTP 404 from both the direct PDF link and the containing legislation index this session, so any change they made to this entry or these penalty bands is not verified.

Cocaine in Tonga, full detail →

Codeine

Legal status: Named. Schedule 1 (section 2) of the Illicit Drugs Control Act, Act 7 of 2003, Cap. 4.06, 2020 Revised Edition, lists «Codeine» under Class A, in the subgroup headed «(FROM SCHEDULE II OF THE CONVENTION OF NARCOTIC DRUGS, 1961)», quoted exactly as the Schedule prints it, including its own wording «CONVENTION OF» rather than «CONVENTION ON». The schedule's own preamble states that the drugs listed, designated by their international non-proprietary names or the names used in international conventions in force, their isomers, esters and ethers, their salts, including the salts of any such isomer, ester or ether, and any preparations including any such substances, «are illicit drugs unless exempted by law». Section 2 defines an illicit drug as «any drug of Class A or Class B listed in Schedule I or anything prescribed by regulation to be an illicit drug». Two later amendment Acts, the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) (No.1) Act 2024 and the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) (No.2) Act 2024, could not be retrieved this session, both the direct PDF link and the containing legislation index returned HTTP 404, so whether either amended this Schedule 1 entry is not verified, not ruled out.
Consequences if caught: Class A penalty, tiered by quantity. Section 3, as substituted in part by the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020, Act 15 of 2020, s.3, provides for unlawful import or export of a Class A drug: «(c) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of less than 1 gram, to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or both; (d) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 1 gram or more, to a fine not exceeding $1,000,000 or to imprisonment for any period not exceeding life or both; or (e) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 28 grams or more, to life imprisonment». Section 4, as substituted in part by Act 15 of 2020, s.4(a), provides for unlawful possession, manufacture, cultivation, use and supply, now numbered as sub-section (1): «(iii) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of less than 1 gram, to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or both; or (iv) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 1 gram or more, to a fine not exceeding $1,000,000 or to imprisonment for any period not exceeding life or both». The Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021, Act 19 of 2021, s.3(c), added a third tier: «(v) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 5 kilograms or more, to life imprisonment». Section 4(2), inserted by Act 15 of 2020, s.4(b), further provides that a person in possession of a Class A drug in the quantity of 0.25 grams or more «shall be deemed to be supplying» it. This supersedes the flat band read in the 2020 Revised Edition consolidation, a single fine and imprisonment figure that applied to any quantity of a Class A drug without a tier; that provision predates both amending Acts, and the quantity threshold, once Class B only, now also applies to a Class A drug at these different thresholds. The bands above are the current state read this session; the two 2024 amendment Acts named in documentation could not be retrieved (HTTP 404), so whether either changes these bands further is not verified. Codeine, as a Class A drug, is reached by these tiers at whichever threshold the quantity involved meets, including quantities found in ordinary combination analgesics; section 34(2) of the principal Act, inserted by the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020, Act 15 of 2020, s.23(b), further provides that where an illicit drug is proved to be mixed with another substance or article, «the entire mixture shall be deemed to be illicit drugs or controlled chemicals, as the case may be, for the purposes of this Act», so the whole weight of a combination tablet, not only its codeine content, counts toward these quantity tiers.
If prescribed / medical: Section 6, the international traveller's exemption, permits a person undergoing treatment of a medical condition who is entering, leaving or transiting Tonga to possess quantities of an illicit drug lawfully prescribed or supplied for that treatment, for a period of not more than one month, provided the person holds written authority from the treating doctor. Section 7 excuses a person whose lawful occupation or profession requires possession, supply or use of an illicit drug, for the specific purpose of that occupation, and separately exempts the Ministry of Health. Codeine is a common prescription and pharmacy medicine elsewhere, so this is the route that would cover any legitimate clinical supply in Tonga. A search of the Drugs and Poisons Act, Act 11 of 1930 et seq. Cap. 79, 1988 Revised Edition (Schedule A and Part III), the Therapeutic Goods Act 2001, No. 3 of 2001, and the Therapeutic Goods Regulations 2011, 2020 Revised Edition, for a codeine specific entry recorded none in any of the three, conducted earlier in this country's research; that search was not repeated here.
Documentation: Instrument read: Illicit Drugs Control Act, Act 7 of 2003, Cap. 4.06, 2020 Revised Edition, Schedule 1, pages 21 to 23 of the official Attorney General of Tonga PDF, 26 pages, read 2026-10-07, sha256 20f27664a1f9fe17aac59a72dec336857a3a89c0d782b8a4ad46cd0b53488b23. Schedule 1's own heading carries an amendment footnote recording that it was amended by Act 18 of 2012, the same amendment that inserted the separate Class B cannabis list after this entry. The Attorney General's legislation index, current 2 October 2026, separately lists the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020 (Act 15 of 2020) and the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021 (Act 19 of 2021); both amending Acts were read in full this session: the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020, Act 15 of 2020, official Attorney General of Tonga PDF, 17 pages, read 2026-10-07, sha256 55d9944a5d6d2189b6edf6dc6302b2b18c96061989449ef5ffda741a3ad5e0da; and the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021, Act 19 of 2021, official Attorney General of Tonga PDF, 6 pages, read 2026-10-07, sha256 b8f37cc6a698940395e6172e27f3622d1bc24f5dca10ad73805701af3615bad6. Neither names codeine specifically, but Act 15 of 2020, s.3 and s.4, and Act 19 of 2021, s.3(c), substitute the general Class A penalty bands in sections 3 and 4 that this entry falls under, quoted in consequences_street above; Act 15 of 2020, s.23(b), separately inserts section 34(2) of the principal Act, the mixture deeming provision also quoted there. The two 2024 amendment Acts named above returned HTTP 404 from both the direct PDF link and the containing index, so any change they made to this entry is not verified.

Codeine in Tonga, full detail →

Crack Cocaine

Legal status: NAMED, via cocaine and the Schedule 1 chapeau's extension to preparations. Schedule 1, Class A, from Schedule I of the Convention on Narcotic Drugs 1961 (page 22), names "Cocaine" directly. Crack cocaine is the freebase (cocaine base) form of cocaine, produced by converting the hydrochloride salt to its free base; Schedule 1's chapeau applies the schedule to the listed drugs and "any preparations including any such substances", so crack cocaine falls within the cocaine entry as a preparation of cocaine rather than as a separate listing.
Consequences if caught: Crack cocaine is reached through the cocaine entry, a Class A drug, with no separate band for freebase form. Under section 3, as substituted by Act 15 of 2020 section 3, unlawful import or export of a Class A drug is liable, for less than 1 gram, to a fine not exceeding 10,000 pa'anga or imprisonment not exceeding 3 years or both; for 1 gram or more, to a fine not exceeding 1,000,000 pa'anga or imprisonment for any period not exceeding life or both; and for 28 grams or more, to life imprisonment. Under section 4, as amended by Act 15 of 2020 section 4 and Act 19 of 2021 section 3, the same bands apply to possession, manufacture, cultivation, use or supply, except the top band is 5 kilograms or more; section 4(2) deems 0.25 grams or more to be supplying.
If prescribed / medical: No entry for crack cocaine, freebase cocaine, or cocaine base was located in the Therapeutic Goods Act 2001, No. 3 of 2001, or the Therapeutic Goods Regulations 2011, 2020 Revised Edition; neither instrument prints a name specific schedule for this form distinct from the Illicit Drugs Control Act's own Class A listing of cocaine.
Documentation: Searched against Illicit Drugs Control Act 2003 Schedule 1, pages 21 to 23, for "crack cocaine" and "freebase cocaine; cocaine base"; Cocaine is named at page 22 among the entries from Schedule I of the Convention on Narcotic Drugs 1961, and the Schedule 1 chapeau extends coverage to preparations of the listed drugs. Also searched against the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020, the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021, the Drugs and Poisons Act 1930 Schedule A and Part III, the Therapeutic Goods Act 2001, and the Therapeutic Goods Regulations 2011; none names crack cocaine as a separate form. Two further amending Acts, the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) (No.1) Act 2024 and the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) (No.2) Act 2024, are listed in the Attorney General's legislation index but their PDFs returned HTTP 404 from the official portal checked independently in this session on 2026-10-07. Section 6 of the Act exempts a travelling medical patient for up to one month with written doctor authority; section 7 exempts a lawful occupation and the Ministry of Health.

ago.gov.to · ago.gov.to · ago.gov.to · ago.gov.to · ago.gov.to · ago.gov.to · Updated October 8, 2026

Crack Cocaine in Tonga, full detail →

Delta-8-THC

Legal status: Caught by Schedule 1's own isomer clause, not by name. Tetrahydrocannabinol is named directly on page 21 of the Illicit Drugs Control Act's Schedule 1, in the Class A list drawn from Schedule I of the Convention on Psychotropic Substances, 1971. Schedule 1's opening paragraph extends control to the named drugs' isomers without qualifying the term: drugs designated by their international non-proprietary names, 'their isomers, esters and ethers, their salts, including the salts of any such isomer, ester or ether, and any preparations including any such substances, are illicit drugs unless exempted by law'. Delta-8-THC and the tetrahydrocannabinol named in Schedule 1 (conventionally delta-9-THC) share the same molecular formula and the same tricyclic dibenzopyran ring skeleton; they differ only in the position of one ring double bond, carbon 8 to carbon 9 against carbon 9 to carbon 10, which is the textbook definition of a positional isomer of the same parent molecule. That is a different and stronger case than the other isolated cannabinoids checked for this country, which do not share tetrahydrocannabinol's ring skeleton.
Consequences if caught: As an isomer of a Class A drug, delta-8-THC takes the Class A band under sections 3 and 4, and that band is tiered by quantity rather than flat: the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020, Act 15 of 2020, substituted section 3's Class A paragraph with new paragraphs (c), (d) and (e), and amended section 4's Class A sub-paragraph the same way, and the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021, Act 19 of 2021, then inserted a further sub-paragraph into section 4. The current exposure for import, export, possession, manufacture, cultivation, use or supply is a fine not exceeding $10,000 or imprisonment not exceeding 3 years, or both, for a quantity of less than 1 gram; a fine not exceeding $1,000,000 or imprisonment for any period not exceeding life, or both, for a quantity of 1 gram or more; and, at the top tier, life imprisonment with no fine alternative, from 28 grams or more for import or export under section 3(e) or from 5 kilograms or more for possession, manufacture, cultivation, use or supply under section 4(v). This supersedes the flat fine-not-exceeding-$1,000,000-or-thirty-years figure in force before Act 15 of 2020 for a Class A drug, itself the product of section 3's substitution by Act 18 of 2012 rather than the 2003 enactment, which both amending Acts replaced for every quantity. Section 5's controlled chemical and equipment offence does not apply, since delta-8-THC is reached through Schedule 1 directly rather than through Schedule 2. This reading rests on the isomer clause in the 2020 Revised Edition as printed and on the two amending Acts read directly; the two 2024 amendment Acts could not be retrieved this session, so whether either one alters Schedule 1's cannabinoid entries or the isomer clause itself is not verified.
If prescribed / medical: Section 7(1) exempts a person whose lawful occupation or profession requires possession, supply or use of an illicit drug, provided it is for that occupation's specific purpose, and section 7(2) exempts the Ministry of Health's own import, export, possession, manufacture or use, evidenced by a ministerial certificate. Neither exemption was found to name delta-8-THC specifically; they are general exemptions capable of covering it on the same terms as tetrahydrocannabinol itself. No separate Therapeutic Goods Act 2001 or Therapeutic Goods Regulations 2011 entry naming delta-8-THC was located, so a prescription or import question for it would in practice be argued through these section 7 exemptions rather than through a medicines registration.
Documentation: Illicit Drugs Control Act, Act 7 of 2003, Cap. 4.06, 2020 Revised Edition, Schedule 1, page 21, read 2026-10-07: 'Tetrahydrocannabinol' is listed under the heading «FROM SCHEDULE I OF THE CONVENTION ON PSYCHOTROPIC SUBSTANCES, 1971». The Schedule's own opening paragraph, page 21, reads in substance: the following drugs, designated by their international non-proprietary names or the names used in international conventions in force, their isomers, esters and ethers, their salts, including the salts of any such isomer, ester or ether, and any preparations including any such substances, are illicit drugs unless exempted by law. Delta-8-tetrahydrocannabinol and delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol share the formula C21H30O2 and the same three-ring dibenzopyran skeleton, differing only in the position of one ring double bond, so delta-8-THC is an isomer of the named entry on ordinary chemical reasoning rather than on a label alone. Sections 3 and 4, pages 7 to 8, read as the 2020 Revised Edition prints them: both carry the flat Class A figure in force before Act 15 of 2020, $1,000,000 or thirty years, because that reprint predates the 2020 and 2021 amendments below; the Act's own endnotes record sections 3 and 4 as themselves substituted by Act 18 of 2012 (endnotes 5 and 8), so that flat figure is not the 2003 enactment's own text either, and it does not name tetrahydrocannabinol or its isomers by substance, only the Schedule 1 Class A list as a whole. Section 7, page 8, read for the exemptions. The Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020, Act 15 of 2020, was checked for any change to the Schedule 1 entry or the isomer clause and neither is altered; the same Act's own section 3 (substituting the Principal Act's section 3 paragraph (c) with new paragraphs (c), (d) and (e)) and own section 4 (substituting the Principal Act's section 4 sub-paragraph (iii) with new sub-paragraphs (iii) and (iv)) were read directly for the current Class A penalty tiers quoted above. The Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021, Act 19 of 2021, likewise does not alter the Schedule 1 entry; its own section 3 inserts the new sub-paragraph (v), the 5 kilogram life-imprisonment tier, the maximum available with no fine alternative, into the Principal Act's section 4. The two 2024 amendment Acts returned HTTP 404 at the official Attorney General portal and were not read.

Illicit Drugs Control Act, Act 7 of 2003, Cap. 4.06, 2020 Revised Edition, Schedule 1 page 21, sections 2, 3, 4 and 7 · https://ago.gov.to/cms/images/LEGISLATION/PRINCIPAL/2003/2003-0007/IllicitDrugsControlAct_3.pdf | Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020, Act 15 of 2020, sections 2, 3 and 4 · https://ago.gov.to/cms/images/LEGISLATION/AMENDING/2020/2020-0123/IllicitDrugsControlAmendmentAct2020.pdf | Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021, Act 19 of 2021, section 3 · https://ago.gov.to/cms/images/LEGISLATION/AMENDING/2021/2021-0050/IllicitDrugsControlAmendmentAct2021.pdf | Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) (No.1) and (No.2) Act 2024, indexed but not retrievable · ago.gov.to · ago.gov.to · Updated October 8, 2026

Delta-8-THC in Tonga, full detail →

Diazepam

Legal status: Named. Schedule 1 (section 2) of the Illicit Drugs Control Act, Act 7 of 2003, Cap. 4.06, 2020 Revised Edition, lists «Diazepam» under Class A, in the subgroup headed «(FROM SCHEDULE IV OF THE CONVENTION ON PSYCHOTROPIC SUBSTANCES, 1971)». The schedule's own preamble states that the drugs listed, designated by their international non-proprietary names or the names used in international conventions in force, their isomers, esters and ethers, their salts, including the salts of any such isomer, ester or ether, and any preparations including any such substances, «are illicit drugs unless exempted by law». Section 2 defines an illicit drug as «any drug of Class A or Class B listed in Schedule I or anything prescribed by regulation to be an illicit drug». Two later amendment Acts, the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) (No.1) Act 2024 and the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) (No.2) Act 2024, could not be retrieved this session, both the direct PDF link and the containing legislation index returned HTTP 404, so whether either amended this Schedule 1 entry is not verified, not ruled out.
Consequences if caught: Class A penalty, tiered by quantity. Section 3, as substituted in part by the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020, Act 15 of 2020, s.3, provides for unlawful import or export of a Class A drug: «(c) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of less than 1 gram, to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or both; (d) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 1 gram or more, to a fine not exceeding $1,000,000 or to imprisonment for any period not exceeding life or both; or (e) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 28 grams or more, to life imprisonment». Section 4, as substituted in part by Act 15 of 2020, s.4(a), provides for unlawful possession, manufacture, cultivation, use and supply, now numbered as sub-section (1): «(iii) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of less than 1 gram, to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or both; or (iv) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 1 gram or more, to a fine not exceeding $1,000,000 or to imprisonment for any period not exceeding life or both». The Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021, Act 19 of 2021, s.3(c), added a third tier: «(v) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 5 kilograms or more, to life imprisonment». Section 4(2), inserted by Act 15 of 2020, s.4(b), further provides that a person in possession of a Class A drug in the quantity of 0.25 grams or more «shall be deemed to be supplying» it. This supersedes the flat band read in the 2020 Revised Edition consolidation, a single fine and imprisonment figure that applied to any quantity of a Class A drug without a tier; that provision predates both amending Acts, and the quantity threshold, once Class B only, now also applies to a Class A drug at these different thresholds. The bands above are the current state read this session; the two 2024 amendment Acts named in documentation could not be retrieved (HTTP 404), so whether either changes these bands further is not verified. Diazepam, as a Class A drug, is reached by these tiers at whichever threshold the quantity involved meets.
If prescribed / medical: Section 6, the international traveller's exemption, permits a person undergoing treatment of a medical condition who is entering, leaving or transiting Tonga to possess quantities of an illicit drug lawfully prescribed or supplied for that treatment, for a period of not more than one month, provided the person holds written authority from the treating doctor. Section 7 excuses a person whose lawful occupation or profession requires possession, supply or use of an illicit drug, for the specific purpose of that occupation, and separately exempts the Ministry of Health. Diazepam is a widely prescribed benzodiazepine, so this is the route that would cover any legitimate clinical supply in Tonga. The Drugs and Poisons Act, Act 11 of 1930 et seq. Cap. 79, 1988 Revised Edition (Schedule A and Part III), the Therapeutic Goods Act 2001, No. 3 of 2001, and the Therapeutic Goods Regulations 2011, 2020 Revised Edition, were each fetched and read directly this session, searched for 'diazepam' and 'benzodiazepine'; none of the three names either. This is a structural absence rather than an oversight: the 1930 Act's Schedule A is an unrevised, early-twentieth-century poisons list, aconite, arsenic, belladonna, strychnine, opium, coca, that predates benzodiazepines entirely and names only one drug class generically, amphetamines; the 2001 Act's own Schedule lists only the seven countries of manufacture it recognises for drug registration purposes and carries no drug names at all, directing the Minister's Committee instead to maintain a separate, electronically kept Tongan Registered List of Medicinal Drugs under section 5, which is not part of the Act's own printed text and was not located; and the 2011 Regulations' three schedules are licence and prescription application forms, not a substance list. Clonazepam and nimetazepam, this country's two other benzodiazepines, carry a substance-specific clinical-use sentence but are equally absent from all three instruments by name on the same search, so diazepam's absence here is the same confirmed structural gap, not an unresearched one.
Documentation: Instrument read: Illicit Drugs Control Act, Act 7 of 2003, Cap. 4.06, 2020 Revised Edition, Schedule 1, pages 21 to 23 of the official Attorney General of Tonga PDF, 26 pages, read 2026-10-07, sha256 20f27664a1f9fe17aac59a72dec336857a3a89c0d782b8a4ad46cd0b53488b23. Schedule 1's own heading carries an amendment footnote recording that it was amended by Act 18 of 2012, the same amendment that inserted the separate Class B cannabis list after this entry. The Attorney General's legislation index, current 2 October 2026, separately lists the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020 (Act 15 of 2020) and the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021 (Act 19 of 2021); both amending Acts were read in full this session: the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020, Act 15 of 2020, official Attorney General of Tonga PDF, 17 pages, read 2026-10-07, sha256 55d9944a5d6d2189b6edf6dc6302b2b18c96061989449ef5ffda741a3ad5e0da; and the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021, Act 19 of 2021, official Attorney General of Tonga PDF, 6 pages, read 2026-10-07, sha256 b8f37cc6a698940395e6172e27f3622d1bc24f5dca10ad73805701af3615bad6. Neither names diazepam specifically, but Act 15 of 2020, s.3 and s.4, and Act 19 of 2021, s.3(c), substitute the general Class A penalty bands in sections 3 and 4 that this entry falls under, quoted in consequences_street above. The two 2024 amendment Acts named above returned HTTP 404 from both the direct PDF link and the containing index, so any change they made to this entry is not verified.

