Middle East: Don't Take Your Doobies to Dubai | Stop the Drug War (DRCNet)


Travelers headed to Dubai should take a thorough inventory before heading for the airport. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is currently taking an extremely hard line on cannabis offenses. Last week, an Italian visitor was sentenced to years in prison for a microscopic portion of hashish, and this week, a British citizen faces a similar punishment for inadvertently carrying a similarly miniscule amount of hash and marijuana.

On May 31, the Dubai Court of First Instance found a 24-year-old Italian man identified only by the initials "A.D." guilty of smuggling and possessing 1/100th of a gram of hash after he arrived at the airport. The quantity discovered -- 1/2800th of an ounce -- is too small to be usable and so tiny that the fact it was detected at all is remarkable.
The Italian guy got 4 years in jail. Now a Canadian has been arrested on his way home from Afghanistan, through Dubai. Can't find any articles about him yet, just heard it on The National. Apparently he was working with farmers to convince them to stop growing poppy. He may have had a few poppy seeds caught in his clothing, or a bit of residue from the plant. Either way he is looking at years in prison. How bad is this getting? America is cannabis heaven compared to UAE.

Here we go, article about the Canadian.
Middle East: Dubai Customs Busts Canadian UN Afghan Drug Worker | Stop the Drug War (DRCNet)
Perp Reviewed by Perp on . You Think It's Bad in America Middle East: Don't Take Your Doobies to Dubai | Stop the Drug War (DRCNet) The Italian guy got 4 years in jail. Now a Canadian has been arrested on his way home from Afghanistan, through Dubai. Can't find any articles about him yet, just heard it on The National. Apparently he was working with farmers to convince them to stop growing poppy. He may have had a few poppy seeds caught in his clothing, or a bit of residue from the plant. Either way he is looking at years in prison. Rating: 5