Police 'Spice' up war on drugs in UAE
A motorist died and another man fell to his death after taking a ‘legal high’ known as Spice - which has now been banned in the UAE, it was revealed yesterday.
The head of drugs prosecution at Dubai Public Prosecution, Waleed Ali Al Fuqai, said the UAE was the first Arab country to make using and dealing in Spice illegal.
Anyone found taking the drug faces a minimum of four years behind bars and those supplying it could be given the death penalty.
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Narcotic 'Spice' is banned in the UAE after two people die whilst under the influence
The ban came into effect on May 31 and since then 10 cases have been referred to prosecution.
Al Fuqai said: “Since we put the drug on the banned list, we have been receiving cases from Dubai Police.
“It is a lethal drug that can cause death. It is even stronger than heroin and cocaine. It can seriously damage the nervous system.”
Prosecutors estimated three grams of the drug costs up to Dhs2,000.
Al Fuqai said two people had died so far this year
after taking Spice. “The first was a man from a Gulf country who drove his car while under the influence of Spice. He crashed and died from his injuries. The second was a Russian resident who was having a party with his friends in his flat at a tower in Bur Dubai. He then threw himself from the balcony. It is a very dangerous drug,” he said.
“It is cannabis mixed with chemical materials and causes and panic. A person taking it can’t properly estimate distances.”
ali.shouk@7days.ae
Comments
by Zoom Boom
Sunday, July 15 2012, 12:49PM
“Alcohol should be banned since it causes more deaths than cannabis”
by Reeko
Friday, July 13 2012, 1:04AM
“If people learn from their mistakes, it's that the prohibition is what causes the creation of 'alternate' drugs that are legal and far more dangerous.. How can we eradicate the root of the problem when the problem itself is the answer? and within decriminalization lies the problem and the answer.”
by qwerty
Thursday, July 12 2012, 3:02PM
“so this 'drug' is legal everywhere but it can cause death, and its stronger than heroin and cocaine!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. all the information in this article is inaccurate and misleading.
it is not cannabis but regular herbs sprayed with one chemical and not chemicals, and that's why its legal everywhere else. and the people that died, the man from a 'Gulf Country' was driving under the influence, so if they had alcohol would Dubai Police ban that??? its not the spice that killed them.”