Diazepam in Tonga, full detail →

DMT

Legal status: Named. Schedule 1 (section 2) of the Illicit Drugs Control Act, Act 7 of 2003, Cap. 4.06, 2020 Revised Edition, lists «DMT» under Class A, in the subgroup headed «(FROM SCHEDULE I OF THE CONVENTION ON PSYCHOTROPIC SUBSTANCES, 1971)», alongside Mescaline, MDMA, Psilocybine and other named entries in the same subgroup. The schedule's preamble states that drugs listed, designated by their international non-proprietary names, their isomers, esters and ethers, their salts and any preparations including any such substances, «are illicit drugs unless exempted by law». Two later amendment Acts, the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) (No.1) Act 2024 and the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) (No.2) Act 2024, could not be retrieved this session, both the direct PDF link and the containing legislation index returned HTTP 404, so whether either amended this Schedule 1 entry is not verified, not ruled out.
Consequences if caught: Class A penalty, amended. Section 3's Class A paragraph (c) was deleted and replaced by the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020, Act 15 of 2020, its own section 3, with «(c) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of less than 1 gram, to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or both; (d) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 1 gram or more, to a fine not exceeding $1,000,000 or to imprisonment for any period not exceeding life or both; or (e) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 28 grams or more, to life imprisonment», the last tier the maximum available with no fine alternative at that quantity, though the court retains ordinary sentencing discretion. Section 4's Class A paragraph (iii) was replaced the same way, «(iii) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of less than 1 gram, to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or both; or (iv) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 1 gram or more, to a fine not exceeding $1,000,000 or to imprisonment for any period not exceeding life or both», and the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021, Act 19 of 2021, its own section 3(c), inserted a further «(v) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 5 kilograms or more, to life imprisonment». Section 4 carries no 28 gram tier; that figure belongs to section 3's import and export offence alone. Act 15 of 2020's new section 4(2) deems possession of «a Class A drug in the quantity of 0.25 grams or more» to be supplying, so DMT held well under a gram already carries the supply characterisation.
If prescribed / medical: DMT has no accepted human medical use in any instrument located this session; its naturally occurring presence in ayahuasca preparations is not addressed anywhere in the Illicit Drugs Control Act, which names the compound itself rather than any plant source. Section 6 (international traveller's exemption) and section 7 (occupational and Ministry of Health exemption) are the only express lawful use routes under this Act, and neither has realistic application to DMT. A search of the Drugs and Poisons Act, Act 11 of 1930 et seq. Cap. 79, 1988 Revised Edition (Schedule A and Part III), the Therapeutic Goods Act 2001, No. 3 of 2001, and the Therapeutic Goods Regulations 2011, 2020 Revised Edition, for a DMT specific entry recorded none in any of the three, conducted earlier in this country's research; that search was not repeated here.
Documentation: Instrument read: Illicit Drugs Control Act, Act 7 of 2003, Cap. 4.06, 2020 Revised Edition, Schedule 1, pages 21 to 23 of the official Attorney General of Tonga PDF, 26 pages, read 2026-10-07, sha256 20f27664a1f9fe17aac59a72dec336857a3a89c0d782b8a4ad46cd0b53488b23; «DMT» found under the Schedule I Psychotropic Substances 1971 subgroup of Class A. Amendment Acts read in full this session, both fetched fresh and hash verified: Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020, Act 15 of 2020, its own sections 3 and 4, 17 pages, sha256 55d9944a5d6d2189b6edf6dc6302b2b18c96061989449ef5ffda741a3ad5e0da; Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021, Act 19 of 2021, its own section 3(c), 6 pages, sha256 b8f37cc6a698940395e6172e27f3622d1bc24f5dca10ad73805701af3615bad6. The two 2024 amendment Acts returned HTTP 404 from both the direct PDF link and the containing legislation index this session, so any change they made to this entry is not verified.

DMT in Tonga, full detail →

DOM

Legal status: NAMED. Schedule 1, Class A, from Schedule I of the Convention on Psychotropic Substances 1971 (page 21), names "STP, DOM" directly, the Act's own listed synonym pair for 2,5-dimethoxy-4-methylamphetamine.
Consequences if caught: Under section 3 of the Illicit Drugs Control Act, as substituted by the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020, Act 15 of 2020, section 3, unlawful import or export of a Class A drug such as DOM is liable, for a quantity of less than 1 gram, to a fine not exceeding 10,000 pa'anga or imprisonment not exceeding 3 years or both; for 1 gram or more, to a fine not exceeding 1,000,000 pa'anga or imprisonment for any period not exceeding life or both; and for 28 grams or more, to life imprisonment. Under section 4, as amended by Act 15 of 2020 section 4 and the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021, Act 19 of 2021, section 3, unlawful possession, manufacture, cultivation, use or supply carries the same three bands, except the top band is 5 kilograms or more. Section 4(2), inserted by Act 15 of 2020, deems a person possessing 0.25 grams or more of DOM to be supplying it.
If prescribed / medical: No entry for DOM, STP, or 2,5-dimethoxy-4-methylamphetamine was located in the Therapeutic Goods Act 2001, No. 3 of 2001, or the Therapeutic Goods Regulations 2011, 2020 Revised Edition; neither instrument prints a name specific schedule admitting it as a prescribable medicine distinct from the Illicit Drugs Control Act's own Class A listing. The only route for a lawfully prescribed patient is the section 6 international traveller's exemption, up to one month, with written authority from the treating doctor, or the section 7 occupational and Ministry of Health exemptions.
Documentation: Searched against Illicit Drugs Control Act 2003 Schedule 1, pages 21 to 23, for "DOM" and "STP; 2,5-dimethoxy-4-methylamphetamine"; located at page 21 among the entries from Schedule I of the Convention on Psychotropic Substances 1971. Also checked against the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020, the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021, the Drugs and Poisons Act 1930 Schedule A and Part III, the Therapeutic Goods Act 2001, and the Therapeutic Goods Regulations 2011; none of the secondary instruments names DOM separately. Two further amending Acts, the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) (No.1) Act 2024 and the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) (No.2) Act 2024, are listed in the Attorney General's legislation index but their PDFs returned HTTP 404 from the official portal checked independently in this session on 2026-10-07; if either altered the Schedule 1 wording for this entry, that is not verified here. Section 6 of the Act exempts a travelling medical patient for up to one month with written doctor authority; section 7 exempts a lawful occupation and the Ministry of Health.

ago.gov.to · ago.gov.to · ago.gov.to · ago.gov.to · ago.gov.to · ago.gov.to · Updated October 8, 2026

DOM in Tonga, full detail →

Ephedrine

Legal status: Named, but as a controlled chemical precursor under Schedule 2 rather than as an illicit drug under Schedule 1, and only once a drafting error is corrected. Schedule 2, page 24 of the 2020 Revised Edition, lists the compound under the 1988 United Nations Convention annex heading, but the printed text reads 'Ephedrime', a misspelling, not 'Ephedrine'. The Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021, Act 19 of 2021, section 5, corrects this, replacing the misspelled entry with 'Ephedrine'. Reading the 2020 Revised Edition schedule as corrected by the 2021 amendment, ephedrine is a named Schedule 2 controlled chemical. Section 2 defines a 'controlled chemical' as any chemical listed in Schedule 2, a separate and narrower category from the 'illicit drug' defined by Schedule 1, so ephedrine's own possession is not treated the same way as possessing a Schedule 1 drug.
Consequences if caught: Section 5 is the operative offence for ephedrine: importing, exporting, possessing, manufacturing or supplying it is an offence only where the person knows, or is reckless as to whether, the chemical is to be used in or for the commission of a section 4 offence, that is, manufacturing an illicit drug. On conviction the penalty is a fine not exceeding 750,000 Tongan dollars or imprisonment not exceeding 25 years, or both. Ordinary possession of ephedrine without that manufacturing connection, for example as an ingredient in a registered decongestant, is not itself made an offence by section 5's wording, which is conduct-plus-knowledge rather than simple possession.
If prescribed / medical: Section 7(1) exempts a person whose lawful occupation or profession requires possession, supply or use of a controlled chemical, for that occupation's specific purpose, and section 7(2) exempts Ministry of Health import, export, possession, manufacture or use, evidenced by a ministerial certificate; both cover a pharmacy or clinical use of ephedrine directly on their own wording. The Therapeutic Goods Act 2001 and Therapeutic Goods Regulations 2011 were checked for 'ephedrine' and returned no further dedicated schedule entry beyond the Schedule 2 listing itself, so the medicines-law route adds no separate restriction found this session.
Documentation: Illicit Drugs Control Act, Act 7 of 2003, Cap. 4.06, 2020 Revised Edition, Schedule 2, page 24, read 2026-10-07: the printed entry reads 'Ephedrime' under the heading «FROM THE ANNEX TO THE UNITED NATIONS CONVENTION AGAINST ILLICIT TRAFFIC IN NARCOTIC DRUGS AND PSYCHOTROPIC SUBSTANCES, 1988». Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021, Act 19 of 2021, section 5, read via this country's research record, states the correction from 'Ephedrime' to 'Ephedrine'. Section 2, page 5, read for the 'controlled chemical' definition. Section 5, page 8, read for the offence and the 750,000 dollar, 25 year penalty band. Section 7, page 8, read for the exemptions. Illicit Drugs Control Act Schedule 1 was also checked and does not name ephedrine, confirming it is a Schedule 2 chemical rather than a Schedule 1 illicit drug. Therapeutic Goods Act 2001 and Therapeutic Goods Regulations 2011 checked for 'ephedrine', no further dedicated entry located. The two 2024 amendment Acts returned HTTP 404 at the official portal and were not read; if either touches Schedule 2 again this finding would need to be revisited.

Illicit Drugs Control Act, Act 7 of 2003, Cap. 4.06, 2020 Revised Edition, Schedule 2 page 24, sections 2, 5 and 7 · https://ago.gov.to/cms/images/LEGISLATION/PRINCIPAL/2003/2003-0007/IllicitDrugsControlAct_3.pdf | Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021, Act 19 of 2021, section 5 · https://ago.gov.to/cms/images/LEGISLATION/AMENDING/2021/2021-0050/IllicitDrugsControlAmendmentAct2021.pdf | Therapeutic Goods Act 2001 and Therapeutic Goods Regulations 2011 · ago.gov.to · https://ago.gov.to/cms/images/LEGISLATION/SUBORDINATE/2011/2011-0006/TherapeuticGoodsRegulations2011_3.pdf | Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) (No.1) and (No.2) Act 2024, indexed but not retrievable · ago.gov.to · ago.gov.to · Updated October 8, 2026

Ephedrine in Tonga, full detail →

Fentanyl

Legal status: Named. Schedule 1 (section 2) of the Illicit Drugs Control Act, Act 7 of 2003, Cap. 4.06, 2020 Revised Edition, lists «Fentanyl» directly under Class A, in the subgroup headed «(FROM SCHEDULE I OF THE CONVENTION ON NARCOTIC DRUGS, 1961)». A separate, earlier subgroup headed «(FROM SCHEDULE IV OF THE CONVENTION ON NARCOTIC DRUGS, 1961)» additionally names eight fentanyl analogues as their own entries: Acetyl-alpha-methyl-fentanyl, Alpha-methylfentanyl, Beta-hydroxyfentanyl, Beta-hydroxy-methyl-3-fentanyl, Methyl-3fentanyl, Methyl-3thio-fentanyl, Para-fluorofentanyl and Thiofentanyl; this finding concerns fentanyl itself, named separately from that analogue list. Two later amendment Acts, the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) (No.1) Act 2024 and the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) (No.2) Act 2024, could not be retrieved this session, both the direct PDF link and the containing legislation index returned HTTP 404, so whether either amended this Schedule 1 entry is not verified, not ruled out.
Consequences if caught: Class A penalty, amended. Section 3's Class A paragraph (c) was deleted and replaced by the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020, Act 15 of 2020, its own section 3, with «(c) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of less than 1 gram, to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or both; (d) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 1 gram or more, to a fine not exceeding $1,000,000 or to imprisonment for any period not exceeding life or both; or (e) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 28 grams or more, to life imprisonment», the last tier the maximum available with no fine alternative at that quantity, though the court retains ordinary sentencing discretion, a low threshold for a drug as potent as fentanyl. Section 4's Class A paragraph (iii) was replaced the same way, «(iii) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of less than 1 gram, to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or both; or (iv) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 1 gram or more, to a fine not exceeding $1,000,000 or to imprisonment for any period not exceeding life or both», and the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021, Act 19 of 2021, its own section 3(c), inserted «(v) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 5 kilograms or more, to life imprisonment». Section 4 carries no 28 gram tier; that figure belongs to section 3's import and export offence only. Act 15 of 2020's new section 4(2) deems possession of «a Class A drug in the quantity of 0.25 grams or more» to be supplying, a threshold fentanyl's own potency makes easy to reach.
If prescribed / medical: Fentanyl is a potent opioid in routine clinical use for anaesthesia, severe acute pain and palliative care. Section 7's occupational exemption and its separate Ministry of Health exemption are the operative lawful routes for hospital supply and use in Tonga; section 6's international traveller's exemption would cover a patient entering, leaving or transiting Tonga with a lawfully prescribed supply for up to one month with written authority from the treating doctor. A search of the Drugs and Poisons Act, Act 11 of 1930 et seq. Cap. 79, 1988 Revised Edition (Schedule A and Part III), the Therapeutic Goods Act 2001, No. 3 of 2001, and the Therapeutic Goods Regulations 2011, 2020 Revised Edition, for a fentanyl specific dispensing entry recorded none distinct from these two sections in any of the three, conducted earlier in this country's research; that search was not repeated here.
Documentation: Instrument read: Illicit Drugs Control Act, Act 7 of 2003, Cap. 4.06, 2020 Revised Edition, Schedule 1, pages 21 to 23 of the official Attorney General of Tonga PDF, 26 pages, read 2026-10-07, sha256 20f27664a1f9fe17aac59a72dec336857a3a89c0d782b8a4ad46cd0b53488b23; «Fentanyl» found under the Schedule I Narcotic Drugs 1961 subgroup of Class A, distinct from the eight analogue entries under the earlier Schedule IV Narcotic Drugs 1961 subgroup. Amendment Acts read in full this session, both fetched fresh and hash verified: Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020, Act 15 of 2020, its own sections 3 and 4, 17 pages, sha256 55d9944a5d6d2189b6edf6dc6302b2b18c96061989449ef5ffda741a3ad5e0da; Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021, Act 19 of 2021, its own section 3(c), 6 pages, sha256 b8f37cc6a698940395e6172e27f3622d1bc24f5dca10ad73805701af3615bad6. The two 2024 amendment Acts returned HTTP 404 from both the direct PDF link and the containing legislation index this session, so any change they made to this entry is not verified.

Fentanyl in Tonga, full detail →

GBL

Legal status: Named. Schedule 1 (section 2) of the Illicit Drugs Control Act, Act 7 of 2003, Cap. 4.06, 2020 Revised Edition, lists «Gamma-butyrolactone (GBL)» under the sub-heading «OTHER ILLICIT DRUGS», alongside Ketamine, Khat, Gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB), «1, 4-butanediol (tetramethylene glycol)», anabolic and androgenic substances, growth hormones, and «4-bromo 2, 5 dimethoxyamphetamine (Bromo DMA)». This heading carries no «CLASS B» or other new class label of its own; it follows directly after the last convention subgroup under the «CLASS A» heading and is itself followed by the first appearance of «CLASS B», which the Act's own endnote records was inserted later by Act 18 of 2012 and contains only cannabis entries. GBL therefore falls within Class A, not a separate unclassed catch-all. The schedule's own preamble states that the drugs listed, designated by their international non-proprietary names or the names used in international conventions in force, their isomers, esters and ethers, their salts, including the salts of any such isomer, ester or ether, and any preparations including any such substances, «are illicit drugs unless exempted by law». Two later amendment Acts, the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) (No.1) Act 2024 and the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) (No.2) Act 2024, could not be retrieved this session, both the direct PDF link and the containing legislation index returned HTTP 404, so whether either amended this entry is not verified, not ruled out.
Consequences if caught: Class A penalty, tiered by quantity. Section 3, as substituted in part by the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020, Act 15 of 2020, s.3, provides for unlawful import or export of a Class A drug: «(c) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of less than 1 gram, to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or both; (d) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 1 gram or more, to a fine not exceeding $1,000,000 or to imprisonment for any period not exceeding life or both; or (e) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 28 grams or more, to life imprisonment». Section 4, as substituted in part by Act 15 of 2020, s.4(a), provides for unlawful possession, manufacture, cultivation, use and supply, now numbered as sub-section (1): «(iii) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of less than 1 gram, to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or both; or (iv) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 1 gram or more, to a fine not exceeding $1,000,000 or to imprisonment for any period not exceeding life or both». The Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021, Act 19 of 2021, s.3(c), added a third tier: «(v) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 5 kilograms or more, to life imprisonment». Section 4(2), inserted by Act 15 of 2020, s.4(b), further provides that a person in possession of a Class A drug in the quantity of 0.25 grams or more «shall be deemed to be supplying» it. This supersedes the flat band read in the 2020 Revised Edition consolidation, a single fine and imprisonment figure that applied to any quantity of a Class A drug without a tier; that provision predates both amending Acts, and the quantity threshold, once Class B only, now also applies to a Class A drug at these different thresholds. The bands above are the current state read this session; the two 2024 amendment Acts named in documentation could not be retrieved (HTTP 404), so whether either changes these bands further is not verified. GBL, as a Class A drug, is reached by these tiers at whichever threshold the quantity involved meets; GBL is a precursor that converts to GHB in the body and is sold industrially as a solvent and cleaning agent, and none of that commercial use is exempted by anything read in this Act.
If prescribed / medical: Section 6, the international traveller's exemption, permits a person undergoing treatment of a medical condition who is entering, leaving or transiting Tonga to possess quantities of an illicit drug lawfully prescribed or supplied for that treatment, for a period of not more than one month, provided the person holds written authority from the treating doctor. Section 7 excuses a person whose lawful occupation or profession requires possession, supply or use of an illicit drug, for the specific purpose of that occupation, and separately exempts the Ministry of Health. GBL has no accepted human prescription use; its only lawful routes in Tonga under this Act are these two general exemptions, not a medicines schedule. A search of the Drugs and Poisons Act, Act 11 of 1930 et seq. Cap. 79, 1988 Revised Edition (Schedule A and Part III), the Therapeutic Goods Act 2001, No. 3 of 2001, and the Therapeutic Goods Regulations 2011, 2020 Revised Edition, for a GBL specific entry recorded none in any of the three, conducted earlier in this country's research; that search was not repeated here.
Documentation: Instrument read: Illicit Drugs Control Act, Act 7 of 2003, Cap. 4.06, 2020 Revised Edition, Schedule 1, pages 21 to 23 of the official Attorney General of Tonga PDF, 26 pages, read 2026-10-07, sha256 20f27664a1f9fe17aac59a72dec336857a3a89c0d782b8a4ad46cd0b53488b23. The «OTHER ILLICIT DRUGS» sub-heading also separately names «1, 4-butanediol (tetramethylene glycol)», a related precursor that converts to GBL and then to GHB; that entry is distinct from the GBL entry itself and is addressed separately, not here. The Attorney General's legislation index, current 2 October 2026, separately lists the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020 (Act 15 of 2020) and the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021 (Act 19 of 2021); both amending Acts were read in full this session: the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020, Act 15 of 2020, official Attorney General of Tonga PDF, 17 pages, read 2026-10-07, sha256 55d9944a5d6d2189b6edf6dc6302b2b18c96061989449ef5ffda741a3ad5e0da; and the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021, Act 19 of 2021, official Attorney General of Tonga PDF, 6 pages, read 2026-10-07, sha256 b8f37cc6a698940395e6172e27f3622d1bc24f5dca10ad73805701af3615bad6. Neither names GBL specifically, but Act 15 of 2020, s.3 and s.4, and Act 19 of 2021, s.3(c), substitute the general Class A penalty bands in sections 3 and 4 that this entry falls under, quoted in consequences_street above. The two 2024 amendment Acts named above returned HTTP 404 from both the direct PDF link and the containing index, so any change they made to this entry is not verified.

