Complexity of drug abuse defies an easy fix

One-size-fits-all sentencing rules can make the problem worse rather than better

Is prison the inevitable place for drug offenders? Stephen Lock / The National

Anyone who has seen the ravages that illegal drug use can cause will know why harsh penalties – such as the mandatory four-year prison sentence in force here – often follow. But at the same time, the complexity of the problem and the intractable nature of addiction means this kind of one-size-fits-all sentencing policy can sometimes be counterproductive.

This is an issue with which our justice system has been grappling, with reform to the minimum term rule being one of the items for reconsideration. This mandatory sentencing policy is one of the toughest in the world and has been in place in the UAE for many years, but it has not stopped drug abuse or stemmed the flow of drugs into this country. It is worth considering if another approach might pay better dividends.

It ought to be made clear from the outset that this reconsideration does not mean some drugs are now more tolerated, or that there is no place for harsh deterrent sentences. Anyone who sells drugs to a minor, for example, fully deserves the harshest penalty the law can offer. What this debate reflects instead is that the strategy to defeat the scourge of drugs needs to involve both rehabilitative and punitive elements.

Harsh mandatory sentences sound good to people who seek simple answers to complex problems. But complex problems require complex solutions – and that includes the courts having greater discretion over penalties. Part of the intractability of the drug problem is addiction, and even someone who has the full support of their family and is receiving medical and psychological assistance for their addiction might fall off the wagon a few times before finally overcoming it. A mandatory four-year sentence for this kind of breach is likely to undo much of the rehabilitative progress that has been achieved. Few would see a public benefit of jail in this circumstance.

Many countries struggle to find the right balance between treating drug use as a crime and treating it as an illness. The truth is that it has elements of both, which is why judges ought to have their hands relatively free to come up with a response that works for the individual who appears in front of them. While there is no dispute that drug abuse blights lives and spoils future prospects, dealing with it successfully requires wisdom, insight and judgement – exactly why we have a judiciary rather than a list of penalties.