Is Zolpidem legal in Tanzania?

Legal status

Controlled by name. Schedule IV of the 1971 Convention list inside the First Schedule of the Drug Control and Enforcement Act, Cap 95, prints «Zolpidem N,N,6-Trimethyl-2-p-tolylimidazo [1,2-a] pyridine-3-acetamide», and the Schedule closes with «The salts of the substances listed in this Schedule whenever the existence of such salts is possible.», as the Schedules stand after GN No. 189 of 2024, read on 3 October 2026. So zolpidem is a psychotropic substance under the Act on the mainland.

Consequences if caught

Capital exposure: none. Cap 95 prints no sentence of death: its text, read in full on 3 October 2026, was searched for death and the word does not occur in it. Section 1(2) says «This Act shall apply to Mainland Tanzania.», and section 1(3) extends Parts III and IV to some conduct outside the mainland, including by «a citizen or a person who ordinarily resides in the United Republic». Zanzibar has its own Zanzibar Drugs Control and Enforcement Authority Act, No. 8 of 2021, whose English text is a scanned image that was read here by OCR; its sections 19, 21 and 22 set life imprisonment as the highest drug penalty and the search found no sentence of death in it. Section 2 defines trafficking to include «the importation, exportation, buying, sale, giving, supplying, storing, possession, production, manufacturing, conveyance, delivery or distribution». Section 15(1) punishes trafficking with life imprisonment where, by section 15(3)(i), a person trafficks «narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances weighing more than two hundred grams», and section 16(1) sets «imprisonment for a term of not less than thirty years» where, by section 16(2)(a), they weigh «200 grams or below». Small quantity possession proved to be for personal consumption, and consumption, fall under section 18(1): where the drug «is cocaine, morphine, diacetyl-morphine or any other narcotic drug or any psychotropic substance specified by the Minister by notice in the Gazette», a fine of not less than one million shillings or imprisonment for a term of five years or both, and otherwise a fine of not less than five hundred thousand shillings or imprisonment for a term of three years or both. Section 18(2) puts on the possessor the burden of proving personal consumption, and section 18(3) leaves «small quantity» to the Minister's regulations, which were not read, nor was any notice under section 18(1)(a), so which paragraph applies to zolpidem is not settled here. Section 19 punishes a person who «smokes, inhales, sniffs, injects or otherwise uses» a narcotic drug or psychotropic substance with a fine of not less than one million shillings or imprisonment for a term of three years or both.

If prescribed or medical

The section 2 definition of trafficking excludes «selling or supplying or administering for medical purposes, and in accordance with the provisions of this Act» by a medical practitioner, veterinary surgeon or dentist, and supply by a registered pharmacist, so supply of zolpidem by those persons for medical purposes in accordance with the Act falls outside trafficking. Section 21(1)(c) punishes selling, supplying or acquiring it «on presentation of prescription knowing or having reasons to believe that the prescription is forged, unlawfully obtained or acquired or was issued more than six months before presentation», with a fine of not less than fifty million shillings or imprisonment for not less than thirty years or both. The Medicines and Medical Devices Act, Cap 219, and any traveller import permit rule were not read.

Documentation

Zolpidem is the last row of that Schedule IV list, after «Vinylbital». The previous cell said no entry for zolpidem had been found, naming "Nimetazepam" as a rejected near match, and treated section 15(2) as the only route; that was wrong, the row is printed in the Revised Edition 2023 itself. Section 14(2) lets the Minister amend the First and Second Schedules «by notice published in the Gazette». The Revised Edition 2023 does not carry GN No. 189 of 2024, published 22 March 2024: its First Schedule subheadings still read «as at 18th May 2016» and «as at 13 November 2016», which that notice replaced with «as of the year 2022». This does not rule out a later notice than GN No. 189 of 2024; the TanzLII index of notices under the Act answered 403 and could not be listed. Zanzibar runs its own regime under Act No. 8 of 2021, and this cell does not apply it to zolpidem row by row. As read by OCR, that Act's First Schedule reproduces the INCB Yellow List of narcotic drugs and the Red List of precursors, and no list of psychotropic substances was found in it; its section 2 defines a «narcotic and psychotropic substance» by effect, as «a substance, which interact with central nervous system that affect and alter mental process»; section 20(2) treats «Any drugs or substances approved by the Government Analyst to have directly or indirectly connection with narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances which are not found under the First Schedule» as prohibited; section 21(1)(d) reaches unlisted substances with drug related effects only «in large quantity»; and section 23 sets a fine or imprisonment for a term of one year or both for small quantity personal possession.

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