Drugs and the Law in Dubai
Source: Expat Echo - Drugs and the Law
Know your Rights: 5 laws that expats should know.
- The consumption of illegal drugs in the UAE is a criminal offence, punishable by possible imprisonment or deportation. Drugs that are legal in your home country may not necessarily be legal in the UAE, this could include drugs that you have been prescribed for medical reasons in your home country.
- The import of illegal drugs in to the UAE is a criminal offence. This includes whilst transiting through Dubai airport. If you have obtained a prescription for medication from your home country, it is recommended to carry a translated and attested copy of the prescription with you.
- Take particular care when returning from holiday if you may have come in to contact with anyone who has taken an illegal drug and may have passed even the smallest quantity on to you. Possession of illegal drugs, even for example a speck on a shoe, may be a criminal offence.
- Some medications are illegal in the UAE if possessed without a prescription from a Doctor. These include some sleeping pills, antidepressants and pain killers. Check with your Doctor whether a prescription is required before taking these types of medicines.
- We have come across a number of cases in which expatriate women’s drinks have been spiked with illegal substances against their knowledge. Such action could result in the woman having committed a criminal offence (by having an illegal substance in her system). Never accept a drink from someone you do not know, and be vigilant in busy bars and nightclubs.
New update:
The UAE has issued federal decree number 30 of 2021(issued on 16 Sep 2021)
which institutes key new amendments to the Federal law number 14 of 1994 on
narcotic and psychotropic drugs. The procurement, import, export,
manufacture, extraction, separation, production, possession, acquisition
and abuse of ‘narcotic drugs’ and ‘psychotropic substances’ indicated in
Schedules to the law is prohibited. The UAE practices zero tolerance in
matters of drugs abuse, thereby , the penalty imposed on any person
facilitates the sale of narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances provided
for in Schedules 1, 2, 4 and 5, annexed to this Law shall be imprisonment
for a period a period not less than ten years and a fine of not less one
hundred thousand (earlier twenty thousand dirhams). The penalty shall be
increased to be life imprisonment and a fine of not less than one hundred
thousand (earlier twenty thousand dirhams) in the event of repeated offense
(Article 5)
Reference:
Federal decree number 30 of 2021 amending the Federal law number 14 of 1994
on narcotic and psychotropic drugs.
Issue Date:
16 Sep 2021
To read more on the” What you should know about the new drugs law in the
UAE?”, please follow this link: https://www.professionallawyer.me/legal-articles/criminal-law/what-you-should-know-about-the-new-drugs-law-in-the-uae
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