By Judith Alowo
The Parliament of Uganda is scheduled to pass the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Control) Bill, 2023, this afternoon.
The Deputy Speaker, Thomas Tayebwa, is expected to preside over today’s sitting.
The government introduced the new bill following the annulment by the Constitutional Court of a similarly worded act in the case of Wakiso Miraa Growers and Dealers Association versus Attorney General for lack of quorum when it was enacted.
The government reintroduced the bill on May 23, 2023, two weeks after the Constitutional Court nullified the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 2015, on the grounds that at the time of its passing, Parliament lacked the required quorum.
What is in the bill?
The bill seeks to criminalize the use, farming, supply, and trading of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances.
The proposed law is anchored on the policy that adopts measures to criminalize drug-related offenses under domestic law in conformity with Article 3 of the United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances and other related international conventions.
The government also wants to address the defects in the National Drug Policy and Authority Act, Cap. 206, which has been deemed “very weak and does not adequately address cases of illicit drugs”.
The object of a bill that was referred to the Committee on Defense and Internal Affairs is to put in place a law that will deal with the problems related to drug trafficking and abuse, provide deterrent measures against local drug abuse, establish mechanisms for rehabilitating drug addicts, and save Uganda from being a transit route and consumer of drugs.
Penalties
If convicted of possessing narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances, a penalty fine of 500 currency points (Shs10 million) or three times the market value of the said drugs, whichever is higher, or imprisonment for not less than 2 years but not exceeding 10 years has been set in the new Bill.
Smoking, inhaling, sniffing, chewing, or any form of use of a narcotic drug or psychotropic substance attracts a penalty of not less than Shs480,000 and not exceeding Shs2.4 million or a custodial sentence of not less than 1 year but not exceeding 5 years, while possession attracts a Shs3 million fine or imprisonment for not less than 3 years but not exceeding 5 years upon conviction.
The same penalty has been retained for a person who owns, occupies, or manages premises or permits premises to be used for abuse or manufacturing; has a pipe or utensils used for illicit use; and who recruits or proposes the use of these drugs.
Due to reports of increased drug abuse among minors, the government wants to curb the vice by putting in place a deterrent penalty of not less than Shs2.4 million or imprisonment not exceeding 5 years for a person convicted of supplying toxic chemical inhalants to young persons, while the cultivation of certain prohibited plants would attract a fine of Shs2.4 million or 5 years imprisonment, and for a second or repeat offender, imprisonment for life.