4 Years in jail for 0.003g of weed.

[ThePretenders]

Man jailed over 'invisible' drugs

A British man jailed in Dubai after a miniscule amount of cannabis was found in his shoe was "targeted for being a Rastafarian", his brother claims.

Lee Brown said that his brother Keith, 43, of Smethwick, West Midlands, had suffered a "grave injustice".

Customs officials found 0.003g of the drug - an amount that is invisible to the naked eye and weighs less than a grain of sugar - in his shoe.

The youth development officer was sentenced to four years in prison.

Lee Brown, 57, said: "Keith's distraught and he's angry, he isn't happy.

"To think that something like that has happened to him when he was in transit... we believe it was because he was a Rastafarian that he was singled out."

He said his brother did not know how the drug came to be in the tread of his shoe.

He added: "He could have stepped in it walking along and he got hell for that.

"I think they were hoping to find other things on him. It's hard to put into words how you feel about such a grave injustice."

Dubai, in the United Arab Emirate (UAE), has a zero-tolerance drugs policy.

The legal charity Fair Trials International has now advised visitors to the UAE to "take extreme caution" and "avoid arrest for 'possession' of a controlled substance".

Chief executive Catherine Wolthuizen said: "We have seen a steep increase in such cases over the last 18 months.

"Customs authorities are using highly sensitive new equipment to conduct extremely thorough searches on travellers and if they find any amount - no matter how minute - it will be enough to attract a mandatory four-year prison sentence."

It follows a recent spate of arrests and imprisonment.

The list of banned substances in the UAE includes many products which are available over-the-counter and off-the-shelf in the UK.

These include medications such as codeine, a common ingredient in pain relief and cold-and-flu medication, and the common baking ingredient, poppy seeds.

A comprehensive list of banned pharmaceuticals is available at the Fair Trials Abroad website.

BBC
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WTF? This is unfair because they searched him for being a Rastafarian and hoping to find drugs. Gulf Arab countries are racist to black and Asian people. It is also unfair because it is a crumb in his shoe.
You cant even buy scales that weigh something smaller than a grain of sugar. This is a serious infringement of human rights because you can't even prove that the 'weed' was his. It could have transferred to his shoe by a smoker coming into contact with it. Man you can't even smoke anything with that much shit in his shoe.
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Other cases handled by Fair Trials Abroad.

Tracy Wilkinson, 45 of West Sussex
Arrested at Dubai airport in 2005 for possession of codeine, a common pain relief medication, which she had been using to ease chronic back pain. She was held in custody for 8 weeks before officials accepted proof from her doctor of its use for prescribed medical purposes only.

A Swiss national currently serving 4 years after 3 poppy seeds were found on his clothes by customs officials at Dubai airport. He had bought and eaten a bread roll at Heathrow before flying to UAE.

[Angry-Hatter]

*Note to self*: never visit Dubai.

[Earfetish]

how utterly retarded.

I wouldn't start going on about them being racist and targetting blacks; you're reading too much between the lines there, really. They're just an overly moralistic and authoritarian society. We could learn a lot from their drugs policy, ie exactly the opposite of what a successful drugs policy should look like.

[ThePretenders]

At 2/17/08 09:47 AM, Earfetish wrote: how utterly retarded.

I wouldn't start going on about them being racist and targetting blacks.

The second point was maybe irrational but the first one is true (experience, relatives)

[ThePretenders]

relatives in gulf arab countries.

[SizZlE666]

At 2/17/08 09:34 AM, Angry-Hatter wrote: *Note to self*: never visit Dubai.

You got that right.

[SomeNick]

Well, I think its a good lesson for all you weed smokers, gangsta wannabes. If you think doing illegal stuff is cool, its better that you grow accustomed to the idea of having policemen around, and to the idea of jail itself. Its all part of the deal.

[SomeNick]

Having said the previous, I won't ever visit Dubai. They might arrest me for brushing my teeth and having some chemical residuals in there from the tooth paste.

[matthew11]

that is one serious WTF?

[Dean]

And theres a lesson to be learnt here kids, don't do drugs!

[Pilgr1m]

the lesson here, don't step on drugs

[Angry-Hatter]

At 2/17/08 02:44 PM, GodsBitch wrote: And theres a lesson to be learnt here kids, don't do drugs!

No, the lesson to be learnt is, don't get caught doing drugs, or the fascist government will punish you. Also, protest against said fascist government at any available opportunity for imposing their fascist morality upon its citizens.

That is all.

[Proteas]

Hm...

What I find interesting here isn't the fact that it happened, but I'm more intrigued by the response it's gotten in this particular forum.

How many human rights violations go on in Arabic countries on a daily basis, yet an arrest over a bogus weed charge is the only one that gets a lot of attention on here?

[JudgeDredd]

At 2/17/08 08:36 AM, ThePretenders wrote: A Swiss national currently serving 4 years after 3 poppy seeds were found on his clothes by customs officials at Dubai airport. He had bought and eaten a bread roll at Heathrow before flying to UAE.

This guy must have looked like a serious gangsta baker's assistant.

[familyguyninja78]

The one about the guy with 3 poppy seeds on his shirt is just absolutely ridiculous. While I certainly stand for drug control, 4 years minimum is a too harsh. It makes me wonder how bad the drug situation got in Dubai for the government to come down with such an extreme law.

