Dubai Is Not 420 Friendly

By harmonleon April 11, 2012 4:17 pm harmonleon g+ page

Dubai might be a great country for criminals to launder money, but it’s certainly not 420-friendly. Touted as one of the richest countries in the world, this tax-haven-for-the-rich will throw you in prison for taking a rip of ganja, skank, green, blamo, and/or Buddha. (Not to mention, African Bush, Aunt Mary, and dank.)

Back in February, a British man on holiday in Dubai was sentenced to four years in jail for having cannabis weighing less than a grain of sugar embedded in the tread of his shoe. Talk about bad luck. (And didn’t this man know that cannabis weighing less than a grain of sugar won’t get you high at all?) Customs officers found 0.003 grams (0.0001 ounces) of cannabis in a cigarette stub stuck on the sole of one his shoes.

Dubai has been known for its strict laws (other than those for money laundering). In 2012, another British man faced six months in a Dubai jail for giving an Iraqi student the finger.

“Police arrested Simon Andrews, 56, on suspicion of public indecency after receiving a complaint from an Iraqi aviation student.”

In 2008, a couple was jailed after they were accused of having sex on Jumeirah Beach. Another British man and his girlfriend faced jail for having unlawful sex outside marriage in a Dubai hotel. Other couples have been arrested in Dubai for outraging public decency because they were kissing inside a bar.

Meanwhile, the British man with cannabis stuck on his shoe was pardoned this week and released from prison. Just a little word of caution next time you travel to to Dubai’s annual Hemp Fest.