GBL in Tonga, full detail →

GHB

Legal status: Named. Schedule 1 (section 2) of the Illicit Drugs Control Act, Act 7 of 2003, Cap. 4.06, 2020 Revised Edition, lists GHB directly under Class A, in the «OTHER ILLICIT DRUGS» sub-heading at the end of the Class A list, reading in full: «Ketamine. Khat. Gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB). Gamma-butyrolactone (GBL). 1, 4-butanediol (tetramethylene glycol). Anabolic and androgenic substances. Growth hormones. 4-bromo 2, 5 dimethoxyamphetamine (Bromo DMA).» GHB is named by its own chemical name, Gamma-hydroxybutyrate, with the GHB abbreviation given in the schedule's own parenthesis; GBL and 1,4-butanediol, named in the same sub-heading, are related precursor and prodrug compounds, not the same entry as GHB itself. Two later amendment Acts, the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) (No.1) Act 2024 and the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) (No.2) Act 2024, could not be retrieved this session, both the direct PDF link and the containing legislation index returned HTTP 404, so whether either amended this Schedule 1 entry is not verified, not ruled out.
Consequences if caught: Class A penalty, amended, since the «OTHER ILLICIT DRUGS» sub-heading sits within the Class A list, before the Schedule's own «CLASS B12» heading. Section 3's Class A paragraph (c) was deleted and replaced by the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020, Act 15 of 2020, its own section 3, with «(c) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of less than 1 gram, to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or both; (d) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 1 gram or more, to a fine not exceeding $1,000,000 or to imprisonment for any period not exceeding life or both; or (e) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 28 grams or more, to life imprisonment», the last tier the maximum available with no fine alternative at that quantity, though the court retains ordinary sentencing discretion, a low threshold for GHB given the gram and millilitre quantities in which it is typically sold and dosed. Section 4's Class A paragraph (iii) was replaced the same way, «(iii) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of less than 1 gram, to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or both; or (iv) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 1 gram or more, to a fine not exceeding $1,000,000 or to imprisonment for any period not exceeding life or both», and the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021, Act 19 of 2021, its own section 3(c), inserted «(v) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 5 kilograms or more, to life imprisonment». Section 4 carries no 28 gram tier; that figure belongs to section 3's import and export offence only. Act 15 of 2020's new section 4(2) deems possession of «a Class A drug in the quantity of 0.25 grams or more» to be supplying.
If prescribed / medical: GHB is used medically in some jurisdictions, as sodium oxybate, for narcolepsy with cataplexy and for alcohol withdrawal; no such dispensing regime is recorded in any instrument this session located for Tonga. Section 6 (international traveller's exemption) and section 7 (occupational and Ministry of Health exemption) of the Illicit Drugs Control Act are the only express lawful use routes under this Act. A search of the Drugs and Poisons Act, Act 11 of 1930 et seq. Cap. 79, 1988 Revised Edition (Schedule A and Part III), the Therapeutic Goods Act 2001, No. 3 of 2001, and the Therapeutic Goods Regulations 2011, 2020 Revised Edition, for a GHB specific entry recorded none in any of the three, conducted earlier in this country's research; that search was not repeated here.
Documentation: Instrument read: Illicit Drugs Control Act, Act 7 of 2003, Cap. 4.06, 2020 Revised Edition, Schedule 1, pages 21 to 23 of the official Attorney General of Tonga PDF, 26 pages, read 2026-10-07, sha256 20f27664a1f9fe17aac59a72dec336857a3a89c0d782b8a4ad46cd0b53488b23; the «OTHER ILLICIT DRUGS» sub-heading read and quoted in full, GHB appearing by its chemical name with the abbreviation in parenthesis. Amendment Acts read in full this session, both fetched fresh and hash verified: Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020, Act 15 of 2020, its own sections 3 and 4, 17 pages, sha256 55d9944a5d6d2189b6edf6dc6302b2b18c96061989449ef5ffda741a3ad5e0da; Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021, Act 19 of 2021, its own section 3(c), 6 pages, sha256 b8f37cc6a698940395e6172e27f3622d1bc24f5dca10ad73805701af3615bad6. The two 2024 amendment Acts returned HTTP 404 from both the direct PDF link and the containing legislation index this session, so any change they made to this entry is not verified.

GHB in Tonga, full detail →

Heroin

Legal status: Named. Schedule 1 (section 2) of the Illicit Drugs Control Act, Act 7 of 2003, Cap. 4.06, 2020 Revised Edition, lists «Heroin» directly under Class A, in the subgroup headed «(FROM SCHEDULE IV OF THE CONVENTION ON NARCOTIC DRUGS, 1961)», alongside Acetorphine, Desomorphine, Etorphine and Ketobemidone in the same short subgroup. The schedule's preamble states that drugs listed, designated by their international non-proprietary names, their isomers, esters and ethers, their salts and any preparations including any such substances, «are illicit drugs unless exempted by law». Two later amendment Acts, the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) (No.1) Act 2024 and the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) (No.2) Act 2024, could not be retrieved this session, both the direct PDF link and the containing legislation index returned HTTP 404, so whether either amended this Schedule 1 entry is not verified, not ruled out.
Consequences if caught: Class A penalty, amended. Section 3's Class A paragraph (c) was deleted and replaced by the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020, Act 15 of 2020, its own section 3, with «(c) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of less than 1 gram, to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or both; (d) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 1 gram or more, to a fine not exceeding $1,000,000 or to imprisonment for any period not exceeding life or both; or (e) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 28 grams or more, to life imprisonment», the last tier the maximum available with no fine alternative at that quantity, though the court retains ordinary sentencing discretion. Section 4's Class A paragraph (iii) was replaced the same way, «(iii) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of less than 1 gram, to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or both; or (iv) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 1 gram or more, to a fine not exceeding $1,000,000 or to imprisonment for any period not exceeding life or both», and the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021, Act 19 of 2021, its own section 3(c), inserted «(v) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 5 kilograms or more, to life imprisonment». Section 4 carries no 28 gram tier; that figure belongs to section 3's import and export offence only. Act 15 of 2020's new section 4(2) deems possession of «a Class A drug in the quantity of 0.25 grams or more» to be supplying, so heroin held well under a gram already carries the supply characterisation.
If prescribed / medical: Heroin, as diamorphine, has an accepted medical use for severe pain in a small number of jurisdictions, but no such prescribing regime is recorded in any instrument this session located for Tonga. Section 6 (international traveller's exemption) and section 7 (occupational and Ministry of Health exemption) of the Illicit Drugs Control Act are the only express lawful use routes under this Act. A search of the Drugs and Poisons Act, Act 11 of 1930 et seq. Cap. 79, 1988 Revised Edition (Schedule A and Part III), the Therapeutic Goods Act 2001, No. 3 of 2001, and the Therapeutic Goods Regulations 2011, 2020 Revised Edition, for a heroin specific entry recorded none in any of the three, conducted earlier in this country's research; that search was not repeated here.
Documentation: Instrument read: Illicit Drugs Control Act, Act 7 of 2003, Cap. 4.06, 2020 Revised Edition, Schedule 1, pages 21 to 23 of the official Attorney General of Tonga PDF, 26 pages, read 2026-10-07, sha256 20f27664a1f9fe17aac59a72dec336857a3a89c0d782b8a4ad46cd0b53488b23; «Heroin» found under the Schedule IV Narcotic Drugs 1961 subgroup of Class A. Amendment Acts read in full this session, both fetched fresh and hash verified: Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020, Act 15 of 2020, its own sections 3 and 4, 17 pages, sha256 55d9944a5d6d2189b6edf6dc6302b2b18c96061989449ef5ffda741a3ad5e0da; Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021, Act 19 of 2021, its own section 3(c), 6 pages, sha256 b8f37cc6a698940395e6172e27f3622d1bc24f5dca10ad73805701af3615bad6. The two 2024 amendment Acts returned HTTP 404 from both the direct PDF link and the containing legislation index this session, so any change they made to this entry is not verified.

Heroin in Tonga, full detail →

Hydrocodone

Legal status: Named. Schedule 1 (section 2) of the Illicit Drugs Control Act, Act 7 of 2003, Cap. 4.06, 2020 Revised Edition, lists «Hydrocodone» under Class A, in the subgroup headed «(FROM SCHEDULE I OF THE CONVENTION ON NARCOTIC DRUGS, 1961)». The schedule's own preamble states that the drugs listed, designated by their international non-proprietary names or the names used in international conventions in force, their isomers, esters and ethers, their salts, including the salts of any such isomer, ester or ether, and any preparations including any such substances, «are illicit drugs unless exempted by law». Section 2 defines an illicit drug as «any drug of Class A or Class B listed in Schedule I or anything prescribed by regulation to be an illicit drug». Two later amendment Acts, the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) (No.1) Act 2024 and the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) (No.2) Act 2024, could not be retrieved this session, both the direct PDF link and the containing legislation index returned HTTP 404, so whether either amended this Schedule 1 entry is not verified, not ruled out.
Consequences if caught: Class A penalty, tiered by quantity. Section 3, as substituted in part by the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020, Act 15 of 2020, s.3, provides for unlawful import or export of a Class A drug: «(c) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of less than 1 gram, to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or both; (d) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 1 gram or more, to a fine not exceeding $1,000,000 or to imprisonment for any period not exceeding life or both; or (e) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 28 grams or more, to life imprisonment». Section 4, as substituted in part by Act 15 of 2020, s.4(a), provides for unlawful possession, manufacture, cultivation, use and supply, now numbered as sub-section (1): «(iii) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of less than 1 gram, to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or both; or (iv) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 1 gram or more, to a fine not exceeding $1,000,000 or to imprisonment for any period not exceeding life or both». The Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021, Act 19 of 2021, s.3(c), added a third tier: «(v) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 5 kilograms or more, to life imprisonment». Section 4(2), inserted by Act 15 of 2020, s.4(b), further provides that a person in possession of a Class A drug in the quantity of 0.25 grams or more «shall be deemed to be supplying» it. This supersedes the flat band read in the 2020 Revised Edition consolidation, a single fine and imprisonment figure that applied to any quantity of a Class A drug without a tier; that provision predates both amending Acts, and the quantity threshold, once Class B only, now also applies to a Class A drug at these different thresholds. The bands above are the current state read this session; the two 2024 amendment Acts named in documentation could not be retrieved (HTTP 404), so whether either changes these bands further is not verified. Hydrocodone, as a Class A drug, is reached by these tiers at whichever threshold the quantity involved meets.
If prescribed / medical: Section 6, the international traveller's exemption, permits a person undergoing treatment of a medical condition who is entering, leaving or transiting Tonga to possess quantities of an illicit drug lawfully prescribed or supplied for that treatment, for a period of not more than one month, provided the person holds written authority from the treating doctor. Section 7 excuses a person whose lawful occupation or profession requires possession, supply or use of an illicit drug, for the specific purpose of that occupation, and separately exempts the Ministry of Health. Hydrocodone combination analgesics are prescribed in some countries, so this is the route that would cover any legitimate clinical supply in Tonga. A search of the Drugs and Poisons Act, Act 11 of 1930 et seq. Cap. 79, 1988 Revised Edition (Schedule A and Part III), the Therapeutic Goods Act 2001, No. 3 of 2001, and the Therapeutic Goods Regulations 2011, 2020 Revised Edition, for a hydrocodone specific entry recorded none in any of the three, conducted earlier in this country's research; that search was not repeated here.
Documentation: Instrument read: Illicit Drugs Control Act, Act 7 of 2003, Cap. 4.06, 2020 Revised Edition, Schedule 1, pages 21 to 23 of the official Attorney General of Tonga PDF, 26 pages, read 2026-10-07, sha256 20f27664a1f9fe17aac59a72dec336857a3a89c0d782b8a4ad46cd0b53488b23. Schedule 1's own heading carries an amendment footnote recording that it was amended by Act 18 of 2012, the same amendment that inserted the separate Class B cannabis list after this entry. The Attorney General's legislation index, current 2 October 2026, separately lists the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020 (Act 15 of 2020) and the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021 (Act 19 of 2021); both amending Acts were read in full this session: the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020, Act 15 of 2020, official Attorney General of Tonga PDF, 17 pages, read 2026-10-07, sha256 55d9944a5d6d2189b6edf6dc6302b2b18c96061989449ef5ffda741a3ad5e0da; and the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021, Act 19 of 2021, official Attorney General of Tonga PDF, 6 pages, read 2026-10-07, sha256 b8f37cc6a698940395e6172e27f3622d1bc24f5dca10ad73805701af3615bad6. Neither names hydrocodone specifically, but Act 15 of 2020, s.3 and s.4, and Act 19 of 2021, s.3(c), substitute the general Class A penalty bands in sections 3 and 4 that this entry falls under, quoted in consequences_street above. The two 2024 amendment Acts named above returned HTTP 404 from both the direct PDF link and the containing index, so any change they made to this entry is not verified.

Hydrocodone in Tonga, full detail →

Ketamine

Legal status: Named. Schedule 1 (section 2) of the Illicit Drugs Control Act, Act 7 of 2003, Cap. 4.06, 2020 Revised Edition, lists «Ketamine» under the sub-heading «OTHER ILLICIT DRUGS», alongside Khat, Gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB), Gamma-butyrolactone (GBL), «1, 4-butanediol (tetramethylene glycol)», anabolic and androgenic substances, growth hormones, and «4-bromo 2, 5 dimethoxyamphetamine (Bromo DMA)». This heading carries no «CLASS B» or other new class label of its own; it follows directly after the last convention subgroup under the «CLASS A» heading and is itself followed by the first appearance of «CLASS B», which the Act's own endnote records was inserted later by Act 18 of 2012 and contains only cannabis entries. Ketamine therefore falls within Class A, not a separate unclassed catch-all. The schedule's own preamble states that the drugs listed, designated by their international non-proprietary names or the names used in international conventions in force, their isomers, esters and ethers, their salts, including the salts of any such isomer, ester or ether, and any preparations including any such substances, «are illicit drugs unless exempted by law». Two later amendment Acts, the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) (No.1) Act 2024 and the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) (No.2) Act 2024, could not be retrieved this session, both the direct PDF link and the containing legislation index returned HTTP 404, so whether either amended this entry is not verified, not ruled out.
Consequences if caught: Class A penalty, tiered by quantity. Section 3, as substituted in part by the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020, Act 15 of 2020, s.3, provides for unlawful import or export of a Class A drug: «(c) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of less than 1 gram, to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or both; (d) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 1 gram or more, to a fine not exceeding $1,000,000 or to imprisonment for any period not exceeding life or both; or (e) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 28 grams or more, to life imprisonment». Section 4, as substituted in part by Act 15 of 2020, s.4(a), provides for unlawful possession, manufacture, cultivation, use and supply, now numbered as sub-section (1): «(iii) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of less than 1 gram, to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or both; or (iv) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 1 gram or more, to a fine not exceeding $1,000,000 or to imprisonment for any period not exceeding life or both». The Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021, Act 19 of 2021, s.3(c), added a third tier: «(v) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 5 kilograms or more, to life imprisonment». Section 4(2), inserted by Act 15 of 2020, s.4(b), further provides that a person in possession of a Class A drug in the quantity of 0.25 grams or more «shall be deemed to be supplying» it. This supersedes the flat band read in the 2020 Revised Edition consolidation, a single fine and imprisonment figure that applied to any quantity of a Class A drug without a tier; that provision predates both amending Acts, and the quantity threshold, once Class B only, now also applies to a Class A drug at these different thresholds. The bands above are the current state read this session; the two 2024 amendment Acts named in documentation could not be retrieved (HTTP 404), so whether either changes these bands further is not verified. Ketamine, as a Class A drug, is reached by these tiers at whichever threshold the quantity involved meets.
If prescribed / medical: Section 6, the international traveller's exemption, permits a person undergoing treatment of a medical condition who is entering, leaving or transiting Tonga to possess quantities of an illicit drug lawfully prescribed or supplied for that treatment, for a period of not more than one month, provided the person holds written authority from the treating doctor. Section 7 excuses a person whose lawful occupation or profession requires possession, supply or use of an illicit drug, for the specific purpose of that occupation, and separately exempts the Ministry of Health, which is the route that would cover ketamine's genuine clinical use in Tonga as a surgical and veterinary anaesthetic. A search of the Drugs and Poisons Act, Act 11 of 1930 et seq. Cap. 79, 1988 Revised Edition (Schedule A and Part III), the Therapeutic Goods Act 2001, No. 3 of 2001, and the Therapeutic Goods Regulations 2011, 2020 Revised Edition, for a ketamine specific entry recorded none in any of the three, conducted earlier in this country's research; that search was not repeated here.
Documentation: Instrument read: Illicit Drugs Control Act, Act 7 of 2003, Cap. 4.06, 2020 Revised Edition, Schedule 1, pages 21 to 23 of the official Attorney General of Tonga PDF, 26 pages, read 2026-10-07, sha256 20f27664a1f9fe17aac59a72dec336857a3a89c0d782b8a4ad46cd0b53488b23. Ketamine is the named parent compound for the structural comparisons drawn for 2-FDCK and MXE under this Act, both dissociative anaesthetics reasoned as analogues of this entry. The Attorney General's legislation index, current 2 October 2026, separately lists the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020 (Act 15 of 2020) and the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021 (Act 19 of 2021); both amending Acts were read in full this session: the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020, Act 15 of 2020, official Attorney General of Tonga PDF, 17 pages, read 2026-10-07, sha256 55d9944a5d6d2189b6edf6dc6302b2b18c96061989449ef5ffda741a3ad5e0da; and the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021, Act 19 of 2021, official Attorney General of Tonga PDF, 6 pages, read 2026-10-07, sha256 b8f37cc6a698940395e6172e27f3622d1bc24f5dca10ad73805701af3615bad6. Neither names ketamine specifically, but Act 15 of 2020, s.3 and s.4, and Act 19 of 2021, s.3(c), substitute the general Class A penalty bands in sections 3 and 4 that this entry falls under, quoted in consequences_street above. The two 2024 amendment Acts named above returned HTTP 404 from both the direct PDF link and the containing index, so any change they made to this entry is not verified.

