Illegal Drugs in Saudi Arabia

Illegal Drugs in Saudi Arabia, Don't break this Law
Treatment, a big problem in Saudi Persia, Cannabis is a considerable problem with people here, many of the Saudis cigarette smoking far too much as well as other drugs! I am not in any way overall look or kind a medicine taker but I know that they are quickly available. But the cost here for trafficking drugs is DEATH, so before you bring some with you, or try to finish to your "friends" keep in thoughts this!

Drugs problematic wid Saudi society
An interesting piece in Saudi Gazette discusses the growing problem of illegal drugs in Saudi society. It’s not just opiates, stimulants, and other materials that form the basis of the ‘war on drugs’. In addition, it’s the variety of substances that promise desirable changes in physique, color, condition, and life-style. Drugs are regulated in Saudi Arabia, but there are major loopholes. Not all pharmacies demand prescriptions, though they should. There are varieties of traditional ‘medicines’ and drugs that are brought in by expats or smuggled across borders. Not all of these are dangerous in themselves, of course, but they can be abused and frequently are. They also complicate other medical treatment by either potentiating or debilitating the effects of other medications. Some, too, are simply quackery. Here, the Internet serves a decidedly negative purpose.
Much of this business thrives on the combination of scientific ignorance and a strong psychological desire for ‘improvement’, however that term is defined by the individual.
JEDDAH – New communication methods, and online and TV commercials have contributed to the spread of illegal drugs, sexual stimulants and harmful medical products in the Saudi market.
Buying banned drugs through the Internet, television programs, pharmacies, and via sales representatives has become a growing phenomenon in the Kingdom.
Jeddah Health Affairs Management is trying its best to control this phenomenon, and in recent months, a large number of pharmacies dealing with illegal drugs and sexual stimulants have been ordered shut.
Saudi Gazette spoke with officials and doctors to find out the reasons behind the increasing number of people seeking to buy drugs online, via sales representatives or over the counter in pharmacies.
“The trend is mostly visible in women who want to lose weight, prevent hair loss, treat their skin, and generally look younger without consulting specialist physicians,” said Dr. Wafa’a Faqih, Associate Professor at King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah, and consultant for women’s diseases in King Abdulaziz University Hospital.
Another group of women, she said, are those who are suffering from pain in their knees, legs, and back and other joints. It also includes those who have painful monthly periods. “These women are basically lethargic and do not consult a doctor. They discuss their problems with friends, and receive advice from the Internet and via television programs and buy drugs over the counter,” she said.
According to Dr. Faqih, most women buy analgesics from pharmacies without realizing that they can be very harmful.
“To avoid this dangerous behavior, there is an urgent need to change society’s point of view about health care. It is also vital that periodic health checkups are made compulsory in all regions of the Kingdom including remote rural areas,” she said.
Saudi raise domestic awareness about drug abuse :
Those are the goals of a two-day conference here this week sponsored by the Anti-Narcotics General Directorate of the Saudi interior ministry.
A first of its kind for Riyadh, the conference has drawn officials from neighbouring Gulf states, including Iran, as well as from the United Nations, United Kingdom and United States.
Saudi Arabia “has become one of the major countries targeted by traffickers”, There is mounting concern in both Saudi society and government circles that young people are increasingly turning to substance abuse for recreation, to compensate for boredom, or to alleviate depression, according to numerous press reports.
And increasingly, this issue is being frankly addressed in public by Saudi officials. Captagon, a synthetic amphetamine distributed in capsules, which many students are turning to during exam times.Captagon, which is also taken to suppress appetite, and hashish are the two most widely used illicit drugs among young Saudis, experts and interior ministry officials said.
These drugs are smuggled into the kingdom mainly through its mountainous southern border with Yemen and its northern desert borders with Jordan and Egypt. Almost daily, Saudi newspapers carry brief stories about seizures of contraband in these areas.
Despite the severe penalty for drug trafficking – beheading – would-be smugglers relentlessly seek to beat the authorities, hiding illicit drugs in fresh fruit, furniture, pastry-making equipment, children’s schoolbags, as well as bodily cavities.

