Calls for UAE to drop mandatory four-year jail term for drug use

Judges, lawyers and social workers say court should have discretion to decide severity of each case on individual basis.

ABU DHABI // Judicial officials looking at reforms to the narcotics law want the mandatory four-year prison sentence for drug abuse abolished, saying some cases warrant more lenient punishment.

They say the strict minimum limit does not take into account the type of drug used, or the amount.

Abdulmunem Abdulfadeel, an inspections judge at the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department, said the sentence was “dangerous and sometimes too heavy”, especially with young drug users who used only a small amount.

“Sentencing them to four years would destroy them,” Mr Abdulfadeel said.

And some experts believe the compulsory term could lead young people to use more dangerous drugs.

Dr Faisal Al Nuwais, a psychiatrist who treats addicts and drug abusers at an Abu Dhabi clinic, supports that theory.

“There has to be some kind of discrepancy between the type of drug and amount of drug consumed when deciding how to prosecute or sentence somebody,” Dr Al Nuwais said.

“Four years is too accumulative. I think the main issue with drug use in this country is that the punishment is so severe, there is no difference between using one drug and the other.

“So people think, ‘Whatever, I’ll serve four years anyway’.”

Dr Al Nuwais has worked in Canada, where sentences are based on the amount and type of drug taken.

“Nowadays, most countries are starting to decriminalise marijuana, even if they have severe rules for it,” Dr Al Nuwais said. “I think cocaine and heroin is more severe.”

He said the message sent by the four-year sentence is that all drugs are the same, when they are not. Heroin leads to life-long addiction and is different to other drugs or psychotropic pills, Dr Al Nuwais said.

Ayesha Al Zaabi, a personal development coach who works with drug users, said the sentence was damaging for minor users and could motivate some to continue using drugs.

“Mentally and psychologically, some addicts might not be deterred,” Ms Al Zaabi said.

“They think, ‘It’s fine, I will go to prison for four years as a break’.”

She said that allowing a judge to exercise discretion for the severity of the sentence would be more effective.

“When the punishment is based on the size of the crime, every person will have an internal warning and evaluation of the size of his case,” Ms Al Zaabi said.

But for major addicts, it could be beneficial to have them jailed for long periods, she said.

“I have patients who are wives of addicts and they say they feel more secure raising their children with their husbands in prison, to make sure the children are not affected by the consequences of their father’s addiction,” Ms Al Zaabi said.

Lawyer Abdulla Al Hammadi said some people charged with drug use had been tricked or pressured into doing it, and so the minimum sentence should be less.

He also agreed with a proposed amendment, which would entail the referral of drug-trafficking cases to federal courts rather than local ones, saying the issue affected the country as a whole and not only one emirate.

Salim Alabd, another lawyer, said each case of drug use had different circumstances so the judge should have the right to consider the defendant individually.

“There should be no reason to prevent the judge from issuing lesser sentences in certain cases,” Mr Alabd said.

The amendments to the law are still being studied.