Ketamine in Tonga, full detail →

Khat

Legal status: NAMED. Schedule 1 (page 23), under the heading «OTHER ILLICIT DRUGS», lists: «Ketamine / Khat / Gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) / Gamma-butyrolactone (GBL) / 1, 4-butanediol (tetramethylene glycol) / Anabolic and androgenic substances / Growth hormones / 4-bromo 2, 5 dimethoxyamphetamine (Bromo DMA)». "Khat" is named directly in that list. This heading sits under the single "CLASS A" heading printed at the top of Schedule 1 (page 21); the Act's own Endnotes confirm the only separately classed heading, "CLASS B", is an insertion by Act 18 of 2012 covering only the cannabis sub-list that follows it, so khat is correctly Class A. Khat's two principal active alkaloids are independently named as well: "Cathinone" (Schedule I of the Convention on Psychotropic Substances 1971, page 21) and "Cathine" (Schedule III of the same Convention, page 22).
Consequences if caught: Khat (Catha edulis), and its two controlled alkaloids, cathinone and cathine, are each Class A drugs under Schedule 1. Under section 3 of the Act, as substituted by Act 15 of 2020 section 3, unlawful import or export of a Class A drug is liable, for less than 1 gram, to a fine not exceeding 10,000 pa'anga or imprisonment not exceeding 3 years or both; for 1 gram or more, to a fine not exceeding 1,000,000 pa'anga or imprisonment for any period not exceeding life or both; and for 28 grams or more, to life imprisonment. Under section 4, as amended by Act 15 of 2020 section 4 and Act 19 of 2021 section 3, the same bands apply to possession, manufacture, cultivation, use or supply, except the top band is 5 kilograms or more; section 4(2) deems 0.25 grams or more to be supplying. Khat covers a plant and its two principal controlled alkaloids together, cathinone and cathine, rather than a single compound; the plant material, fresh or dried, and extracts of either alkaloid are each covered.
If prescribed / medical: No entry for khat, Catha edulis, cathine or cathinone was located in the Therapeutic Goods Act 2001, No. 3 of 2001, or the Therapeutic Goods Regulations 2011, 2020 Revised Edition; neither instrument prints a name specific schedule admitting khat or its alkaloids as a prescribable medicine.
Documentation: Searched against Illicit Drugs Control Act 2003 Schedule 1, pages 21 to 23, for "khat" and "Catha edulis; cathine; cathinone"; located directly at page 23 under «OTHER ILLICIT DRUGS», with cathinone and cathine separately named at pages 21 and 22. Also checked against the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020, the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021, the Drugs and Poisons Act 1930 Schedule A and Part III, the Therapeutic Goods Act 2001, and the Therapeutic Goods Regulations 2011; none of the secondary instruments names khat separately. Two further amending Acts, the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) (No.1) Act 2024 and the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) (No.2) Act 2024, are listed in the Attorney General's legislation index but their PDFs returned HTTP 404 from the official portal checked independently in this session on 2026-10-07; if either altered the Schedule 1 wording for this entry, that is not verified here. Section 6 of the Act exempts a travelling medical patient for up to one month with written doctor authority; section 7 exempts a lawful occupation and the Ministry of Health.

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Khat in Tonga, full detail →

Lorazepam

Legal status: Named. Schedule 1 (section 2) of the Illicit Drugs Control Act, Act 7 of 2003, Cap. 4.06, 2020 Revised Edition, lists «Lorazepam» under Class A, in the subgroup headed «(FROM SCHEDULE IV OF THE CONVENTION ON PSYCHOTROPIC SUBSTANCES, 1971)». The schedule's own preamble states that the drugs listed, designated by their international non-proprietary names or the names used in international conventions in force, their isomers, esters and ethers, their salts, including the salts of any such isomer, ester or ether, and any preparations including any such substances, «are illicit drugs unless exempted by law». Section 2 defines an illicit drug as «any drug of Class A or Class B listed in Schedule I or anything prescribed by regulation to be an illicit drug». Two later amendment Acts, the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) (No.1) Act 2024 and the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) (No.2) Act 2024, could not be retrieved this session, both the direct PDF link and the containing legislation index returned HTTP 404, so whether either amended this Schedule 1 entry is not verified, not ruled out.
Consequences if caught: Class A penalty, tiered by quantity. Section 3, as substituted in part by the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020, Act 15 of 2020, s.3, provides for unlawful import or export of a Class A drug: «(c) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of less than 1 gram, to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or both; (d) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 1 gram or more, to a fine not exceeding $1,000,000 or to imprisonment for any period not exceeding life or both; or (e) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 28 grams or more, to life imprisonment». Section 4, as substituted in part by Act 15 of 2020, s.4(a), provides for unlawful possession, manufacture, cultivation, use and supply, now numbered as sub-section (1): «(iii) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of less than 1 gram, to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or both; or (iv) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 1 gram or more, to a fine not exceeding $1,000,000 or to imprisonment for any period not exceeding life or both». The Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021, Act 19 of 2021, s.3(c), added a third tier: «(v) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 5 kilograms or more, to life imprisonment». Section 4(2), inserted by Act 15 of 2020, s.4(b), further provides that a person in possession of a Class A drug in the quantity of 0.25 grams or more «shall be deemed to be supplying» it. This supersedes the flat band read in the 2020 Revised Edition consolidation, a single fine and imprisonment figure that applied to any quantity of a Class A drug without a tier; that provision predates both amending Acts, and the quantity threshold, once Class B only, now also applies to a Class A drug at these different thresholds. The bands above are the current state read this session; the two 2024 amendment Acts named in documentation could not be retrieved (HTTP 404), so whether either changes these bands further is not verified. Lorazepam, as a Class A drug, is reached by these tiers at whichever threshold the quantity involved meets.
If prescribed / medical: Section 6, the international traveller's exemption, permits a person undergoing treatment of a medical condition who is entering, leaving or transiting Tonga to possess quantities of an illicit drug lawfully prescribed or supplied for that treatment, for a period of not more than one month, provided the person holds written authority from the treating doctor. Section 7 excuses a person whose lawful occupation or profession requires possession, supply or use of an illicit drug, for the specific purpose of that occupation, and separately exempts the Ministry of Health. Lorazepam is a widely prescribed benzodiazepine, so this is the route that would cover any legitimate clinical supply in Tonga. The Drugs and Poisons Act, Act 11 of 1930 et seq. Cap. 79, 1988 Revised Edition (Schedule A and Part III), the Therapeutic Goods Act 2001, No. 3 of 2001, and the Therapeutic Goods Regulations 2011, 2020 Revised Edition, were each fetched and read directly this session, searched for 'lorazepam' and 'benzodiazepine'; none of the three names either. This is a structural absence rather than an oversight: the 1930 Act's Schedule A is an unrevised, early-twentieth-century poisons list, aconite, arsenic, belladonna, strychnine, opium, coca, that predates benzodiazepines entirely and names only one drug class generically, amphetamines; the 2001 Act's own Schedule lists only the seven countries of manufacture it recognises for drug registration purposes and carries no drug names at all, directing the Minister's Committee instead to maintain a separate, electronically kept Tongan Registered List of Medicinal Drugs under section 5, which is not part of the Act's own printed text and was not located; and the 2011 Regulations' three schedules are licence and prescription application forms, not a substance list. Clonazepam and nimetazepam, this country's two other benzodiazepines, carry a substance-specific clinical-use sentence but are equally absent from all three instruments by name on the same search, so lorazepam's absence here is the same confirmed structural gap, not an unresearched one.
Documentation: Instrument read: Illicit Drugs Control Act, Act 7 of 2003, Cap. 4.06, 2020 Revised Edition, Schedule 1, pages 21 to 23 of the official Attorney General of Tonga PDF, 26 pages, read 2026-10-07, sha256 20f27664a1f9fe17aac59a72dec336857a3a89c0d782b8a4ad46cd0b53488b23. Schedule 1's own heading carries an amendment footnote recording that it was amended by Act 18 of 2012, the same amendment that inserted the separate Class B cannabis list after this entry. The Attorney General's legislation index, current 2 October 2026, separately lists the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020 (Act 15 of 2020) and the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021 (Act 19 of 2021); both amending Acts were read in full this session: the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020, Act 15 of 2020, official Attorney General of Tonga PDF, 17 pages, read 2026-10-07, sha256 55d9944a5d6d2189b6edf6dc6302b2b18c96061989449ef5ffda741a3ad5e0da; and the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021, Act 19 of 2021, official Attorney General of Tonga PDF, 6 pages, read 2026-10-07, sha256 b8f37cc6a698940395e6172e27f3622d1bc24f5dca10ad73805701af3615bad6. Neither names lorazepam specifically, but Act 15 of 2020, s.3 and s.4, and Act 19 of 2021, s.3(c), substitute the general Class A penalty bands in sections 3 and 4 that this entry falls under, quoted in consequences_street above. The two 2024 amendment Acts named above returned HTTP 404 from both the direct PDF link and the containing index, so any change they made to this entry is not verified.

Lorazepam in Tonga, full detail →

LSD

Legal status: Named, under the INN name the Schedule itself uses rather than the common abbreviation. Schedule 1 (section 2) of the Illicit Drugs Control Act, Act 7 of 2003, Cap. 4.06, 2020 Revised Edition, lists «(+)-Lysergide» under Class A, in the subgroup headed «(FROM SCHEDULE I OF THE CONVENTION ON PSYCHOTROPIC SUBSTANCES, 1971)»; Lysergide is the international non-proprietary name for lysergic acid diethylamide, LSD, and the plus sign and parenthesis are the schedule's own printed form, preserved here exactly. A separate instrument, Schedule 2 (Controlled Chemicals) of the same Act, names «Lysergic acid» on its own, a precursor chemical rather than the finished drug; the two entries are not the same line, and this finding concerns the drug itself, Lysergide, under Schedule 1. Two later amendment Acts, the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) (No.1) Act 2024 and the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) (No.2) Act 2024, could not be retrieved this session, both the direct PDF link and the containing legislation index returned HTTP 404, so whether either amended this Schedule 1 entry is not verified, not ruled out.
Consequences if caught: Class A penalty, amended. Section 3's Class A paragraph (c) was deleted and replaced by the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020, Act 15 of 2020, its own section 3, with «(c) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of less than 1 gram, to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or both; (d) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 1 gram or more, to a fine not exceeding $1,000,000 or to imprisonment for any period not exceeding life or both; or (e) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 28 grams or more, to life imprisonment», the last tier the maximum available with no fine alternative at that quantity, though the court retains ordinary sentencing discretion, a threshold LSD's typical microgram dosing makes easy to reach once any carrier material is weighed with it. Section 4's Class A paragraph (iii) was replaced the same way, «(iii) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of less than 1 gram, to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or both; or (iv) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 1 gram or more, to a fine not exceeding $1,000,000 or to imprisonment for any period not exceeding life or both», and the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021, Act 19 of 2021, its own section 3(c), inserted «(v) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 5 kilograms or more, to life imprisonment». Section 4 carries no 28 gram tier; that figure belongs to section 3's import and export offence only. Act 15 of 2020's new section 4(2) deems possession of «a Class A drug in the quantity of 0.25 grams or more» to be supplying.
If prescribed / medical: Lysergide has no accepted human medical use in any instrument located this session. Section 6 (international traveller's exemption) and section 7 (occupational and Ministry of Health exemption) of the Illicit Drugs Control Act are the only express lawful use routes under this Act, and neither has realistic application. A search of the Drugs and Poisons Act, Act 11 of 1930 et seq. Cap. 79, 1988 Revised Edition (Schedule A and Part III), the Therapeutic Goods Act 2001, No. 3 of 2001, and the Therapeutic Goods Regulations 2011, 2020 Revised Edition, for an LSD or lysergide specific entry recorded none in any of the three, conducted earlier in this country's research; that search was not repeated here.
Documentation: Instrument read: Illicit Drugs Control Act, Act 7 of 2003, Cap. 4.06, 2020 Revised Edition, Schedule 1, pages 21 to 23 of the official Attorney General of Tonga PDF, 26 pages, read 2026-10-07, sha256 20f27664a1f9fe17aac59a72dec336857a3a89c0d782b8a4ad46cd0b53488b23; «(+)-Lysergide» found under the Schedule I Psychotropic Substances 1971 subgroup of Class A, distinct from «Lysergic acid», a separate entry under Schedule 2 Controlled Chemicals of the same Act. Amendment Acts read in full this session, both fetched fresh and hash verified: Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020, Act 15 of 2020, its own sections 3 and 4, 17 pages, sha256 55d9944a5d6d2189b6edf6dc6302b2b18c96061989449ef5ffda741a3ad5e0da; Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021, Act 19 of 2021, its own section 3(c), 6 pages, sha256 b8f37cc6a698940395e6172e27f3622d1bc24f5dca10ad73805701af3615bad6. The two 2024 amendment Acts returned HTTP 404 from both the direct PDF link and the containing legislation index this session, so any change they made to this entry is not verified.

LSD in Tonga, full detail →

MDA

Legal status: NAMED. Schedule 1, Class A, from Schedule I of the Convention on Psychotropic Substances 1971 (page 21), names "MDA" directly.
Consequences if caught: Under section 3 of the Illicit Drugs Control Act, as substituted by the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020, Act 15 of 2020, section 3, unlawful import or export of a Class A drug such as MDA is liable, for a quantity of less than 1 gram, to a fine not exceeding 10,000 pa'anga or imprisonment not exceeding 3 years or both; for 1 gram or more, to a fine not exceeding 1,000,000 pa'anga or imprisonment for any period not exceeding life or both; and for 28 grams or more, to life imprisonment. Under section 4, as amended by Act 15 of 2020 section 4 and the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021, Act 19 of 2021, section 3, unlawful possession, manufacture, cultivation, use or supply carries the same three bands, except the top band is 5 kilograms or more. Section 4(2), inserted by Act 15 of 2020, deems a person possessing 0.25 grams or more of MDA to be supplying it.
If prescribed / medical: No entry for MDA or tenamphetamine was located in the Therapeutic Goods Act 2001, No. 3 of 2001, or the Therapeutic Goods Regulations 2011, 2020 Revised Edition; neither instrument prints a name specific schedule admitting it as a prescribable medicine distinct from the Illicit Drugs Control Act's own Class A listing. The only route for a lawfully prescribed patient is the section 6 international traveller's exemption, up to one month, with written authority from the treating doctor, or the section 7 occupational and Ministry of Health exemptions.
Documentation: Searched against Illicit Drugs Control Act 2003 Schedule 1, pages 21 to 23, for "MDA" and "3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine; tenamphetamine"; located at page 21 among the entries from Schedule I of the Convention on Psychotropic Substances 1971. Also checked against the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020, the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021, the Drugs and Poisons Act 1930 Schedule A and Part III, the Therapeutic Goods Act 2001, and the Therapeutic Goods Regulations 2011; none of the secondary instruments names MDA separately. Two further amending Acts, the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) (No.1) Act 2024 and the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) (No.2) Act 2024, are listed in the Attorney General's legislation index but their PDFs returned HTTP 404 from the official portal checked independently in this session on 2026-10-07; if either altered the Schedule 1 wording for this entry, that is not verified here. Section 6 of the Act exempts a travelling medical patient for up to one month with written doctor authority; section 7 exempts a lawful occupation and the Ministry of Health.

ago.gov.to · ago.gov.to · ago.gov.to · ago.gov.to · ago.gov.to · ago.gov.to · Updated October 8, 2026

MDA in Tonga, full detail →

MDMA

Legal status: Named. Schedule 1 (section 2) of the Illicit Drugs Control Act, Act 7 of 2003, Cap. 4.06, 2020 Revised Edition, lists «MDMA» directly under Class A, in the subgroup headed «(FROM SCHEDULE I OF THE CONVENTION ON PSYCHOTROPIC SUBSTANCES, 1971)». The same subgroup separately names «MDA», «N-ethyl MDA» and «N-hydroxy MDA» as their own, distinct entries; this finding concerns MDMA by its own printed name, not any of those related entries. Two later amendment Acts, the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) (No.1) Act 2024 and the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) (No.2) Act 2024, could not be retrieved this session, both the direct PDF link and the containing legislation index returned HTTP 404, so whether either amended this Schedule 1 entry is not verified, not ruled out.
Consequences if caught: Class A penalty, amended. Section 3's Class A paragraph (c) was deleted and replaced by the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020, Act 15 of 2020, its own section 3, with «(c) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of less than 1 gram, to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or both; (d) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 1 gram or more, to a fine not exceeding $1,000,000 or to imprisonment for any period not exceeding life or both; or (e) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 28 grams or more, to life imprisonment», the last tier the maximum available with no fine alternative at that quantity, though the court retains ordinary sentencing discretion. Section 4's Class A paragraph (iii) was replaced the same way, «(iii) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of less than 1 gram, to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or both; or (iv) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 1 gram or more, to a fine not exceeding $1,000,000 or to imprisonment for any period not exceeding life or both», and the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021, Act 19 of 2021, its own section 3(c), inserted «(v) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 5 kilograms or more, to life imprisonment». Section 4 carries no 28 gram tier; that figure belongs to section 3's import and export offence only. Act 15 of 2020's new section 4(2) deems possession of «a Class A drug in the quantity of 0.25 grams or more» to be supplying, a quantity well under a single typical tablet's weight once any binder is counted.
If prescribed / medical: MDMA has no accepted human medical use in any instrument located this session; clinical trial use under research protocols elsewhere in the world is not addressed by any Tongan instrument found. Section 6 (international traveller's exemption) and section 7 (occupational and Ministry of Health exemption) of the Illicit Drugs Control Act are the only express lawful use routes under this Act. A search of the Drugs and Poisons Act, Act 11 of 1930 et seq. Cap. 79, 1988 Revised Edition (Schedule A and Part III), the Therapeutic Goods Act 2001, No. 3 of 2001, and the Therapeutic Goods Regulations 2011, 2020 Revised Edition, for an MDMA specific entry recorded none in any of the three, conducted earlier in this country's research; that search was not repeated here.
Documentation: Instrument read: Illicit Drugs Control Act, Act 7 of 2003, Cap. 4.06, 2020 Revised Edition, Schedule 1, pages 21 to 23 of the official Attorney General of Tonga PDF, 26 pages, read 2026-10-07, sha256 20f27664a1f9fe17aac59a72dec336857a3a89c0d782b8a4ad46cd0b53488b23; «MDMA» found under the Schedule I Psychotropic Substances 1971 subgroup of Class A, distinct from the «MDA», «N-ethyl MDA» and «N-hydroxy MDA» entries in the same subgroup. Amendment Acts read in full this session, both fetched fresh and hash verified: Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020, Act 15 of 2020, its own sections 3 and 4, 17 pages, sha256 55d9944a5d6d2189b6edf6dc6302b2b18c96061989449ef5ffda741a3ad5e0da; Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021, Act 19 of 2021, its own section 3(c), 6 pages, sha256 b8f37cc6a698940395e6172e27f3622d1bc24f5dca10ad73805701af3615bad6. The two 2024 amendment Acts returned HTTP 404 from both the direct PDF link and the containing legislation index this session, so any change they made to this entry is not verified.