A story in Arab News on April 10 was typical: “Authorities seized more than 100kg of hashish at Thuwal, located at the Yemen border in Jazan province,” it stated. “The drug was seized in two separate incidents … The first smuggler had placed 40kg of hash in a reserve gas tank. The other had placed 63kg inside a spare tire.”

At an April 20 press conference, the interior ministry spokesman Gen Mansour al Turki said 195 people, including 108 Saudis, had been arrested over the past four months attempting to smuggle illegal drugs into the country.
The drugs seized in the operations included eight million amphetamine pills, 2,700kg of hashish and 20kg of heroin.
And most traffickers, he said, are “individuals who take advantage of [the car or] goods that they are transporting into the kingdom … to hide some amount of drugs inside”.
A new study by the ministry’s anti-narcotic division states that in 2009, authorities counted 90,300 drug peddlers in the kingdom of whom almost two-thirds (59,600) were Saudi, according to yesterday’s edition of the Saudi Gazette. The report also states that 37,828 people were accused of drug-related crimes in 2009 and that officials had seized 62.1 million Captagon pills, 17 tonnes of hashish, 60,000kg of heroin and 775,000 tonnes of qat.
Bringing Prescription Drugs into the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Article (5): Clearance of Pharmaceutical Products for Personal Use 1.It is illegal to import drugs or medical materials that are band in Saudi Arabia or internationally; 2.It is illegal to import drugs listed in Table 1 in Schedule D and Table 2 in Schedule A, as well as items listed in Article (4) of the Drugs and Narcotics Control Law (found at the website of the Saudi Food and Drug Authority. 3.Request to import prescription drugs must be filed with the branch of the Saudi Food and Drug Authority at the port of entry to which the drugs will arrive. 4.Drugs that are for personal use will be cleared for import into the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia provided the following conditions are met: a. The prescription medications in question must be accompanied either: b. i.Recent medical report (less than six months old) issued by the patient’s medical care provider and clearly stating the following: c. 1.personal information of the patient; d. 2.medical diagnosis; e. 3.treatment plan; f. 4.medical recommendations; g. 5.generic name of the prescription drugs, dosage and dosage form; or by h. ii. A doctor's prescription (less than six months old) in the name of the patient with the following information: i. 1. medical diagnosis; j. 2.generic name of the prescription drug, dosage and dosage form; k. 3.drug usage instructions and prescribed duration of use; and l. 4.official seal of the health care provider. b.The person importing the prescription medications will be held personally responsible for its lawful use and agrees to limit its usage to the intended patient only. c.Copy of patient identification document. 5.The amount of allowable prescription medicine to be cleared for import shall for the duration of the visit or one month's supply, whichever is shorter. The prescription medications must remain valid for use during the clearance period and satisfy the following conditions: a.In case the quantity of the cleared prescription medications were used up while the patient is in the Kingdom, he/she should visit a physician in a licensed medical facility to verify his/her need to continue on the same drug. b.Should the physician confirm such need, a medical file for the patient should be opened at the medical facility before a prescription can be issued. The prescribed drug must then be dispensed by a local pharmacy, if available. This same procedure must be followed every time the patient’s condition requires medication. c.If the prescription medications or its medically acceptable replacement is not available in the local market, the medical facility prescribing the medication may request permission from the Saudi Food and Drug Authority to import the medication from a pharmaceutical distributor. 6.If the prescription medication is used through injection, the clearance process should be completed on behalf of the patient by and under the supervision of a local medical institution. The cleared prescription medications should then be registered in the record of the medical institution for personal use in accordance with its medication management policy. 7.Should the quantity of the cleared medication exceed the medical need of the patient, unused medication must be disposed of in a proper manner. 8.With the exception of the conditions provided for under subsections (a), (b) and (c) of Sections (5) and (6), all other conditions shall similarly apply to those patients who are travelling outside the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. 9.If the prescription drug is in the possession of someone other than the patient (spouse, parents, children, or siblings) a copy of that person’s identification must be submitted with the clearance application. However, if that person is not a relative he/she must submit a document showing.
