KAMPALA, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- Ugandan legislators have passed Tuesday an anti-narcotics bill with heavy punishments for various offenders ranging from life imprisonment and fines of 268,000 U.S. dollars.
The new bill now awaits the president's assent before it becomes law.
The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Bill 2023 would bolster efforts to fight the supply and use of illicit drugs and substances, said the Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of Uganda Thomas Tayebwa, broadcasted Wednesday by the national UBC Television.
"We have a drug abuse problem in the country. Our people are suffering from emotional disorders linked to drug abuse and depression," he said.
The Bill proposes restricted cultivation of marijuana and khat for medical use where violators will be handed hefty punishments.
"A medical practitioner, pharmacist, dentist or any other person who supplies or administers a narcotic drug or psychotropic substance to a child where the narcotic drug or psychotropic substance is not required in treatment of a child, commits an offense and is liable, on conviction, to a fine not exceeding 50,000 currency points (about 268,000 U.S. dollars) or to imprisonment for life, or both," reads the Bill in part.
Other punishments prescribed by the Bill target pharmacists and medical professionals who prescribe or supply any of the prohibited drugs and substances. They will face 10 years in jail, a fine of 268,000 dollars, or have their names removed from the registry of professionals.
"The problem of substance is big. It starts small and grows big. We need to talk to our children about it. We've heard harrowing tales. If you've not had an addict in your family, you will not know about it," the Deputy Speaker said. ■