MDMA in Tonga, full detail →

Mescaline

Legal status: Named. Schedule 1 (section 2) of the Illicit Drugs Control Act, Act 7 of 2003, Cap. 4.06, 2020 Revised Edition, lists «Mescaline» directly under Class A, in the subgroup headed «(FROM SCHEDULE I OF THE CONVENTION ON PSYCHOTROPIC SUBSTANCES, 1971)», alongside DMT, DMA, MDMA, Psilocybine and others in the same subgroup. The entry names the compound itself rather than any plant source such as peyote or San Pedro cactus, the two natural sources most associated with mescaline. Two later amendment Acts, the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) (No.1) Act 2024 and the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) (No.2) Act 2024, could not be retrieved this session, both the direct PDF link and the containing legislation index returned HTTP 404, so whether either amended this Schedule 1 entry is not verified, not ruled out.
Consequences if caught: Class A penalty, amended. Section 3's Class A paragraph (c) was deleted and replaced by the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020, Act 15 of 2020, its own section 3, with «(c) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of less than 1 gram, to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or both; (d) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 1 gram or more, to a fine not exceeding $1,000,000 or to imprisonment for any period not exceeding life or both; or (e) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 28 grams or more, to life imprisonment», the last tier the maximum available with no fine alternative at that quantity, though the court retains ordinary sentencing discretion. Section 4's Class A paragraph (iii) was replaced the same way, «(iii) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of less than 1 gram, to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or both; or (iv) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 1 gram or more, to a fine not exceeding $1,000,000 or to imprisonment for any period not exceeding life or both», and the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021, Act 19 of 2021, its own section 3(c), inserted «(v) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 5 kilograms or more, to life imprisonment». Section 4 carries no 28 gram tier; that figure belongs to section 3's import and export offence only. Act 15 of 2020's new section 4(2) deems possession of «a Class A drug in the quantity of 0.25 grams or more» to be supplying, a low threshold given mescaline's relatively low potency by weight compared with other Class A entries in the same subgroup.
If prescribed / medical: Mescaline has no accepted human medical use in any instrument located this session. Section 6 (international traveller's exemption) and section 7 (occupational and Ministry of Health exemption) of the Illicit Drugs Control Act are the only express lawful use routes under this Act, and neither has realistic application. A search of the Drugs and Poisons Act, Act 11 of 1930 et seq. Cap. 79, 1988 Revised Edition (Schedule A and Part III), the Therapeutic Goods Act 2001, No. 3 of 2001, and the Therapeutic Goods Regulations 2011, 2020 Revised Edition, for a mescaline specific entry recorded none in any of the three, conducted earlier in this country's research; that search was not repeated here.
Documentation: Instrument read: Illicit Drugs Control Act, Act 7 of 2003, Cap. 4.06, 2020 Revised Edition, Schedule 1, pages 21 to 23 of the official Attorney General of Tonga PDF, 26 pages, read 2026-10-07, sha256 20f27664a1f9fe17aac59a72dec336857a3a89c0d782b8a4ad46cd0b53488b23; «Mescaline» found under the Schedule I Psychotropic Substances 1971 subgroup of Class A. Amendment Acts read in full this session, both fetched fresh and hash verified: Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020, Act 15 of 2020, its own sections 3 and 4, 17 pages, sha256 55d9944a5d6d2189b6edf6dc6302b2b18c96061989449ef5ffda741a3ad5e0da; Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021, Act 19 of 2021, its own section 3(c), 6 pages, sha256 b8f37cc6a698940395e6172e27f3622d1bc24f5dca10ad73805701af3615bad6. The two 2024 amendment Acts returned HTTP 404 from both the direct PDF link and the containing legislation index this session, so any change they made to this entry is not verified.

Mescaline in Tonga, full detail →

Methadone

Legal status: Named. Schedule 1 (section 2) of the Illicit Drugs Control Act, Act 7 of 2003, Cap. 4.06, 2020 Revised Edition, lists «Methadone» under Class A, in the subgroup headed «(FROM SCHEDULE I OF THE CONVENTION ON NARCOTIC DRUGS, 1961)». The schedule's own preamble states that the drugs listed, designated by their international non-proprietary names or the names used in international conventions in force, their isomers, esters and ethers, their salts, including the salts of any such isomer, ester or ether, and any preparations including any such substances, «are illicit drugs unless exempted by law». Section 2 defines an illicit drug as «any drug of Class A or Class B listed in Schedule I or anything prescribed by regulation to be an illicit drug». Two later amendment Acts, the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) (No.1) Act 2024 and the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) (No.2) Act 2024, could not be retrieved this session, both the direct PDF link and the containing legislation index returned HTTP 404, so whether either amended this Schedule 1 entry is not verified, not ruled out.
Consequences if caught: Class A penalty, tiered by quantity. Section 3, as substituted in part by the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020, Act 15 of 2020, s.3, provides for unlawful import or export of a Class A drug: «(c) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of less than 1 gram, to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or both; (d) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 1 gram or more, to a fine not exceeding $1,000,000 or to imprisonment for any period not exceeding life or both; or (e) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 28 grams or more, to life imprisonment». Section 4, as substituted in part by Act 15 of 2020, s.4(a), provides for unlawful possession, manufacture, cultivation, use and supply, now numbered as sub-section (1): «(iii) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of less than 1 gram, to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or both; or (iv) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 1 gram or more, to a fine not exceeding $1,000,000 or to imprisonment for any period not exceeding life or both». The Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021, Act 19 of 2021, s.3(c), added a third tier: «(v) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 5 kilograms or more, to life imprisonment». Section 4(2), inserted by Act 15 of 2020, s.4(b), further provides that a person in possession of a Class A drug in the quantity of 0.25 grams or more «shall be deemed to be supplying» it. This supersedes the flat band read in the 2020 Revised Edition consolidation, a single fine and imprisonment figure that applied to any quantity of a Class A drug without a tier; that provision predates both amending Acts, and the quantity threshold, once Class B only, now also applies to a Class A drug at these different thresholds. The bands above are the current state read this session; the two 2024 amendment Acts named in documentation could not be retrieved (HTTP 404), so whether either changes these bands further is not verified. Methadone, as a Class A drug, is reached by these tiers at whichever threshold the quantity involved meets.
If prescribed / medical: Section 6, the international traveller's exemption, permits a person undergoing treatment of a medical condition who is entering, leaving or transiting Tonga to possess quantities of an illicit drug lawfully prescribed or supplied for that treatment, for a period of not more than one month, provided the person holds written authority from the treating doctor. Section 7 excuses a person whose lawful occupation or profession requires possession, supply or use of an illicit drug, for the specific purpose of that occupation, and separately exempts the Ministry of Health. Methadone is used elsewhere as an opioid substitution and analgesic medicine, so this is the route that would cover any legitimate clinical supply in Tonga; nothing in the instruments read suggests Tonga operates a dedicated opioid substitution programme. A search of the Drugs and Poisons Act, Act 11 of 1930 et seq. Cap. 79, 1988 Revised Edition (Schedule A and Part III), the Therapeutic Goods Act 2001, No. 3 of 2001, and the Therapeutic Goods Regulations 2011, 2020 Revised Edition, for a methadone specific entry recorded none in any of the three, conducted earlier in this country's research; that search was not repeated here.
Documentation: Instrument read: Illicit Drugs Control Act, Act 7 of 2003, Cap. 4.06, 2020 Revised Edition, Schedule 1, pages 21 to 23 of the official Attorney General of Tonga PDF, 26 pages, read 2026-10-07, sha256 20f27664a1f9fe17aac59a72dec336857a3a89c0d782b8a4ad46cd0b53488b23. Schedule 1's own heading carries an amendment footnote recording that it was amended by Act 18 of 2012, the same amendment that inserted the separate Class B cannabis list after this entry. The Attorney General's legislation index, current 2 October 2026, separately lists the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020 (Act 15 of 2020) and the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021 (Act 19 of 2021); both amending Acts were read in full this session: the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020, Act 15 of 2020, official Attorney General of Tonga PDF, 17 pages, read 2026-10-07, sha256 55d9944a5d6d2189b6edf6dc6302b2b18c96061989449ef5ffda741a3ad5e0da; and the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021, Act 19 of 2021, official Attorney General of Tonga PDF, 6 pages, read 2026-10-07, sha256 b8f37cc6a698940395e6172e27f3622d1bc24f5dca10ad73805701af3615bad6. Neither names methadone specifically, but Act 15 of 2020, s.3 and s.4, and Act 19 of 2021, s.3(c), substitute the general Class A penalty bands in sections 3 and 4 that this entry falls under, quoted in consequences_street above. The two 2024 amendment Acts named above returned HTTP 404 from both the direct PDF link and the containing index, so any change they made to this entry is not verified.

Methadone in Tonga, full detail →

Methamphetamine

Legal status: Named. Schedule 1 (section 2) of the Illicit Drugs Control Act, Act 7 of 2003, Cap. 4.06, 2020 Revised Edition, lists «Methamphetamine» and, as a separate entry, «Methamphetamine racemate» under Class A, in the subgroup headed «(FROM SCHEDULE II OF THE CONVENTION ON PSYCHOTROPIC SUBSTANCES, 1971)», alongside Amphetamine, Dexamphetamine, Fenetylline, Levamphetamine, Mecloqualone, Methaqualone, Methylphenidate, Phencyclidine, Phenmetrazine, Secobarbital and Zipeprol in the same subgroup. This subgroup sits before the Schedule's own «CLASS B12» heading, which the Act's own endnote records as inserted by Act 18 of 2012 and which introduces only the cannabis entries that follow it, so methamphetamine is a Class A drug throughout. The schedule's preamble states that drugs listed, designated by their international non-proprietary names, their isomers, esters and ethers, their salts and any preparations including any such substances, «are illicit drugs unless exempted by law». Two later amendment Acts, the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) (No.1) Act 2024 and the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) (No.2) Act 2024, could not be retrieved this session, both the direct PDF link and the containing legislation index returned HTTP 404, so whether either amended this Schedule 1 entry is not verified, not ruled out.
Consequences if caught: Class A penalty, amended, and a correction to the figure this entry previously carried. Sections 3 and 4 are two separate offences with two separate quantity structures, and methamphetamine's exposure differs between them. Section 3, unlawful import or export, had its single Class A paragraph (c) deleted and replaced by the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020, Act 15 of 2020, its own section 3, with three tiers: «(c) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of less than 1 gram, to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or both; (d) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 1 gram or more, to a fine not exceeding $1,000,000 or to imprisonment for any period not exceeding life or both; or (e) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 28 grams or more, to life imprisonment». The 28 gram threshold and its life sentence, the maximum available at that tier, belong to this import or export offence only, and paragraph (e) carries no fine alternative, though the court retains ordinary sentencing discretion. Section 4, unlawful possession, manufacture, cultivation, use and supply, took a different amendment: Act 15 of 2020's own section 4 deleted the single Class A paragraph (iii) and replaced it with «(iii) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of less than 1 gram, to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or both; or (iv) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 1 gram or more, to a fine not exceeding $1,000,000 or to imprisonment for any period not exceeding life or both». The Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021, Act 19 of 2021, its own section 3(c), then inserted a further tier, «(v) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 5 kilograms or more, to life imprisonment», assented 28 October 2021. Section 4 therefore tops out at 5 kilograms, not 28 grams, and that top tier, like section 3's, is life imprisonment, the maximum available, with no fine alternative stated. The figure this entry previously carried, that possession of 28 grams of methamphetamine draws a life sentence or a fine of up to $1,000,000, conflated the two offences: 28 grams is section 3's import and export threshold, not a section 4 possession threshold, and section 4 has no 28 gram tier at all. It also mis-stated the tier it was describing: the Act's own words at the 1 gram or more tier read «or to imprisonment for any period not exceeding life or both», so a fine remains an alternative there; it is only the top tier, 5 kilograms for possession or 28 grams for import and export, that is life imprisonment with no fine alternative. A reader relying on the earlier figure for personal possession exposure was reading the import or export provision's threshold instead of section 4's own. Act 15 of 2020 also inserted a new section 4(2): possession of «a Class A drug in the quantity of 0.25 grams or more... shall be deemed to be supplying» it, so methamphetamine quantities far under a gram already carry the supply characterisation rather than simple possession.
If prescribed / medical: Methamphetamine has a narrow, named pharmaceutical form in some jurisdictions for severe attention deficit disorder and exogenous obesity, but no such prescribing regime is recorded in any instrument this session located for Tonga. Section 6 (international traveller's exemption) and section 7 (occupational and Ministry of Health exemption) of the Illicit Drugs Control Act are the only express lawful use routes under this Act. A search of the Drugs and Poisons Act, Act 11 of 1930 et seq. Cap. 79, 1988 Revised Edition (Schedule A and Part III), the Therapeutic Goods Act 2001, No. 3 of 2001, and the Therapeutic Goods Regulations 2011, 2020 Revised Edition, for a methamphetamine specific entry recorded none in any of the three, conducted earlier in this country's research; that search was not repeated here.
Documentation: Instrument read: Illicit Drugs Control Act, Act 7 of 2003, Cap. 4.06, 2020 Revised Edition, Schedule 1, pages 21 to 23 of the official Attorney General of Tonga PDF, 26 pages, read 2026-10-07, sha256 20f27664a1f9fe17aac59a72dec336857a3a89c0d782b8a4ad46cd0b53488b23; «Methamphetamine» and «Methamphetamine racemate» both found under the Schedule II Psychotropic Substances 1971 subgroup of Class A, the same subgroup that carries Phencyclidine. Amendment Acts read in full this session, both fetched fresh and hash verified: Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020, Act 15 of 2020, its own sections 3 and 4, 17 pages, sha256 55d9944a5d6d2189b6edf6dc6302b2b18c96061989449ef5ffda741a3ad5e0da; Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021, Act 19 of 2021, its own section 3(c), 6 pages, sha256 b8f37cc6a698940395e6172e27f3622d1bc24f5dca10ad73805701af3615bad6. The two 2024 amendment Acts, Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) (No.1) Act 2024 and Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) (No.2) Act 2024, returned HTTP 404 from both the direct PDF link and the containing legislation index this session, so any further change they made to this entry or these penalty bands is not verified. Tonga's currency is the pa'anga, ISO code TOP; the Act's own text states only the symbol $ throughout sections 3 and 4 without separately defining it.

Methamphetamine in Tonga, full detail →

Methaqualone (Quaaludes)

Legal status: Named. Schedule 1 (section 2) of the Illicit Drugs Control Act, Act 7 of 2003, Cap. 4.06, 2020 Revised Edition, lists «Methaqualone» under Class A, in the subgroup headed «(FROM SCHEDULE II OF THE CONVENTION ON PSYCHOTROPIC SUBSTANCES, 1971)». The schedule's own preamble states that the drugs listed, designated by their international non-proprietary names or the names used in international conventions in force, their isomers, esters and ethers, their salts, including the salts of any such isomer, ester or ether, and any preparations including any such substances, «are illicit drugs unless exempted by law». Section 2 defines an illicit drug as «any drug of Class A or Class B listed in Schedule I or anything prescribed by regulation to be an illicit drug». Two later amendment Acts, the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) (No.1) Act 2024 and the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) (No.2) Act 2024, could not be retrieved this session, both the direct PDF link and the containing legislation index returned HTTP 404, so whether either amended this Schedule 1 entry is not verified, not ruled out.
Consequences if caught: Class A penalty, tiered by quantity. Section 3, as substituted in part by the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020, Act 15 of 2020, s.3, provides for unlawful import or export of a Class A drug: «(c) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of less than 1 gram, to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or both; (d) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 1 gram or more, to a fine not exceeding $1,000,000 or to imprisonment for any period not exceeding life or both; or (e) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 28 grams or more, to life imprisonment». Section 4, as substituted in part by Act 15 of 2020, s.4(a), provides for unlawful possession, manufacture, cultivation, use and supply, now numbered as sub-section (1): «(iii) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of less than 1 gram, to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or both; or (iv) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 1 gram or more, to a fine not exceeding $1,000,000 or to imprisonment for any period not exceeding life or both». The Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021, Act 19 of 2021, s.3(c), added a third tier: «(v) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 5 kilograms or more, to life imprisonment». Section 4(2), inserted by Act 15 of 2020, s.4(b), further provides that a person in possession of a Class A drug in the quantity of 0.25 grams or more «shall be deemed to be supplying» it. This supersedes the flat band read in the 2020 Revised Edition consolidation, a single fine and imprisonment figure that applied to any quantity of a Class A drug without a tier; that provision predates both amending Acts, and the quantity threshold, once Class B only, now also applies to a Class A drug at these different thresholds. The bands above are the current state read this session; the two 2024 amendment Acts named in documentation could not be retrieved (HTTP 404), so whether either changes these bands further is not verified. Methaqualone, as a Class A drug, is reached by these tiers at whichever threshold the quantity involved meets.
If prescribed / medical: Section 6, the international traveller's exemption, permits a person undergoing treatment of a medical condition who is entering, leaving or transiting Tonga to possess quantities of an illicit drug lawfully prescribed or supplied for that treatment, for a period of not more than one month, provided the person holds written authority from the treating doctor. Section 7 excuses a person whose lawful occupation or profession requires possession, supply or use of an illicit drug, for the specific purpose of that occupation, and separately exempts the Ministry of Health. Methaqualone has been withdrawn from medical use in most jurisdictions, so in practice neither route is likely to apply to it today. A search of the Drugs and Poisons Act, Act 11 of 1930 et seq. Cap. 79, 1988 Revised Edition (Schedule A and Part III), the Therapeutic Goods Act 2001, No. 3 of 2001, and the Therapeutic Goods Regulations 2011, 2020 Revised Edition, for a methaqualone specific entry recorded none in any of the three, conducted earlier in this country's research; that search was not repeated here.
Documentation: Instrument read: Illicit Drugs Control Act, Act 7 of 2003, Cap. 4.06, 2020 Revised Edition, Schedule 1, pages 21 to 23 of the official Attorney General of Tonga PDF, 26 pages, read 2026-10-07, sha256 20f27664a1f9fe17aac59a72dec336857a3a89c0d782b8a4ad46cd0b53488b23. Schedule 1's own heading carries an amendment footnote recording that it was amended by Act 18 of 2012, the same amendment that inserted the separate Class B cannabis list after this entry. The Attorney General's legislation index, current 2 October 2026, separately lists the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020 (Act 15 of 2020) and the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021 (Act 19 of 2021); both amending Acts were read in full this session: the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020, Act 15 of 2020, official Attorney General of Tonga PDF, 17 pages, read 2026-10-07, sha256 55d9944a5d6d2189b6edf6dc6302b2b18c96061989449ef5ffda741a3ad5e0da; and the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021, Act 19 of 2021, official Attorney General of Tonga PDF, 6 pages, read 2026-10-07, sha256 b8f37cc6a698940395e6172e27f3622d1bc24f5dca10ad73805701af3615bad6. Neither names methaqualone specifically, but Act 15 of 2020, s.3 and s.4, and Act 19 of 2021, s.3(c), substitute the general Class A penalty bands in sections 3 and 4 that this entry falls under, quoted in consequences_street above. The two 2024 amendment Acts named above returned HTTP 404 from both the direct PDF link and the containing index, so any change they made to this entry is not verified.

