Tougher penalties for drug trafficking and consumption

The region’s anti-drug laws are set to be amended after the Legislative Assembly voted yesterday on the first reading of the introduction of heavier penalties for both drug trafficking and consumption.
The Secretary for Administration and Justice, Sonia Chan, told the lawmakers that there’s a need to strengthen punishments given the rise in trafficking cases. “The penalties for drug trafficking are relatively low, hence the dissuasive effect is minor,” she said.
The bill sees the minimum prison term penalty for consumption grow from up to three months to a range of three months to a year. The minimum penalty for drug trafficking however will rise from three years to five in prison. The maximum limit would remain at 15 years of imprisonment.
Lawmakers Gabriel Tong and Leonel Alves, both of them law experts, said that it wasn’t clear under the new amendment how drug consumers and traffickers will be distinguished from each other. Tong said that the penalties seem be too high for cases of mere consumption, saying that the focus should not be only on punishing infractions. “With regards to consumption, we should make consumers avoid the use drugs and promote their social reinsertion,” he said.
The amendment sets the limit for the possession of drugs deemed to be for private consumption as that which does not exceed the quantity for “5 days use.” If that is exceeded, the crime is classified as a trafficking offense.
Stating that “there should be a difference between trafficking and consumption,” Pereira Coutinho questioned the method of obtaining urine samples as evidence and inquired as to how a suspect will have the right to appeal.
The Judiciary Police (PJ) director Chau Wai Kuong said that the collection of urine samples will only occur when there is strong evidence of drug consumption, such as the discovery of tools used to facilitate drug consumption at the site. “When we stop a car, sometimes we can assess [if someone is on drugs] by the facial expression.” The director added that the evidence must be validated by a judge.
After the law was approved, Leonel Alves made a voting declaration saying that a “careful consideration of the penalties” should be made during the detailed discussion of the amendments. Otherwise, a minimal difference in the quantity of drug possession may mean the difference between consumption and trafficking crimes. PB