ABU DHABI // An American musician was deported on Friday for possessing controlled painkillers without the proper prescription.
Matthew Gonzales, 37, was detained in April on charges of illegal possession of drugs when he was found with tramadol.
He was sentenced with two years in prison but the sentence was later reduced to deportation and a Dh7,000 fine.
The case sparked renewed calls from legal figures for tourists to take precaution when bringing medicines or drugs into the UAE.
Mr Gonzales, a musician and IT worker, was passing through Abu Dhabi on April 16 to board a Royal Caribbean ship when he was detained for not having a prescription or registering his pain medication, which is on the list of banned drugs in the UAE.
His sister, Nicole Denil, brought in documentation proving that the tramadol was prescribed to him by his doctors, was the sentence reduced to deportation and a Dh7,000 fine. She also used the hashtag #freematty on social media to draw attention to the case.
"We had the lawyers trying to move the appeal day out. We had senators from five different states and congressmen from five different states lobbying for this," Denil told local media.
Mr Gonzales told local media that he had been in Al Wathba prison for more than two months.
"It's obviously good to be home. (My sister is) an angel, a rock star. I don't think I'll ever be able to walk through a full day without feeling unburdened. I don't know if that's the right word. I owe her everything," he said.
Long embrace -- after Miami man detained in Abu Dhabi for prescription meds is freed from prison and sent home. @wsvn pic.twitter.com/YmvZZGIWNy
— Brian Entin (@BrianEntin) June 23, 2017
Authorities have repeatedly warned visitors of bringing in drugs without prescriptions.
Lawyer Huda Al Falamarzy said that she has seen many cases of tourists who are unaware of the regulations and arrested for bringing in medication without the necessary documents.
“It is not just that they must have an authenticated prescription from an official and certified authority in their home country but it also has to be very accurate. The exact dosage has to be mentioned and signed by a certified doctor.”
Ms Al Falamarzy said that she is representing a young man on similar charges.
“He has a prescription for one-month worth of medication. In the prescription it said that he was to take one tablet per day. Unfortunately, he found that it was cheaper to order his medicine online in bulk so he ordered three months’ worth of tablets.”
Customs alerted the authorities and he was arrested.
“So if your prescription is for one month, make sure you only bring in one months’ worth of medicines,” she said.
Mr Gonzales, she said, received a lenient sentence.
In October last year, the President, Sheikh Khalifa, updated the 1995 law to downgrade the use of illegal drugs to a misdemeanor. Under the previous law, Mr Gonzales would have been sentenced to four years in prison.
A list of restricted and controlled medicines or drugs is available on the Ministry of Health’s website.
It stipulates that residents and non-residents patients can bring in a maximum of three -month supply of prescription medicine for their personal use.
[ salnuwais@thenational.ae ]
