Photo used for illustrative purpose.

The UAE has eased some of its strict drug laws and lessened penalties for travellers, who arrive in the country with products containing Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main active chemical in cannabis (hashish).

The new law, which was published in the Official Gazette of the UAE, states that people who are caught bringing food, drinks and items containing cannabis into the country will not go to prison, if it is proven that they were carrying those items for the first time.

The UAE law has witnessed a number of amendments confirming its flexibility to keep abreast of the rapid developments. Article No.7 has been introduced to establish specialised centres dedicated to rehabilitation of those involved in crimes of drug abuse and personal use of narcotic and psychotropic substances.

Some types of narcotic and psychotropic substances have also been added to the tables attached to the law, and some tables of psychotropic substances and narcotic substances remain restricted, as no deletion, addition or change of proportions is allowed except by virtue of a law or a decree in accordance with the Article No. 4.

Users of drugs listed in the tables specified in Article 41 shall be punished by imprisonment for minimum 3 months or a fine of Dhs20,000-100,000 for the first time.

As for the second time – within 3 years of the first time – the penalty will be imprisonment of a minimum 6 months or a fine of Dhs30,000-100,000.

For the third time and above, the penalty will be a minimum two years' imprisonment and a fine of Dhs100,000 or more.

The law gives the court the choice between imprisonment and a fine in the first and second offences of abuse, but in the third and above, both imprisonment and a fine will be obligatory.