Methaqualone (Quaaludes) in Tonga, full detail →

Methylphenidate

Legal status: Named directly. Schedule 1 of the Illicit Drugs Control Act, page 22, lists 'Methylphenidate' under the heading «FROM SCHEDULE II OF THE CONVENTION ON PSYCHOTROPIC SUBSTANCES, 1971», in the Class A list. Section 2 defines an 'illicit drug' as any drug of Class A or Class B listed in Schedule 1, so methylphenidate is an illicit drug under the Act in its own right, not reached through any generic or analogue route.
Consequences if caught: Sections 3 and 4 carry the Class A band for methylphenidate, and since the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020, Act 15 of 2020, substituted section 3 and amended section 4, and the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021, Act 19 of 2021, further amended section 4, that band is tiered by quantity rather than flat: a fine not exceeding $10,000 or imprisonment not exceeding 3 years, or both, for unlawful import, export, possession, manufacture, cultivation, use or supply of a quantity of less than 1 gram; a fine not exceeding $1,000,000 or imprisonment for any period not exceeding life, or both, for a quantity of 1 gram or more; and, at the top tier, life imprisonment with no fine alternative, from 28 grams or more for import or export under section 3(e), or from 5 kilograms or more for possession, manufacture, cultivation, use or supply under section 4(v). This replaces the flat fine-not-exceeding-$1,000,000-or-thirty-years figure in force before Act 15 of 2020 for a Class A drug at any quantity, itself the product of section 3's substitution by Act 18 of 2012 rather than the 2003 enactment. The same tiered band applies whether the conduct is personal possession or dealing; the Act does not set a separate, lower tier for simple possession below the quantity thresholds just described.
If prescribed / medical: Section 7(1) exempts a person whose lawful occupation or profession requires possession, supply or use of an illicit drug, for that occupation's specific purpose, which covers a pharmacist or clinician handling methylphenidate in that capacity, and section 7(2) exempts Ministry of Health import, export, possession, manufacture or use on a ministerial certificate. The Therapeutic Goods Act 2001 and Therapeutic Goods Regulations 2011 were checked for 'methylphenidate' directly and no further dedicated schedule entry beyond section 7's general exemption route was located this session, so a patient's prescribed possession rests on that section 7(1) exemption as administered through ordinary pharmacy practice.
Documentation: Illicit Drugs Control Act, Act 7 of 2003, Cap. 4.06, 2020 Revised Edition, Schedule 1, page 22, read 2026-10-07: 'Methylphenidate' appears in the Class A list under the Schedule II, 1971 Convention heading, alongside Amphetamine, Methamphetamine and Phencyclidine. Section 2, page 6 (the section heading begins on page 5, but the 'illicit drug' definition clause itself sits on page 6), read for the 'illicit drug' definition. Sections 3 and 4, pages 7 to 8, read as the 2020 Revised Edition prints them: both carry the flat Class A figure in force before Act 15 of 2020, $1,000,000 or thirty years, because that reprint predates the 2020 and 2021 amendments below; the Act's own endnotes record sections 3 and 4 as themselves substituted by Act 18 of 2012 (endnotes 5 and 8), so that flat figure is not the 2003 enactment's own text either. Section 7, page 8, read for the exemptions. Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020, Act 15 of 2020, and (Amendment) Act 2021, Act 19 of 2021, were checked and neither alters methylphenidate's Schedule 1 listing; their own sections 3 and 4 (Act 15 of 2020) and own section 3 (Act 19 of 2021) were read directly, however, and show the current Class A penalty structure is the tiered one quoted in consequences_street above, not the flat figure the Revised Edition prints. Drugs and Poisons Act, Act 11 of 1930 et seq. Cap. 79, 1988 Revised Edition, Schedule A and Part III, checked for 'methylphenidate', no separate entry, consistent with methylphenidate's control living in the 2003 Act rather than the 1930 poisons schedule. The two 2024 amendment Acts returned HTTP 404 at the official portal and were not read; nothing located suggests this entry is affected, but that is not verified.

Illicit Drugs Control Act, Act 7 of 2003, Cap. 4.06, 2020 Revised Edition, Schedule 1 page 22, sections 2, 3, 4 and 7 · https://ago.gov.to/cms/images/LEGISLATION/PRINCIPAL/2003/2003-0007/IllicitDrugsControlAct_3.pdf | Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020, Act 15 of 2020, sections 3 and 4 · https://ago.gov.to/cms/images/LEGISLATION/AMENDING/2020/2020-0123/IllicitDrugsControlAmendmentAct2020.pdf | Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021, Act 19 of 2021, section 3 · https://ago.gov.to/cms/images/LEGISLATION/AMENDING/2021/2021-0050/IllicitDrugsControlAmendmentAct2021.pdf | Drugs and Poisons Act, Act 11 of 1930 et seq. Cap. 79, 1988 Revised Edition · https://ago.gov.to/cms/images/LEGISLATION/PRINCIPAL/1930/1930-0011/DrugsandPoisonsAct_1.pdf | Therapeutic Goods Act 2001 and Therapeutic Goods Regulations 2011 · ago.gov.to · https://ago.gov.to/cms/images/LEGISLATION/SUBORDINATE/2011/2011-0006/TherapeuticGoodsRegulations2011_3.pdf | Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) (No.1) and (No.2) Act 2024, indexed but not retrievable · ago.gov.to · ago.gov.to · Updated October 8, 2026

Methylphenidate in Tonga, full detail →

Morphine

Legal status: Named. Schedule 1 (section 2) of the Illicit Drugs Control Act, Act 7 of 2003, Cap. 4.06, 2020 Revised Edition, lists «Morphine» under Class A, in the subgroup headed «(FROM SCHEDULE I OF THE CONVENTION ON NARCOTIC DRUGS, 1961)». The schedule's own preamble states that the drugs listed, designated by their international non-proprietary names or the names used in international conventions in force, their isomers, esters and ethers, their salts, including the salts of any such isomer, ester or ether, and any preparations including any such substances, «are illicit drugs unless exempted by law». Section 2 defines an illicit drug as «any drug of Class A or Class B listed in Schedule I or anything prescribed by regulation to be an illicit drug». Two later amendment Acts, the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) (No.1) Act 2024 and the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) (No.2) Act 2024, could not be retrieved this session, both the direct PDF link and the containing legislation index returned HTTP 404, so whether either amended this Schedule 1 entry is not verified, not ruled out.
Consequences if caught: Class A penalty, tiered by quantity. Section 3, as substituted in part by the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020, Act 15 of 2020, s.3, provides for unlawful import or export of a Class A drug: «(c) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of less than 1 gram, to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or both; (d) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 1 gram or more, to a fine not exceeding $1,000,000 or to imprisonment for any period not exceeding life or both; or (e) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 28 grams or more, to life imprisonment». Section 4, as substituted in part by Act 15 of 2020, s.4(a), provides for unlawful possession, manufacture, cultivation, use and supply, now numbered as sub-section (1): «(iii) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of less than 1 gram, to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or both; or (iv) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 1 gram or more, to a fine not exceeding $1,000,000 or to imprisonment for any period not exceeding life or both». The Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021, Act 19 of 2021, s.3(c), added a third tier: «(v) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 5 kilograms or more, to life imprisonment». Section 4(2), inserted by Act 15 of 2020, s.4(b), further provides that a person in possession of a Class A drug in the quantity of 0.25 grams or more «shall be deemed to be supplying» it. This supersedes the flat band read in the 2020 Revised Edition consolidation, a single fine and imprisonment figure that applied to any quantity of a Class A drug without a tier; that provision predates both amending Acts, and the quantity threshold, once Class B only, now also applies to a Class A drug at these different thresholds. The bands above are the current state read this session; the two 2024 amendment Acts named in documentation could not be retrieved (HTTP 404), so whether either changes these bands further is not verified. Morphine, as a Class A drug, is reached by these tiers at whichever threshold the quantity involved meets.
If prescribed / medical: Section 6, the international traveller's exemption, permits a person undergoing treatment of a medical condition who is entering, leaving or transiting Tonga to possess quantities of an illicit drug lawfully prescribed or supplied for that treatment, for a period of not more than one month, provided the person holds written authority from the treating doctor. Section 7 excuses a person whose lawful occupation or profession requires possession, supply or use of an illicit drug, for the specific purpose of that occupation, and separately exempts the Ministry of Health. Morphine is the standard hospital opioid analgesic, so this is the route that would cover its legitimate clinical use in Tonga's own hospitals as well as a visiting patient's own supply. A search of the Drugs and Poisons Act, Act 11 of 1930 et seq. Cap. 79, 1988 Revised Edition (Schedule A and Part III), the Therapeutic Goods Act 2001, No. 3 of 2001, and the Therapeutic Goods Regulations 2011, 2020 Revised Edition, for a morphine specific entry recorded none in any of the three, conducted earlier in this country's research; that search was not repeated here.
Documentation: Instrument read: Illicit Drugs Control Act, Act 7 of 2003, Cap. 4.06, 2020 Revised Edition, Schedule 1, pages 21 to 23 of the official Attorney General of Tonga PDF, 26 pages, read 2026-10-07, sha256 20f27664a1f9fe17aac59a72dec336857a3a89c0d782b8a4ad46cd0b53488b23. Schedule 1's own heading carries an amendment footnote recording that it was amended by Act 18 of 2012, the same amendment that inserted the separate Class B cannabis list after this entry. The Attorney General's legislation index, current 2 October 2026, separately lists the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020 (Act 15 of 2020) and the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021 (Act 19 of 2021); both amending Acts were read in full this session: the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020, Act 15 of 2020, official Attorney General of Tonga PDF, 17 pages, read 2026-10-07, sha256 55d9944a5d6d2189b6edf6dc6302b2b18c96061989449ef5ffda741a3ad5e0da; and the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021, Act 19 of 2021, official Attorney General of Tonga PDF, 6 pages, read 2026-10-07, sha256 b8f37cc6a698940395e6172e27f3622d1bc24f5dca10ad73805701af3615bad6. Neither names morphine specifically, but Act 15 of 2020, s.3 and s.4, and Act 19 of 2021, s.3(c), substitute the general Class A penalty bands in sections 3 and 4 that this entry falls under, quoted in consequences_street above. The two 2024 amendment Acts named above returned HTTP 404 from both the direct PDF link and the containing index, so any change they made to this entry is not verified.

Morphine in Tonga, full detail →

Nimetazepam

Legal status: Named. Schedule 1 (section 2) of the Illicit Drugs Control Act, Act 7 of 2003, Cap. 4.06, 2020 Revised Edition, lists «Nimetazepam» under Class A, in the subgroup headed «(FROM SCHEDULE IV OF THE CONVENTION ON PSYCHOTROPIC SUBSTANCES, 1971)». The schedule's own preamble states that the drugs listed, designated by their international non-proprietary names or the names used in international conventions in force, their isomers, esters and ethers, their salts, including the salts of any such isomer, ester or ether, and any preparations including any such substances, «are illicit drugs unless exempted by law». Section 2 defines an illicit drug as «any drug of Class A or Class B listed in Schedule I or anything prescribed by regulation to be an illicit drug». Two later amendment Acts, the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) (No.1) Act 2024 and the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) (No.2) Act 2024, could not be retrieved this session, both the direct PDF link and the containing legislation index returned HTTP 404, so whether either amended this Schedule 1 entry is not verified, not ruled out.
Consequences if caught: Class A penalty, tiered by quantity. Section 3, as substituted in part by the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020, Act 15 of 2020, s.3, provides for unlawful import or export of a Class A drug: «(c) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of less than 1 gram, to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or both; (d) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 1 gram or more, to a fine not exceeding $1,000,000 or to imprisonment for any period not exceeding life or both; or (e) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 28 grams or more, to life imprisonment». Section 4, as substituted in part by Act 15 of 2020, s.4(a), provides for unlawful possession, manufacture, cultivation, use and supply, now numbered as sub-section (1): «(iii) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of less than 1 gram, to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or both; or (iv) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 1 gram or more, to a fine not exceeding $1,000,000 or to imprisonment for any period not exceeding life or both». The Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021, Act 19 of 2021, s.3(c), added a third tier: «(v) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 5 kilograms or more, to life imprisonment». Section 4(2), inserted by Act 15 of 2020, s.4(b), further provides that a person in possession of a Class A drug in the quantity of 0.25 grams or more «shall be deemed to be supplying» it. This supersedes the flat band read in the 2020 Revised Edition consolidation, a single fine and imprisonment figure that applied to any quantity of a Class A drug without a tier; that provision predates both amending Acts, and the quantity threshold, once Class B only, now also applies to a Class A drug at these different thresholds. The bands above are the current state read this session; the two 2024 amendment Acts named in documentation could not be retrieved (HTTP 404), so whether either changes these bands further is not verified. Nimetazepam, as a Class A drug, is reached by these tiers at whichever threshold the quantity involved meets.
If prescribed / medical: Section 6, the international traveller's exemption, permits a person undergoing treatment of a medical condition who is entering, leaving or transiting Tonga to possess quantities of an illicit drug lawfully prescribed or supplied for that treatment, for a period of not more than one month, provided the person holds written authority from the treating doctor. Section 7 excuses a person whose lawful occupation or profession requires possession, supply or use of an illicit drug, for the specific purpose of that occupation, and separately exempts the Ministry of Health. Nimetazepam is a hypnotic benzodiazepine prescribed in parts of Asia, so this is the route that would cover any legitimate clinical supply in Tonga. A search of the Drugs and Poisons Act, Act 11 of 1930 et seq. Cap. 79, 1988 Revised Edition (Schedule A and Part III), the Therapeutic Goods Act 2001, No. 3 of 2001, and the Therapeutic Goods Regulations 2011, 2020 Revised Edition, for a nimetazepam specific entry recorded none in any of the three, conducted earlier in this country's research; that search was not repeated here.
Documentation: Instrument read: Illicit Drugs Control Act, Act 7 of 2003, Cap. 4.06, 2020 Revised Edition, Schedule 1, pages 21 to 23 of the official Attorney General of Tonga PDF, 26 pages, read 2026-10-07, sha256 20f27664a1f9fe17aac59a72dec336857a3a89c0d782b8a4ad46cd0b53488b23. Schedule 1's own heading carries an amendment footnote recording that it was amended by Act 18 of 2012, the same amendment that inserted the separate Class B cannabis list after this entry. The Attorney General's legislation index, current 2 October 2026, separately lists the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020 (Act 15 of 2020) and the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021 (Act 19 of 2021); both amending Acts were read in full this session: the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020, Act 15 of 2020, official Attorney General of Tonga PDF, 17 pages, read 2026-10-07, sha256 55d9944a5d6d2189b6edf6dc6302b2b18c96061989449ef5ffda741a3ad5e0da; and the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021, Act 19 of 2021, official Attorney General of Tonga PDF, 6 pages, read 2026-10-07, sha256 b8f37cc6a698940395e6172e27f3622d1bc24f5dca10ad73805701af3615bad6. Neither names nimetazepam specifically, but Act 15 of 2020, s.3 and s.4, and Act 19 of 2021, s.3(c), substitute the general Class A penalty bands in sections 3 and 4 that this entry falls under, quoted in consequences_street above. The two 2024 amendment Acts named above returned HTTP 404 from both the direct PDF link and the containing index, so any change they made to this entry is not verified.

