Pubdate: Mon, 20 Aug 2001 Source: Khaleej Times (UAE) Copyright: 2001 Khaleej Times Contact: http://khaleejtimes.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/996 VISITORS WARNED AGAINST CARRYING CONTROLLED DRUGS PEOPLE coming to the UAE are permitted to bring in only small quantities of regular medicines for personal use. And visitors bringing in controlled medicines that may contain narcotic chemicals as active ingredients do so at their own risk, according to Dr Essa Al Mansouri, Director of the Drug Control Department at the UAE Ministry of Health. "We allow people to bring in limited quantities of over-the-counter medicines which are not controlled, but only in small quantities and for personal use. Of course, if a person coming into the UAE is carrying with him a banned or controlled medicine, he bears the responsibility for that. "In some countries, you can 'purchase' a medical prescription for a controlled drug, so medical prescriptions from abroad are always suspect," Dr Al Mansouri told Khaleej Times yesterday. Judge Mustafa Al Shinawi, from the Court of First Instance and an expert on drug-related cases, echoed similar sentiments, stating that prescriptions from abroad were suspect. He said that the law was clear on the issue of penalising someone found taking controlled medicines which contained narcotic substances without a medical prescription from an authorised doctor or medical establishment in the UAE, even if it was for medical treatment. Speaking about criminal possession of controlled medicines, Judge Al Shinawi mentioned details of a case that was recently brought before a court in Dubai: "A Pakistani man came into the UAE via Dubai International Airport and was caught with a stack of pills which are listed under appendices 3, 6, 7 and 8 of Federal Law No. 14 for 1995 as controlled narcotic medicines. The prosecution charged him with possessing narcotics with the intent to sell. "Luckily for him the man did not know what he was carrying. He told the prosecution that he was asked by a woman in Pakistan to deliver the package to a third party in Dubai. Placed inside the package along with the pills was a recorded message in the woman's voice in which she explained that the man was only a courier, that he did not know what he was carrying and that he was delivering the pills to a man in Dubai for pain relief. He got off," Judge Al Shinawi said. A fine of Dh10,000 is usually imposed on charges of taking controlled medicines without a valid prescription, but only if a defendant can produce evidence that he was taking the medicine for medical treatment. Judge Al Shinawi stressed, however, that anyone convicted of such an offence might challenge the conviction at the Dubai Court of Appeals. "A convicted person can undergo medical examination in the UAE by doctors or medical establishments authorised by the Ministry of Health, to prove he has a medical condition that necessitates taking a controlled drug. He can then present his medical report to the authorities and have the prescription he brought from abroad authenticated. He can then present that prescription to the appeal court and win the case," Judge Al Shinawi said. According to Article 41 of Law No. 14 for 1995, anyone taking substances or plant extracts of a narcotic nature that are not mentioned in the relevant appendices, whose effects are sedative or hallucinogenic and cause damage to the brain, and as long as such a substance was taken with that intention, then the accused would be liable to criminal prosecution. Article 41 provides a legal framework for convicting glue-sniffers, paint-sniffers, Qat chewers and use of any other form of substance designed to produce similar effects; the penalty for which can be a prison term of between one to three years. - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Stevens