DJ Given Four Years For Taking Cannabis

[Ganjarden]

A Dubai-based British disc jockey was yesterday jailed for four years after tests found traces of marijuana in his bloodstream.

The DJ, identified as 30-year-old AY, was charged with consuming drugs after Dubai Police's anti-narcotics department received a tip-off from an informant.

When AY was arrested he was not found in possession of any drugs but traces were found in his blood. He was arrested in March in Jumeirah and claimed he had not smoked cannabis since December.

He denied the charges and said he consumed the drug at home in the UK during Christmas. However, prosecutors claimed a blood test showed he consumed the drug in the UAE.

AY, who has two weeks to appeal the sentence, is the latest DJ to fall foul of the Emirates' drugs legislation. Three years ago, world-famous drum-and-bass DJ Raymond Bingham, also known as Grooverider, was handed a four-year sentence after being convicted of smuggling a marijuana cigarette into the country. Another British DJ was also convicted in 2008 of smoking hashish. The defendant admitted to court that he took the drug, but said it was before he arrived in the country.

The 24-year-old, identified as MT, was also arrested in March 2008 under similar circumstances. When no drugs were found, he was subjected to a blood test for drugs use. MT said he had smoked hashish given to him by a Lebanese friend three weeks before arriving in Dubai.


NewsHawk: Ganjarden: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: The National Newspaper
Author: Awad Mustafa
Copyright: 2010 Abu Dhabi Media Company PJSC.

* Thanks to MedicalNeed for submitting this article

 

[greeenbudzzz]

weed tar did

 

[Steve McStoferson]

Dubai has the most horrific cannabis laws and prosecutions I have ever seen. Not only does this guy get 4 years for what he did outside of the country, he gets 4 years in a shit hole. Look up Dubai prison conditions and you will be shocked to see what they put people through. That culture is so far behind the rest of the world, it's insane!

 

[bigjake]

I would never ever go to Dubai . hell you can not even kiss a women in public
or drink . 4 years for weed in your blood WOW.

 

[Choji]

is it a death sentence if you're caught smoking a blunt while kissing in public?

 

[LighTer]

probably.

 

[Toes]

Dubai is trying to have a public image as an up and coming commerce hub, a vacation getaway destination, and being on the cutting edge of technology.

Do a Google image search of "Dubai" and check out the man made islands.

Seems to me, all of that construction cost a lot of money. Dubai is trying to figure out how to pay for it all with the decline in vacations worldwide due to the economic crisis. With empty hotel rooms, and condos, they may have taken an example from their American big brother. Wonder if Dubai prisons are privately own just like in America?

They should figure something out quick before they turn ALL of their "tourism" commerce off for good.

 

[Green Utopia]

They're gonna become the world's Florida.

 

[Choji]

last time i checked tourist loved to get baked in foreign places, well maybe not Dubai anymore. hows Amsterdam this time of year?

 

[Steve McStoferson]

Dubai is trying to have a public image as an up and coming commerce hub, a vacation getaway destination, and being on the cutting edge of technology.

Do a Google image search of "Dubai" and check out the man made islands.

Seems to me, all of that construction cost a lot of money. Dubai is trying to figure out how to pay for it all with the decline in vacations worldwide due to the economic crisis. With empty hotel rooms, and condos, they may have taken an example from their American big brother. Wonder if Dubai prisons are privately own just like in America?

They should figure something out quick before they turn ALL of their "tourism" commerce off for good.

I don't know if you've seen Dubai lately, but its deserted. Most of the money has dried up and it's a ghost town.

Also, do some research on prison conditions there.. I've seen instances where people are given solitary confinement in a dark empty room, home to rats and other creatures, all for less than a gram of Cannabis.

 

[TorturedSoul]

Dubai has the most horrific cannabis laws and prosecutions I have ever seen.

In the Philippines, possession of small amounts of cannabis will only get you sentenced to a dozen years in prison, but larger amounts will get you life (they abolished the death penalty for it in 2006).

In Saudi Arabia, two men were beheaded for attempting to smuggle hash into the country in 2005.

Indonesia has the death penalty for drug distribution offenses. To quote its former president, "For those who distribute drugs, life sentences and other prison sentences are no longer sufficient," she said. "No sentence is sufficient other than the death sentence." The current president also supports executions for drug dealers.

Malaysia executed two men in 1996 for trafficking 1.2kg (~2.6 pounds) of cannabis.

The United Arab Emirates sentenced a woman to death in late 2004 for being caught with 149 grams of hash.

Singapore has frequently used the death penalty for cannabis-related offenses.

Thailand has the death penalty for offenses of this type too. But you're arguably likely to not have to worry about the whole trial thing there - in a three-month period in 2003, police killed more than 2,200 in a national drug crackdown (only 35 were in self-defense).

And of course China has used the death penalty for drug-related offenders many times. Its government celebrates the UN's Anti-Drug Day (June 26) by holding dozens of executions. Amnesty International estimates that 500 people are executed on average each year for D-R offenses (to be fair, only a portion of that total involves cannabis).

Dubai's drug laws suck. But there are other countries. A wise man might decide to boycott all goods/services originating in countries that are guilty of these and other types of human-rights violations. Of course that's difficult these days. And it gets more difficult every day that people continue to do business with these countries.

These countries do some pretty terrible things to their citizens and visitors to their countries. But it's the people in other countries (chiefly, us Americans) that finance such continuing atrocities. But hey, there's a sale at Wal*Mart.[/DISGUST]

 

[Toes]

In the Philippines...Saudi Arabia...Indonesia...Malaysia... (EDIT: Dubai is in here--->)The United Arab Emirates...Singapore...Thailand...China... A wise man might decide to boycott all goods/services originating in countries that are guilty of these and other types of human-rights violations. Of course that's difficult these days. And it gets more difficult every day that people continue to do business with these countries.

These countries do some pretty terrible things to their citizens and visitors to their countries. But it's the people in other countries (chiefly, us Americans) that finance such continuing atrocities. But hey, there's a sale at Wal*Mart.[/DISGUST]

Right on Brother

 

[Steve McStoferson]

Dubai's drug laws suck. But there are other countries. A wise man might decide to boycott all goods/services originating in countries that are guilty of these and other types of human-rights violations. Of course that's difficult these days. And it gets more difficult every day that people continue to do business with these countries.

These countries do some pretty terrible things to their citizens and visitors to their countries. But it's the people in other countries (chiefly, us Americans) that finance such continuing atrocities. But hey, there's a sale at Wal*Mart.[/DISGUST]

yeah dude I totally back you up on that. I stopped shopping there for that very reason