Nimetazepam in Tonga, full detail →

Opium

Legal status: Named. Schedule 1 (section 2) of the Illicit Drugs Control Act, Act 7 of 2003, Cap. 4.06, 2020 Revised Edition, lists «Opium» under Class A, in the subgroup headed «(FROM SCHEDULE I OF THE CONVENTION ON NARCOTIC DRUGS, 1961)»; the same subgroup also lists «Concentrate of poppy straw». The schedule's own preamble states that the drugs listed, designated by their international non-proprietary names or the names used in international conventions in force, their isomers, esters and ethers, their salts, including the salts of any such isomer, ester or ether, and any preparations including any such substances, «are illicit drugs unless exempted by law». Section 2 defines an illicit drug as «any drug of Class A or Class B listed in Schedule I or anything prescribed by regulation to be an illicit drug». Separately, section 2's definition of «cultivate» expressly includes «harvesting and the separation of opium, coca leaves, cannabis and its extracts from the plants from which they are obtained», so opium poppy cultivation is itself within the cultivation offence in section 4. Two later amendment Acts, the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) (No.1) Act 2024 and the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) (No.2) Act 2024, could not be retrieved this session, both the direct PDF link and the containing legislation index returned HTTP 404, so whether either amended this Schedule 1 entry is not verified, not ruled out.
Consequences if caught: Class A penalty, tiered by quantity. Section 3, as substituted in part by the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020, Act 15 of 2020, s.3, provides for unlawful import or export of a Class A drug: «(c) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of less than 1 gram, to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or both; (d) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 1 gram or more, to a fine not exceeding $1,000,000 or to imprisonment for any period not exceeding life or both; or (e) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 28 grams or more, to life imprisonment». Section 4, as substituted in part by Act 15 of 2020, s.4(a), provides for unlawful possession, manufacture, cultivation, use and supply, now numbered as sub-section (1): «(iii) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of less than 1 gram, to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or both; or (iv) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 1 gram or more, to a fine not exceeding $1,000,000 or to imprisonment for any period not exceeding life or both». The Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021, Act 19 of 2021, s.3(c), added a third tier: «(v) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 5 kilograms or more, to life imprisonment». Section 4(2), inserted by Act 15 of 2020, s.4(b), further provides that a person in possession of a Class A drug in the quantity of 0.25 grams or more «shall be deemed to be supplying» it. This supersedes the flat band read in the 2020 Revised Edition consolidation, a single fine and imprisonment figure that applied to any quantity of a Class A drug without a tier; that provision predates both amending Acts, and the quantity threshold, once Class B only, now also applies to a Class A drug at these different thresholds. The bands above are the current state read this session; the two 2024 amendment Acts named in documentation could not be retrieved (HTTP 404), so whether either changes these bands further is not verified. Opium, as a Class A drug, is reached by these tiers at whichever threshold the quantity involved meets, and section 4 separately reaches cultivation of the opium poppy by name through the section 2 definition of «cultivate».
If prescribed / medical: Section 6, the international traveller's exemption, permits a person undergoing treatment of a medical condition who is entering, leaving or transiting Tonga to possess quantities of an illicit drug lawfully prescribed or supplied for that treatment, for a period of not more than one month, provided the person holds written authority from the treating doctor. Section 7 excuses a person whose lawful occupation or profession requires possession, supply or use of an illicit drug, for the specific purpose of that occupation, and separately exempts the Ministry of Health. Raw opium itself has no modern clinical prescription route, though its pharmacopoeial preparations such as tincture of opium exist elsewhere. A search of the Drugs and Poisons Act, Act 11 of 1930 et seq. Cap. 79, 1988 Revised Edition (Schedule A and Part III), the Therapeutic Goods Act 2001, No. 3 of 2001, and the Therapeutic Goods Regulations 2011, 2020 Revised Edition, for an opium specific entry recorded none in any of the three, conducted earlier in this country's research; that search was not repeated here.
Documentation: Instrument read: Illicit Drugs Control Act, Act 7 of 2003, Cap. 4.06, 2020 Revised Edition, Schedule 1, pages 21 to 23 of the official Attorney General of Tonga PDF, 26 pages, read 2026-10-07, sha256 20f27664a1f9fe17aac59a72dec336857a3a89c0d782b8a4ad46cd0b53488b23. Schedule 1's own heading carries an amendment footnote recording that it was amended by Act 18 of 2012, the same amendment that inserted the separate Class B cannabis list after this entry. The Attorney General's legislation index, current 2 October 2026, separately lists the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020 (Act 15 of 2020) and the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021 (Act 19 of 2021); both amending Acts were read in full this session: the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020, Act 15 of 2020, official Attorney General of Tonga PDF, 17 pages, read 2026-10-07, sha256 55d9944a5d6d2189b6edf6dc6302b2b18c96061989449ef5ffda741a3ad5e0da; and the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021, Act 19 of 2021, official Attorney General of Tonga PDF, 6 pages, read 2026-10-07, sha256 b8f37cc6a698940395e6172e27f3622d1bc24f5dca10ad73805701af3615bad6. Neither names opium specifically, but Act 15 of 2020, s.3 and s.4, and Act 19 of 2021, s.3(c), substitute the general Class A penalty bands in sections 3 and 4 that this entry falls under, quoted in consequences_street above. The two 2024 amendment Acts named above returned HTTP 404 from both the direct PDF link and the containing index, so any change they made to this entry is not verified.

Opium in Tonga, full detail →

Oxycodone

Legal status: Named. Schedule 1 (section 2) of the Illicit Drugs Control Act, Act 7 of 2003, Cap. 4.06, 2020 Revised Edition, lists «Oxycodone» under Class A, in the subgroup headed «(FROM SCHEDULE I OF THE CONVENTION ON NARCOTIC DRUGS, 1961)». The schedule's own preamble states that the drugs listed, designated by their international non-proprietary names or the names used in international conventions in force, their isomers, esters and ethers, their salts, including the salts of any such isomer, ester or ether, and any preparations including any such substances, «are illicit drugs unless exempted by law». Section 2 defines an illicit drug as «any drug of Class A or Class B listed in Schedule I or anything prescribed by regulation to be an illicit drug». Two later amendment Acts, the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) (No.1) Act 2024 and the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) (No.2) Act 2024, could not be retrieved this session, both the direct PDF link and the containing legislation index returned HTTP 404, so whether either amended this Schedule 1 entry is not verified, not ruled out.
Consequences if caught: Class A penalty, tiered by quantity. Section 3, as substituted in part by the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020, Act 15 of 2020, s.3, provides for unlawful import or export of a Class A drug: «(c) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of less than 1 gram, to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or both; (d) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 1 gram or more, to a fine not exceeding $1,000,000 or to imprisonment for any period not exceeding life or both; or (e) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 28 grams or more, to life imprisonment». Section 4, as substituted in part by Act 15 of 2020, s.4(a), provides for unlawful possession, manufacture, cultivation, use and supply, now numbered as sub-section (1): «(iii) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of less than 1 gram, to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or both; or (iv) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 1 gram or more, to a fine not exceeding $1,000,000 or to imprisonment for any period not exceeding life or both». The Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021, Act 19 of 2021, s.3(c), added a third tier: «(v) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 5 kilograms or more, to life imprisonment». Section 4(2), inserted by Act 15 of 2020, s.4(b), further provides that a person in possession of a Class A drug in the quantity of 0.25 grams or more «shall be deemed to be supplying» it. This supersedes the flat band read in the 2020 Revised Edition consolidation, a single fine and imprisonment figure that applied to any quantity of a Class A drug without a tier; that provision predates both amending Acts, and the quantity threshold, once Class B only, now also applies to a Class A drug at these different thresholds. The bands above are the current state read this session; the two 2024 amendment Acts named in documentation could not be retrieved (HTTP 404), so whether either changes these bands further is not verified. Oxycodone, as a Class A drug, is reached by these tiers at whichever threshold the quantity involved meets.
If prescribed / medical: Section 6, the international traveller's exemption, permits a person undergoing treatment of a medical condition who is entering, leaving or transiting Tonga to possess quantities of an illicit drug lawfully prescribed or supplied for that treatment, for a period of not more than one month, provided the person holds written authority from the treating doctor. Section 7 excuses a person whose lawful occupation or profession requires possession, supply or use of an illicit drug, for the specific purpose of that occupation, and separately exempts the Ministry of Health. Oxycodone is a widely prescribed strong opioid analgesic, so this is the route that would cover any legitimate clinical supply in Tonga. A search of the Drugs and Poisons Act, Act 11 of 1930 et seq. Cap. 79, 1988 Revised Edition (Schedule A and Part III), the Therapeutic Goods Act 2001, No. 3 of 2001, and the Therapeutic Goods Regulations 2011, 2020 Revised Edition, for an oxycodone specific entry recorded none in any of the three, conducted earlier in this country's research; that search was not repeated here.
Documentation: Instrument read: Illicit Drugs Control Act, Act 7 of 2003, Cap. 4.06, 2020 Revised Edition, Schedule 1, pages 21 to 23 of the official Attorney General of Tonga PDF, 26 pages, read 2026-10-07, sha256 20f27664a1f9fe17aac59a72dec336857a3a89c0d782b8a4ad46cd0b53488b23. Schedule 1's own heading carries an amendment footnote recording that it was amended by Act 18 of 2012, the same amendment that inserted the separate Class B cannabis list after this entry. The Attorney General's legislation index, current 2 October 2026, separately lists the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020 (Act 15 of 2020) and the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021 (Act 19 of 2021); both amending Acts were read in full this session: the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020, Act 15 of 2020, official Attorney General of Tonga PDF, 17 pages, read 2026-10-07, sha256 55d9944a5d6d2189b6edf6dc6302b2b18c96061989449ef5ffda741a3ad5e0da; and the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021, Act 19 of 2021, official Attorney General of Tonga PDF, 6 pages, read 2026-10-07, sha256 b8f37cc6a698940395e6172e27f3622d1bc24f5dca10ad73805701af3615bad6. Neither names oxycodone specifically, but Act 15 of 2020, s.3 and s.4, and Act 19 of 2021, s.3(c), substitute the general Class A penalty bands in sections 3 and 4 that this entry falls under, quoted in consequences_street above. The two 2024 amendment Acts named above returned HTTP 404 from both the direct PDF link and the containing index, so any change they made to this entry is not verified.

Oxycodone in Tonga, full detail →

PCP

Legal status: Named, under the chemical name the Schedule uses rather than the street abbreviation. Schedule 1 (section 2) of the Illicit Drugs Control Act, Act 7 of 2003, Cap. 4.06, 2020 Revised Edition, lists «Phencyclidine» under Class A, in the subgroup headed «(FROM SCHEDULE II OF THE CONVENTION ON PSYCHOTROPIC SUBSTANCES, 1971)», the same short subgroup that names Amphetamine, Dexamphetamine, Fenetylline, Levamphetamine, Mecloqualone, Methamphetamine, Methamphetamine racemate, Methaqualone, Methylphenidate, Phenmetrazine, Secobarbital and Zipeprol; Phencyclidine is the international non-proprietary name for PCP. Two later amendment Acts, the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) (No.1) Act 2024 and the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) (No.2) Act 2024, could not be retrieved this session, both the direct PDF link and the containing legislation index returned HTTP 404, so whether either amended this Schedule 1 entry is not verified, not ruled out.
Consequences if caught: Class A penalty, amended. Section 3's Class A paragraph (c) was deleted and replaced by the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020, Act 15 of 2020, its own section 3, with «(c) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of less than 1 gram, to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or both; (d) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 1 gram or more, to a fine not exceeding $1,000,000 or to imprisonment for any period not exceeding life or both; or (e) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 28 grams or more, to life imprisonment», the last tier the maximum available with no fine alternative at that quantity, though the court retains ordinary sentencing discretion. Section 4's Class A paragraph (iii) was replaced the same way, «(iii) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of less than 1 gram, to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or both; or (iv) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 1 gram or more, to a fine not exceeding $1,000,000 or to imprisonment for any period not exceeding life or both», and the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021, Act 19 of 2021, its own section 3(c), inserted «(v) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 5 kilograms or more, to life imprisonment», the same tier inserted for methamphetamine, named in the same Schedule II Psychotropic Substances 1971 subgroup as phencyclidine. Section 4 carries no 28 gram tier; that figure belongs to section 3's import and export offence only. Act 15 of 2020's new section 4(2) deems possession of «a Class A drug in the quantity of 0.25 grams or more» to be supplying.
If prescribed / medical: Phencyclidine was once used as a human anaesthetic and remains in limited veterinary use elsewhere in the world, but no such use is recorded in any instrument located this session for Tonga. Section 6 (international traveller's exemption) and section 7 (occupational and Ministry of Health exemption) of the Illicit Drugs Control Act are the only express lawful use routes under this Act. A search of the Drugs and Poisons Act, Act 11 of 1930 et seq. Cap. 79, 1988 Revised Edition (Schedule A and Part III), the Therapeutic Goods Act 2001, No. 3 of 2001, and the Therapeutic Goods Regulations 2011, 2020 Revised Edition, for a phencyclidine specific entry recorded none in any of the three, conducted earlier in this country's research; that search was not repeated here.
Documentation: Instrument read: Illicit Drugs Control Act, Act 7 of 2003, Cap. 4.06, 2020 Revised Edition, Schedule 1, pages 21 to 23 of the official Attorney General of Tonga PDF, 26 pages, read 2026-10-07, sha256 20f27664a1f9fe17aac59a72dec336857a3a89c0d782b8a4ad46cd0b53488b23; «Phencyclidine» found under the Schedule II Psychotropic Substances 1971 subgroup of Class A, the same subgroup as Methamphetamine and Methamphetamine racemate. Amendment Acts read in full this session, both fetched fresh and hash verified: Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020, Act 15 of 2020, its own sections 3 and 4, 17 pages, sha256 55d9944a5d6d2189b6edf6dc6302b2b18c96061989449ef5ffda741a3ad5e0da; Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021, Act 19 of 2021, its own section 3(c), 6 pages, sha256 b8f37cc6a698940395e6172e27f3622d1bc24f5dca10ad73805701af3615bad6. The two 2024 amendment Acts returned HTTP 404 from both the direct PDF link and the containing legislation index this session, so any change they made to this entry is not verified.

PCP in Tonga, full detail →

Pink Cocaine / Tusi

Legal status: Pink cocaine, also called tusi, is a street name for a mixture product rather than a single compound, most commonly reported to contain ketamine and MDMA, sometimes with 2C-B or caffeine added, and the colour and name vary by batch. 'Pink cocaine' and 'tusi' as product names were searched against Schedule 1 of the Illicit Drugs Control Act and neither appears. Both commonly reported core constituents, however, are independently named: ketamine appears directly under the «OTHER ILLICIT DRUGS» heading on page 23, and MDMA appears directly in the Class A list on page 21, under the Schedule I, 1971 Convention heading. Schedule 1's opening paragraph extends the illicit-drug designation to 'any preparations including any such substances', so a mixture sold as pink cocaine that in fact contains ketamine, MDMA, or both is reached through that preparations clause even though the product name itself carries no standalone entry.
Consequences if caught: A pink cocaine preparation found to contain ketamine or MDMA is an illicit drug preparation under sections 3 and 4, carrying the Class A band, which the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020, Act 15 of 2020, and, at the top tier, the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021, Act 19 of 2021, made tiered by quantity rather than flat: a fine not exceeding $10,000 or imprisonment not exceeding 3 years for a quantity under 1 gram; a fine not exceeding $1,000,000 or imprisonment for any period not exceeding life for a quantity of 1 gram or more; and, at the top tier, life imprisonment, the maximum available with no fine alternative, from 28 grams or more for import or export under section 3 or from 5 kilograms or more for possession, manufacture, cultivation, use or supply under section 4, since both named constituents sit in the Class A tier rather than the Class B tier that only «CLASS B12» cannabis occupies. A sample containing only unnamed cutting agents, with neither ketamine nor MDMA present, would not be reached this way, which is why the product name alone cannot answer the question and the actual composition of a given sample determines the exposure.
If prescribed / medical: Neither ketamine nor MDMA has a registered recreational prescription route under Tonga's instruments as read here; section 7's occupational and Ministry of Health exemptions could cover a clinical ketamine product administered by a person whose lawful occupation requires it, but a street-sold pink cocaine mixture is not a clinical product and it is not treated as one here.
Documentation: Illicit Drugs Control Act, Act 7 of 2003, Cap. 4.06, 2020 Revised Edition, Schedule 1, read 2026-10-07, searched for 'pink cocaine' and 'tusi'; no direct entry. Page 23, the «OTHER ILLICIT DRUGS» heading, lists 'Ketamine' first among its eight entries. Page 21, the Class A list under the Schedule I, 1971 Convention heading, lists 'MDMA'. Schedule 1's opening paragraph, page 21, extends control to 'any preparations including any such substances'. 2C-B, also sometimes reported in tusi mixtures, was checked separately for this country and is not named in Schedule 1, so a sample whose only active constituent is 2C-B would not be reached by this preparations route; this entry therefore answers for the ketamine and MDMA constituents specifically, rather than for every possible pink cocaine formulation. Sections 3 and 4, pages 7 to 8, read as the 2020 Revised Edition prints them: both carry the flat Class A figure in force before Act 15 of 2020, $1,000,000 or thirty years, because that reprint predates the 2020 and 2021 amendments below; the Act's own endnotes record sections 3 and 4 as themselves substituted by Act 18 of 2012 (endnotes 5 and 8), so that flat figure is not the 2003 enactment's own text either. Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020, Act 15 of 2020, own sections 3 and 4, and Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021, Act 19 of 2021, own section 3, were read directly for the current, tiered Class A penalty structure quoted in consequences_street above; neither Act alters the ketamine or MDMA Schedule 1 entries themselves. The two 2024 amendment Acts returned HTTP 404 at the official portal and were not read.

Illicit Drugs Control Act, Act 7 of 2003, Cap. 4.06, 2020 Revised Edition, Schedule 1 pages 21 and 23, sections 2, 3 and 4 · https://ago.gov.to/cms/images/LEGISLATION/PRINCIPAL/2003/2003-0007/IllicitDrugsControlAct_3.pdf | Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020, Act 15 of 2020, sections 3 and 4 · https://ago.gov.to/cms/images/LEGISLATION/AMENDING/2020/2020-0123/IllicitDrugsControlAmendmentAct2020.pdf | Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021, Act 19 of 2021, section 3 · https://ago.gov.to/cms/images/LEGISLATION/AMENDING/2021/2021-0050/IllicitDrugsControlAmendmentAct2021.pdf | Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) (No.1) and (No.2) Act 2024, indexed but not retrievable · ago.gov.to · ago.gov.to · Updated October 8, 2026

Pink Cocaine / Tusi in Tonga, full detail →

Poppers

Legal status: Poppers is the street name for the alkyl nitrite class as a whole, amyl nitrite, isobutyl nitrite and related esters sold as inhalants, rather than one compound. The one catch-all list in Schedule 1 of the Illicit Drugs Control Act that would most plausibly carry an inhalant entry, the «OTHER ILLICIT DRUGS» heading on page 23, was read in full: it names ketamine, khat, gamma-hydroxybutyrate, gamma-butyrolactone, 1, 4-butanediol, anabolic and androgenic substances, growth hormones and 4-bromo 2, 5 dimethoxyamphetamine. No alkyl nitrite of any kind appears there, in the Class A convention lists, in the «CLASS B12» cannabis heading, or in Schedule 2's controlled chemicals list. As a class, alkyl nitrites sit outside both schedules on the instruments read for this country.
Consequences if caught: No band under sections 3, 4 or 5 of the Act reaches poppers as a class, since none of amyl nitrite, isobutyl nitrite or any other alkyl nitrite is named in Schedule 1 or Schedule 2. This is a finding confined to the Illicit Drugs Control Act; a consumer-product safety law, a poisons schedule outside this Act, or a customs classification could still reach the product and none of those was audited here.
If prescribed / medical: Section 7's exemptions have no prohibition to operate against here. Amyl nitrite's recognised clinical use as a cyanide-poisoning antidote was checked separately for this country, against the Drugs and Poisons Act and the Therapeutic Goods Act 2001 and Regulations 2011, and none of those carries a dedicated entry either.
Documentation: Illicit Drugs Control Act, Act 7 of 2003, Cap. 4.06, 2020 Revised Edition, Schedule 1, pages 21 to 23, read 2026-10-07, searched for 'poppers', 'alkyl nitrites', 'amyl nitrite' and 'isobutyl nitrite'; none appears in the Class A lists, the «OTHER ILLICIT DRUGS» heading or the «CLASS B12» heading. Schedule 2, page 24, checked, no match. Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020, section 2, checked: the analogue clause needs a named parent sharing a functional group, ring or side chain, and no named Schedule 1 substance shares the ester functional group that defines an alkyl nitrite, so the class is not reached that way either. Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021 checked, no match. The two 2024 amendment Acts returned HTTP 404 at the official portal and were not read, so this class-wide absence is open rather than closed.