[SolInvictus]

At 2/17/08 08:10 PM, familyguyninja78 wrote: It makes me wonder how bad the drug situation got in Dubai for the government to come down with such an extreme law.

it probably never was, but it is a relatively fundamentalist Islamic kingdom.

can someone tell me how you go about finding .003g of marijuana on someone? and the tests that must have been done (even if its just an analysis with a microscope) to confirm what it was seem ridiculously expensive for so little.

so poppyseed products are banned in Dubai?

and as far as searching him because he is a Rastafaarian seems logical (unless of course the connection between Rastafarians and marijuana is just a myth).

[cellardoor6]

My dad has been to the UAE.

He said they freaked out because they found his bottle of prescription tranquilizers that he takes when he flies. They didn't detain him or anything but they took the pills away and gave him some citation they give specifically to tourists as a warning, for the purpose of being lenient to people who don't understand the rules.

I guess my dad was lucky.

[killslasher]

At 2/17/08 12:49 PM, SomeNick wrote: Having said the previous, I won't ever visit Dubai. They might arrest me for brushing my teeth and having some chemical residuals in there from the tooth paste.

yeah...
what if it just fell in there?
well that sucks.
4 years.

[thedo12]

in Canada were allowed to cary a moderate amount of canabis on you legaly

[Bolo]

I was under the impression that the UAE was the most lenient of the Middle Eastern Countries on crime issues and matters of domestic policy -- that is, most Western-influenced -- hence the massive foreign interest in developing Dubai as a major World City, and the crowning jewel of the whole region.

I guess this guy is lucky he wasn't in Iran or or one of the stricter Islam-practicing nations. They might've chopped off his goddamn hand.

[Stoicish]

Despite all persons view on pot and if its good or bad for you I just have to say this.

ITS ILLEGAL!

I don't give a shit if it was 5g of marshmellows. As long as they are against the law then you can pretty much expect someone is going to go to jail for it.

Stop making such a fucking big deal about it. He broke the law even if you think its a dumb one.

[thedo12]

lol, if he was were i live then there would be no law broken

[SadisticMonkey]

At 2/18/08 04:03 AM, Stoicish wrote:
ITS ILLEGAL!

Which justifies FOUR YEARS JAIL over an amount that would not even remotely cause any effects whatsoever if consumed.

[Ronald-McDonald-LoL]

Yep, and Paris Hilton and all those celeberties get off with much, much less than four years. Gotta love the American Justice system.

[Ronald-McDonald-LoL]

At 2/18/08 05:08 AM, Ronald-McDonald-LoL wrote: Yep, and Paris Hilton and all those celeberties get off with much, much less than four years. Gotta love the American Justice system.

My bad, misread the first post.

[Earfetish]

At 2/17/08 07:13 PM, Proteas wrote: Hm...
How many human rights violations go on in Arabic countries on a daily basis, yet an arrest over a bogus weed charge is the only one that gets a lot of attention on here?

I did think that. Like, we don't care about people getting arrested for taking codeine in, or any amount of hands getting chopped off; it's cannabis that'll get us all discussing the situation.

[WhoknowsmeaUdiO]

Rediculous!
Luckily we're reasonable in Holland.
No offense.

[bobomajo]

At 2/18/08 04:03 AM, Stoicish wrote:

I don't give a shit if it was 5g of marshmellows. As long as they are against the law then you can pretty much expect someone is going to go to jail for it.

Are you serious? Do you have the slightest understanding of numbers and the metric numbering system? Anything that weighs that small is INVISIBLE to the human eye to be able to even detect something that light means you would need sophisticated scientific analysis equipment.

Its not the same as a police officer finding a joint in someones pocket (which is excessive anyway). It means he would have been arrested because he looked suspicious (unless I've not been told everything) searched so finely that they were able to find microscopic amounts of a soft drug on his clothes and locked in jail for 4 years minimum. Thats like getting arrested for having a spec of dust on you, it could have came from anywhere.

[Angry-Hatter]

At 2/18/08 06:06 AM, Earfetish wrote:

At 2/17/08 07:13 PM, Proteas wrote: Hm...
How many human rights violations go on in Arabic countries on a daily basis, yet an arrest over a bogus weed charge is the only one that gets a lot of attention on here?

I did think that. Like, we don't care about people getting arrested for taking codeine in, or any amount of hands getting chopped off; it's cannabis that'll get us all discussing the situation.

Everybody loves cannabis!

But seriously, it's times like these that you really see how absurd the prohibition of marijuana and other soft drugs really is. How harshly can you punish someone for a completely non violent "crime"? It's like the other week when that 22 year old got executed for drinking alcohol, was that fair punishment?

[NhollowWearthO]

At 2/17/08 12:47 PM, SomeNick wrote: Well, I think its a good lesson for all you weed smokers, gangsta wannabes. If you think doing illegal stuff is cool, its better that you grow accustomed to the idea of having policemen around, and to the idea of jail itself. Its all part of the deal.

well i dont think its cool, or and i dont smoke just because its cool to break the law that stupid. Plus alot of places like Canada can carry limited amounts of cannabis on them. And its a part of the deal who are you king, your ignorant if you think its "a part of the deal". I am tho with you on the fact that gangsta wannabes should learn lessons, your not cool or gangters. ut there is a diff. between a gangster and a chilled out social weed smoker, High Society