Q: Hello Sir/Madam, It has been more than two weeks since my friend was caught in a drug case. I haven't heard any news about him yet. What are the charges against him? How long does it usually take to deport someone in this type of case?

Q: My brother friend had been caught by CID whilst smoking marijuana and had marijuana in his possession. He told CID that my brother gave him. My brother was called downstairs from his office by his friend. When he came down, CID questioned him, beat him and searched him. They did not find anything on my brother nor in his car. Both my brother and his friend were registered under the same case number and taken to Bur Dubai police station. They had a drug test which was positive. They've been shifted to central Al Awir jail 1 month ago. My brother denied everything in the 1st & 2nd hearings in Neyaba (Public Prosecution). Now, they have charged my brother with facilitation of drugs to others and using drugs. They have now referred my brother case to Abu Dhabi, but his friend who was found with drugs is in Dubai court and has a small charge of using only. My brother is a 29-year-old engineer who spent his whole life in the UAE and has no police case on him ever before. What will happen now? Will they only deport him or will they punish him?

Q: 5 people come to our house to search for 1kg of drugs and get my husband telling me that my husband is a dealer. But there's no proof and no drugs in our house. And there is no strong evidence that he's a dealer. But he tested positive for using drugs. Now he has already been in Ras Al Khaimah Central Jail for 2 weeks. What would be the best action I will do for him to go outside of detention?

An interview-format article covering the topic of drug use and rehabilitation in the UAE. This is from the legal podcast of lawyer Ludmila Yamalova, the founder of Lawgical with LYLAW.

A legal concept upheld by the Federal Supreme Court states that drug use is not prosecuted by UAE courts if the offense occurred abroad. A positive drug test is accepted as proof of drug use, but it does not reveal whether the drug use occurred domestically or abroad. It is necessary to establish the crime's location in order to decide if the UAE courts have the authority to investigate it or if foreign courts should have jurisdiction over it.

The provisions of this Federal Decree-Law No. (31) of 2021 Promulgating the Crimes and Penalties Law, known as the "New UAE Penal Code", governs criminal actions in the United Arab Emirates. The New Penal Code repeals the previous UAE Penal Code (Federal Law No. (3) of 1987 Promulgating the Penal Code).