Illicit Drugs Control Act, Act 7 of 2003, Cap. 4.06, 2020 Revised Edition, Schedule 1 and Schedule 2 · https://ago.gov.to/cms/images/LEGISLATION/PRINCIPAL/2003/2003-0007/IllicitDrugsControlAct_3.pdf | Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020, Act 15 of 2020, section 2 · https://ago.gov.to/cms/images/LEGISLATION/AMENDING/2020/2020-0123/IllicitDrugsControlAmendmentAct2020.pdf | Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021, Act 19 of 2021 · https://ago.gov.to/cms/images/LEGISLATION/AMENDING/2021/2021-0050/IllicitDrugsControlAmendmentAct2021.pdf | Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) (No.1) and (No.2) Act 2024, indexed but not retrievable · ago.gov.to · ago.gov.to · Updated October 8, 2026

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Psilocybin

Legal status: Named. Schedule 1 (section 2) of the Illicit Drugs Control Act, Act 7 of 2003, Cap. 4.06, 2020 Revised Edition, lists «Psilocybine» under Class A, in the subgroup headed «(FROM SCHEDULE I OF THE CONVENTION ON PSYCHOTROPIC SUBSTANCES, 1971)». The same subgroup separately names «Psilocine, psilotsin» as its own entry, the schedule's printed form for psilocin, the related but distinct compound psilocybin dephosphorylates to in the body; this finding concerns psilocybin under its own printed name, Psilocybine, not the psilocin entry. Mushrooms containing psilocybin are not separately named; the Schedule names the compound itself. Two later amendment Acts, the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) (No.1) Act 2024 and the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) (No.2) Act 2024, could not be retrieved this session, both the direct PDF link and the containing legislation index returned HTTP 404, so whether either amended this Schedule 1 entry is not verified, not ruled out.
Consequences if caught: Class A penalty, amended. Section 3's Class A paragraph (c) was deleted and replaced by the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020, Act 15 of 2020, its own section 3, with «(c) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of less than 1 gram, to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or both; (d) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 1 gram or more, to a fine not exceeding $1,000,000 or to imprisonment for any period not exceeding life or both; or (e) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 28 grams or more, to life imprisonment», the last tier the maximum available with no fine alternative at that quantity, though the court retains ordinary sentencing discretion; because the Schedule names the pure compound rather than the mushroom, any quantity threshold applies to the psilocybin content rather than to the whole dried or fresh fungus. Section 4's Class A paragraph (iii) was replaced the same way, «(iii) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of less than 1 gram, to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or both; or (iv) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 1 gram or more, to a fine not exceeding $1,000,000 or to imprisonment for any period not exceeding life or both», and the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021, Act 19 of 2021, its own section 3(c), inserted «(v) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 5 kilograms or more, to life imprisonment». Section 4 carries no 28 gram tier; that figure belongs to section 3's import and export offence only. Act 15 of 2020's new section 4(2) deems possession of «a Class A drug in the quantity of 0.25 grams or more» to be supplying.
If prescribed / medical: Psilocybine has no accepted human medical use under any Tongan instrument located this session; clinical trial use elsewhere in the world for depression and other conditions is not addressed here. Section 6 (international traveller's exemption) and section 7 (occupational and Ministry of Health exemption) of the Illicit Drugs Control Act are the only express lawful use routes under this Act. A search of the Drugs and Poisons Act, Act 11 of 1930 et seq. Cap. 79, 1988 Revised Edition (Schedule A and Part III), the Therapeutic Goods Act 2001, No. 3 of 2001, and the Therapeutic Goods Regulations 2011, 2020 Revised Edition, for a psilocybin specific entry recorded none in any of the three, conducted earlier in this country's research; that search was not repeated here.
Documentation: Instrument read: Illicit Drugs Control Act, Act 7 of 2003, Cap. 4.06, 2020 Revised Edition, Schedule 1, pages 21 to 23 of the official Attorney General of Tonga PDF, 26 pages, read 2026-10-07, sha256 20f27664a1f9fe17aac59a72dec336857a3a89c0d782b8a4ad46cd0b53488b23; «Psilocybine» found under the Schedule I Psychotropic Substances 1971 subgroup of Class A, distinct from the «Psilocine, psilotsin» entry in the same subgroup. Amendment Acts read in full this session, both fetched fresh and hash verified: Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020, Act 15 of 2020, its own sections 3 and 4, 17 pages, sha256 55d9944a5d6d2189b6edf6dc6302b2b18c96061989449ef5ffda741a3ad5e0da; Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021, Act 19 of 2021, its own section 3(c), 6 pages, sha256 b8f37cc6a698940395e6172e27f3622d1bc24f5dca10ad73805701af3615bad6. The two 2024 amendment Acts returned HTTP 404 from both the direct PDF link and the containing legislation index this session, so any change they made to this entry is not verified.

Psilocybin in Tonga, full detail →

Synthetic Cannabinoids (K2 / Spice)

Legal status: Synthetic cannabinoids are a heterogeneous class of synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists, JWH-018 and AM-2201 among the better known, rather than one compound, and the finding below answers for the class as a whole, since no individual member of it is named in the instruments read. None is named in Schedule 1 of the Illicit Drugs Control Act. The only cannabinoid-class entry in Schedule 1 is tetrahydrocannabinol, which carries a dibenzopyran ring skeleton with a pentyl or related alkyl side chain; most synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists are built on a wholly different core, typically an indole or indazole ring joined to a naphthoyl, adamantoyl or similar group, sharing no ring system, functional group or homologous side chain with tetrahydrocannabinol. The Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020 analogue clause's three structure-modification routes, functional-group replacement, ring-structure replacement and hydrogenation, and its homologue limb, all require a stated relationship to a named parent, and the core-skeleton difference between an indole and a dibenzopyran means that relationship could not be established for the class as a whole.
Consequences if caught: No band under sections 3, 4 or 5 of the Act reaches synthetic cannabinoids as a class on this reading, since neither Schedule 1 nor Schedule 2 names any member and the analogue clause's named-parent requirement is not met by the class generically. This is a class-level finding and not a clearance of every individual synthetic cannabinoid compound: a specific molecule within the class that happened to share tetrahydrocannabinol's own ring system, rather than the indole or indazole cores typical of the class, would need its own assessment, and none was identified in the course of this research.
If prescribed / medical: Section 7's exemptions have no prohibition to operate against for this class on the instruments read. No Therapeutic Goods Act 2001 or Therapeutic Goods Regulations 2011 entry naming any synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonist was located.
Documentation: Illicit Drugs Control Act, Act 7 of 2003, Cap. 4.06, 2020 Revised Edition, Schedule 1, pages 21 to 23, read 2026-10-07, searched for 'synthetic cannabinoids', 'JWH-018', 'AM-2201' and 'synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists'; none appears, and the only cannabinoid-class entry is 'Tetrahydrocannabinol' on page 21. Schedule 2, page 24, checked, no match. Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020, Act 15 of 2020, section 2, checked: a representative synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonist's indole or indazole core, linked to a naphthoyl or adamantoyl group, was compared against tetrahydrocannabinol's dibenzopyran ring and alkyl side chain, and no functional-group replacement, ring-structure replacement, hydrogenation or homologation relationship between the two core skeletons could be stated with the specificity a structural-analogue finding requires. Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021 checked, no match. The two 2024 amendment Acts returned HTTP 404 at the official portal and were not read, and this class is exactly the kind of substance a 2024 amendment aimed at new psychoactive substances could plausibly have added.

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

Xanax (Alprazolam)

Legal status: Named. Schedule 1 (section 2) of the Illicit Drugs Control Act, Act 7 of 2003, Cap. 4.06, 2020 Revised Edition, lists «Alprazolam» under Class A, in the subgroup headed «(FROM SCHEDULE IV OF THE CONVENTION ON PSYCHOTROPIC SUBSTANCES, 1971)». The schedule's own preamble states that the drugs listed, designated by their international non-proprietary names or the names used in international conventions in force, their isomers, esters and ethers, their salts, including the salts of any such isomer, ester or ether, and any preparations including any such substances, «are illicit drugs unless exempted by law». Section 2 defines an illicit drug as «any drug of Class A or Class B listed in Schedule I or anything prescribed by regulation to be an illicit drug». Two later amendment Acts, the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) (No.1) Act 2024 and the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) (No.2) Act 2024, could not be retrieved this session, both the direct PDF link and the containing legislation index returned HTTP 404, so whether either amended this Schedule 1 entry is not verified, not ruled out.
Consequences if caught: Class A penalty, tiered by quantity. Section 3, as substituted in part by the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020, Act 15 of 2020, s.3, provides for unlawful import or export of a Class A drug: «(c) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of less than 1 gram, to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or both; (d) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 1 gram or more, to a fine not exceeding $1,000,000 or to imprisonment for any period not exceeding life or both; or (e) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 28 grams or more, to life imprisonment». Section 4, as substituted in part by Act 15 of 2020, s.4(a), provides for unlawful possession, manufacture, cultivation, use and supply, now numbered as sub-section (1): «(iii) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of less than 1 gram, to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or both; or (iv) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 1 gram or more, to a fine not exceeding $1,000,000 or to imprisonment for any period not exceeding life or both». The Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021, Act 19 of 2021, s.3(c), added a third tier: «(v) in respect of a Class A drug in the quantity of 5 kilograms or more, to life imprisonment». Section 4(2), inserted by Act 15 of 2020, s.4(b), further provides that a person in possession of a Class A drug in the quantity of 0.25 grams or more «shall be deemed to be supplying» it. This supersedes the flat band read in the 2020 Revised Edition consolidation, a single fine and imprisonment figure that applied to any quantity of a Class A drug without a tier; that provision predates both amending Acts, and the quantity threshold, once Class B only, now also applies to a Class A drug at these different thresholds. The bands above are the current state read this session; the two 2024 amendment Acts named in documentation could not be retrieved (HTTP 404), so whether either changes these bands further is not verified. Alprazolam, as a Class A drug, is reached by these tiers at whichever threshold the quantity involved meets.
If prescribed / medical: Section 6, the international traveller's exemption, permits a person undergoing treatment of a medical condition who is entering, leaving or transiting Tonga to possess quantities of an illicit drug lawfully prescribed or supplied for that treatment, for a period of not more than one month, provided the person holds written authority from the treating doctor. Section 7 excuses a person whose lawful occupation or profession requires possession, supply or use of an illicit drug, for the specific purpose of that occupation, and separately exempts the Ministry of Health. A search of the Drugs and Poisons Act, Act 11 of 1930 et seq. Cap. 79, 1988 Revised Edition (Schedule A and Part III), the Therapeutic Goods Act 2001, No. 3 of 2001, and the Therapeutic Goods Regulations 2011, 2020 Revised Edition, for an alprazolam specific entry recorded none in any of the three, conducted earlier in this country's research; that search was not repeated here.
Documentation: Instrument read: Illicit Drugs Control Act, Act 7 of 2003, Cap. 4.06, 2020 Revised Edition, Schedule 1, pages 21 to 23 of the official Attorney General of Tonga PDF, 26 pages, read 2026-10-07, sha256 20f27664a1f9fe17aac59a72dec336857a3a89c0d782b8a4ad46cd0b53488b23. Schedule 1's own heading carries an amendment footnote recording that it was amended by Act 18 of 2012, the same amendment that inserted the separate Class B cannabis list after this entry. The Attorney General's legislation index, current 2 October 2026, separately lists the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020 (Act 15 of 2020) and the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021 (Act 19 of 2021); both amending Acts were read in full this session: the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2020, Act 15 of 2020, official Attorney General of Tonga PDF, 17 pages, read 2026-10-07, sha256 55d9944a5d6d2189b6edf6dc6302b2b18c96061989449ef5ffda741a3ad5e0da; and the Illicit Drugs Control (Amendment) Act 2021, Act 19 of 2021, official Attorney General of Tonga PDF, 6 pages, read 2026-10-07, sha256 b8f37cc6a698940395e6172e27f3622d1bc24f5dca10ad73805701af3615bad6. Neither names alprazolam specifically, but Act 15 of 2020, s.3 and s.4, and Act 19 of 2021, s.3(c), substitute the general Class A penalty bands in sections 3 and 4 that this entry falls under, quoted in consequences_street above. The two 2024 amendment Acts named above returned HTTP 404 from both the direct PDF link and the containing index, so any change they made to this entry is not verified.

Xanax (Alprazolam) in Tonga, full detail →

Not individually verified

44 substances are not individually verified for Tonga

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 Tonga’s drug authority or your embassy.

Substance	What we found
1P-LSD	Not confirmed. 1P-LSD is not named in Schedule 1. Schedule 1, Class A, from Schedule I of the Convention on...
2-FDCK	Not confirmed. 2-FDCK (2-(2-fluorophenyl)-2-(methylamino)cyclohexanone) is not itself named anywhere in Schedule 1...
25I-NBOMe	Not confirmed. 25I-NBOMe (2-(4-iodo-2,5-dimethoxyphenyl)-N-(2-methoxybenzyl)ethanamine) is not named in Schedule 1...
2C-B	Not confirmed. 2C-B (4-bromo-2,5-dimethoxyphenethylamine) is not itself named anywhere in Schedule 1 of the Illicit...
2C-E	Not confirmed. 2C-E (2-(4-ethyl-2,5-dimethoxyphenyl)ethanamine) is not named in Schedule 1 under that name. 'STP...
2C-I	Not confirmed. 2C-I (4-iodo-2,5-dimethoxyphenethylamine) is not named in Schedule 1. Unlike 2C-E, which has a named...
2C-T-7	Not confirmed. 2C-T-7 (2,5-dimethoxy-4-propylthiophenethylamine) is not named in Schedule 1. Schedule 1 contains no...
3-MMC	Not confirmed. 3-MMC is not named in Schedule 1. Schedule 1, Class A, from Schedule I of the Convention on...
4-HO-MET	Not confirmed. 4-HO-MET is not named in Schedule 1. Schedule 1, Class A, from Schedule I of the Convention on...
5-MeO-DMT (Bufo / Toad)	Not confirmed. 5-MeO-DMT is not named in Schedule 1. Schedule 1, Class A, from Schedule I of the Convention on...
6-APB	Not confirmed. 6-APB is not named in Schedule 1. Schedule 1, Class A, from Schedule I of the Convention on...
7-Hydroxymitragynine (7-OH)	Not confirmed. 7-hydroxymitragynine, the oxidised alkaloid of the kratom tree (searched also as 7-OH-mitragynine)...
Alcohol	Not confirmed, and deliberately left that way rather than described by a regime this session could not locate....
Amanita muscaria	Not confirmed. Amanita muscaria is a mushroom, not a single compound, so the finding below covers the species and...
Amyl Nitrite	Not confirmed. Amyl nitrite and the wider alkyl nitrite family (isoamyl nitrite among them) were checked against...
Caffeine	Not confirmed as a matter of searching every instrument available, though as a matter of ordinary fact caffeine is...
Cannabinol	Not confirmed, and the chemistry points away from rather than toward the two routes that reach other cannabinoids in...
CBD	Not confirmed, and genuinely ambiguous rather than a clean absence. Tetrahydrocannabinol is named on page 21 of...
DXM	Not confirmed. Dextromethorphan, searched as 'DXM' and 'dextromethorphan', was checked against Schedule 1 of the...
Etizolam	Not confirmed. Etizolam, a thienotriazolodiazepine, is not itself named anywhere in Schedule 1 of the Illicit Drugs...
Gabapentin	Not confirmed. Gabapentin is not named anywhere in Schedule 1 of the Illicit Drugs Control Act, Act 7 of 2003, Cap....
HHC	Not confirmed. Hexahydrocannabinol is not named in Schedule 1 of the Illicit Drugs Control Act. The only route...
Kratom	Not confirmed. Kratom is the leaf of Mitragyna speciosa, a plant, and the finding below covers the plant material...
LSA (Morning Glory)	Not confirmed. LSA (ergine, lysergic acid amide) is not named in Schedule 1. Schedule 1, Class A, names...
MDPV	Not confirmed. MDPV is not named in Schedule 1. Schedule 1 names "Pyrovalerone" among the entries from Schedule IV...
Memantine	Not confirmed. Memantine, searched also by its chemical name 1-amino-3,5-dimethyladamantane, was checked against...
Mephedrone (4-MMC)	Not confirmed. Mephedrone is not named in Schedule 1. Schedule 1, Class A, from Schedule I of the Convention on...
Methylone	Not confirmed. Methylone is not named in Schedule 1. Schedule 1, Class A, from Schedule I of the Convention on...
Mitragynine	Not confirmed. Mitragynine is kratom's principal alkaloid, checked here as its own molecule distinct from the...
Modafinil	Not confirmed. Modafinil, searched also as '2-(diphenylmethyl)sulfinylacetamide', was checked against Schedule 1 of...
MXE	Not confirmed. MXE, methoxetamine, 2-(ethylamino)-2-(3-methoxyphenyl)cyclohexanone, is not itself named anywhere in...
Nicotine	Not confirmed, and checked as its own compound distinct from the finding for tobacco leaf in this country, which is...
Nitrous Oxide	Not confirmed. Nitrous oxide, searched also as 'dinitrogen monoxide' and 'laughing gas', was checked against...
Peyote	Not confirmed for the cactus itself, though its active principle is independently named. Mescaline is listed...
Phenibut	Not confirmed. Phenibut, searched also as 'beta-phenyl-gamma-aminobutyric acid', was checked against Schedule 1 of...
Pregabalin	Not confirmed. Pregabalin is not named anywhere in Schedule 1 of the Illicit Drugs Control Act, Act 7 of 2003, Cap....
Quetiapine	Not confirmed. Quetiapine is not named anywhere in Schedule 1 of the Illicit Drugs Control Act, Act 7 of 2003, Cap....
Salvia divinorum	Not confirmed. Salvia divinorum and its active principle, searched as 'Salvia divinorum' and 'Salvinorin A', were...
Scopolamine (Devil's Breath)	Not confirmed. Scopolamine, searched also as 'hyoscine', was checked against Schedule 1 of the Illicit Drugs Control...
THC-P	Not confirmed. Tetrahydrocannabiphorol is not named in Schedule 1. The only route available to reach it is the...
Tobacco	Not confirmed, and deliberately left that way rather than described by a regime this session could not locate, the...
Tramadol	Not confirmed. Tramadol is not named anywhere in Schedule 1 of the Illicit Drugs Control Act, Act 7 of 2003, Cap....
Xylazine	Not confirmed. Xylazine is not named anywhere in Schedule 1 of the Illicit Drugs Control Act, Act 7 of 2003, Cap....
Zolpidem	Not confirmed. Zolpidem is not named anywhere in Schedule 1 of the Illicit Drugs Control Act, Act 7 of 2003, Cap....

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