IMPORATNT : by Suzanne Elles representing Saudi Arabia from Forest Hills Central High School:
Country: Saudi Arabia
Committee: Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice
Topic: Curbing Trade of Illicit Drugs
Suzanne Elles
In their 2007 report, UNODC said that global efforts to combat the production and use of illicit drugs were succeeding in bringing drug abuse under control. The illegal drug trade is a worldwide problem consisting of the cultivation, manufacturing, sale, and distrubution of illegal drugs. As said in the annual report 2008, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, “World Drug Report 2007, UNODC’s flagship publication. Global supply, trafficking and consumption of cocaine, heroin, cannabis and amphetamines have stabilized. Worldwide efforts to contain the world drug problem have effectively reversed a quarter century-long rise in drug abuse and headed off a global pandemic. Afghanistan, however, bucked the trend with soaring opium production.”
Penalties for the import, manufacture, possession, and consumption of alcohol or illegal drugs are severe. Convicted offenders can expect jail sentences, fines, public flogging, and/or deportation. The penalty for drug trafficking in Saudi Arabia is death. Saudi officials make no exceptions. Customs inspections at ports of entry are thorough. The U.S. Embassy and Consulates General have no standing in Saudi courts to obtain leniency for an American convicted of alcohol or drug offenses.
Drug trafficking is unpopular among many a country. Most all I believe will agree that this is a problem, and that we need to do more to stop it.
Saudi Arabia has put in affect strict punishments for all of those who decide to take part in illegal drug trade in hopes to minimize it. Saudi Arabia is party to all three international drug control conventions. There is currently no significant drug production reported for the country.
UNODC's response to illicit drug trafficking within the framework of the Regional Programme for the Arab States
The Arab region comprises three diverse and culturally distinct geographical areas, namely the Middle East region, the Maghreb and the Gulf States. Across these three sub-regions are displayed considerable disparities and differences in levels of development, economics, politics, legal systems and culture. National capacities, capabilities and treaty adherence relevant to UNODC's mandates and operations vary from country to country.
Moreover, this is a region that has a number of conflict, post-conflict and fragile states, namely the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, the continuing instability in Iraq and Sudan, particularly Darfur, which contribute to an environment of violence and unrest both in those countries themselves, but also with considerable negative consequences on neighbouring countries in the region.
Throughout the region, the need to strengthen governance, insecurity, conflicts, poverty and economic disparities among and within countries of the region are providing opportunities for transnational organized crime, as is reflected in increasing incidences of illicit trafficking in drugs, persons, money, and arms, and the consequential generation of proceeds of crime and acts of money‐laundering.
Due to its strategic location and comparatively weak control measures in some of the countries in the region, illicit activities related to the trafficking of drugs and crimes associated with it, firearms and human beings and migrant smuggling are expanding in the region, and bringing increasing profits to international and local criminal organizations. Indeed the drug and crime control problems are becoming more and more prominent in the region, and have the potential to escalate considerably if countermeasures are not strengthened now, and a clear message is not sent, particularly against trafficking of drugs, human beings and smuggling of illegal migrants and terrorism. HIV/AIDS, which was not previously a particularly prevalent problem in the MENA region, is now increasing, particularly amongst injecting drug users and in the prison settings. The situation is further aggravated due to the inadequate performance of the criminal justice system.
The draft Regional Programme on Drug Control, Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Reform 2011-2015, a draft Political Declaration (the Cairo Declaration) and draft Terms of Reference for a Regional Programme Steering and Follow-Up Committee were reviewed and further developed at a Regional Expert Meeting held in Cairo from 27 to 29 April 2010 (in partnership with the League of Arab States and the Government of Egypt) with expert delegates from the Ministries of Interior, Justice and Health from all 18 countries in the region, namely Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Palestinian Authority, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen.On 8 December 2010, the Regional Programme was endorsed by the Council of the League of Arab States at the Ministerial level and formally launched by the Executive Director of UNODC and the Secretary General of the League of Arab States.
