In an unfortunate incident, an American man has been arrested in Dubai after traces of marijuana, which he had smoked legally at home before travelling, were found in his urine.?
He now faces three years in Dubai prison, reported LadBible.?
According to the report, Peter Clark flew to Dubai from Las Vegas on 24 February. He was supposed to spend a few days looking at professional recording studios. However, he unexpectedly fell sick with pancreatitis and was admitted to the hospital for emergency treatment.?
There, medics took a urine sample to test for drugs and after finding residue traces of marijuana, reported him to the police. Soon, officers arrived at the hospital to charge him.?
According to the UAE law consultancy firm, Detained in Dubai, police officers took Clark under custody on March 3 and locked him up at Al Barsha police station, placing him in a detention cell with three other men. The firm said that the officers did not even inform Clark of the charges he was apprehended under.?
While he was still feeling unwell after his illness, Clark was taken to the Anti-Narcotics unit and put in a cell with at least 10 other men arrested for drug possession.?
A press release from Detained in Dubai states that he was denied medication he was prescribed by the hospital which led to a vein in his left elbow getting infected.?
He was sent to his hotel on March 6 and ordered to wait to get contacted by the police. However, it has been over a month and he is still in Dubai waiting for his plea to be heard by Dubai authorities.??
In a statement, Clark said: "I was absolutely stunned to learn that I was being charged for having residue marijuana in my system. I smoked it legally back home, long before I ever even got on the plane. I knew about the country's strict drug laws, but never for a moment did I consider that I could be thrown in prison over something I did in America."
He added, "I tried to explain it to the police and be as cooperative as possible, but I'm just being thrown through the system. The moment I went to the hospital, my time in Dubai was ruined, but I didn't realise that was only the start of the nightmare."?
Radha Stirling, founder of Detained in Dubai - who is representing Clark - said: "The UAE's arbitrary enforcement of laws and lack of predictable legal outcomes means that Peter potentially faces years in prison for legally smoking marijuana. Even if found innocent, he can be dragged through a slow and costly legal process."
Stirling added: "We've seen foreigners arrested for drugs taken outside of the UAE, specs of almost undetectable marijuana 'dust' at the bottom of belongings, a poppyseed from a bread roll consumed at the airport, pharmaceutical and prescription medicine, and even a glass of wine served onboard Emirates airlines."
She said, "Arresting someone for smoking marijuana in their own country, weeks before they even entered the UAE, is unfairly persecuting tourists who have behaved well within Dubai itself. The US State Department needs to revise travel warnings to Americans who could end up arbitrarily detained."
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