UNODC is currently engaged in several regional cooperation programmes as well as national and country programmes throughout the region. Such programmes include combating illicit trafficking through: * Supporting selected national drug control law enforcement and customs authorities to improve their legislation, drug control and interdiction capacities through provision of specialized training and equipment; * Strengthening regional and sub‐regional drug law enforcement cooperation through joint meetings, workshops and training events of drug law enforcement officials from selected countries; * Support to regional entities, such as the Gulf Criminal Information Center to Combat Drugs (GCC-CICCD) to serve as a hub for representation of the law enforcement agencies of each Member State of the Gulf Cooperation Council; * Enhancing the capacity of the criminal justice systems to respond to illicit trafficking in the countries of the region by establishing adequate legislative frameworks and building the capacities of the law enforcement; and * Strengthening the capacity of the national criminal justice systems in selected countries to investigate, prosecute and convict traffickers.

The purpose of the Regional Programme is to support the efforts of the Member States in the Arab region torespond to evolving threats by promoting the rule of law and sustainable development.
The Regional Programme supports the region’s development priorities, and facilitates a holistic, integrated andnationally owned approach to the countries’ key security challenges. It proposes three priority sub‐programmes for UNODC support that have been established in collaboration with national partners to reflect their identified priorities. Three drafts, namely the Regional Programme, Political Declaration (the Cairo Declaration ‐ Annex 1) and Terms of Reference for a Regional Programme Steering and Follow‐Up Committee, (Annex 2) were reviewed at a Regional Expert Meeting held in Cairo, on 27‐29 April 2010 with expert delegates from the Ministries of Interior, Justice and Health of the eighteen countries. The Regional Expert Meeting was organized by the League of Arab States in partnership with UNODC, and with the support from the Government of Egypt. The Regional Programme’s proposed priority areas are divided into three sub‐programmes:
1. Countering illicit trafficking, organized crime and terrorism
i. Strategic information and analysis ii. Building capacity to tackle transnational organized crime iii. Regional approach to combat money‐laundering and the financing of terrorism iv. Regional approach to trafficking in persons and smuggling of migrants
v. Establishment of a regional approach to prevent terrorism and its financing vi. Strengthening national and regional capacities to combat cyber crime
2. Promoting integrity and building justice
i. Strategic information and analysis ii. Reform of the criminal justice systems, strengthening of prison systems and alternatives to imprisonment iii. Combating corruption
3. Drug prevention and health
i. Strategic information and analysis ii. Drug prevention, treatment and rehabilitation iii. HIV and AIDS prevention and care
The three sub‐programmes are further elaborated in the result matrices in chapter VIII that outline the related expected outcomes, outputs, indicators and means of verification per priority area as prioritized by the expert delegates at the Regional Expert Meeting in Cairo Egypt in April 2010. In addition, the expert delegates requested that while it is important to strengthen regional responses to drugs, crime and terrorism, the Regional Programme should also aim at assisting countries most in need in the region, namely the Palestinian Authority and Yemen. CRIMINAL PENALTIES: While in Saudi Arabia, you are subject to its laws and regulations, which sometimes differ significantly from those in the United States and may not afford the protections available to the individual under U.S. law. Penalties for breaking the law can be more severe than in the United States for similar offenses. The Saudi Government requires diplomatic missions to request visits to incarcerated individuals via formal diplomatic channels, which often causes delays in providing consular access to those citizens.
Persons violating Saudi Arabian laws, even unknowingly, may be expelled, arrested, imprisoned, or even executed. Suspects may be detained without charges or legal counsel, and with limited consular access, for months during the investigative stage of criminal cases Penalties for the import, manufacture, possession, and consumption of alcohol or illegal drugs in Saudi Arabia are severe. Convicted offenders can expect long jail sentences, heavy fines, public floggings, and/or deportation. The penalty for drug trafficking in Saudi Arabia is death. Saudi officials make no exceptions. Customs inspections at ports of entry are thorough. The U.S. Embassy and Consulates General have no standing in Saudi courts to obtain leniency for a U.S. citizen convicted of alcohol or drug offenses. Engaging in sexual conduct with children or using or disseminating child pornography in a foreign country is a crime, prosecutable in the United States