Slog - Comments on More Drug News http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/more_drug_news Really, why would any sane person step foot in Dubai after reading this? A father-of-three who was found with a microscopic speck of cannabis stuck to the bottom of one of his shoes has been sentenced to four years in a Dubai prison. Keith Brown, a council youth development officer, was travelling through the United Arab Emirates on his way back to England when he was stopped as he walked through Dubai's main airport. A search by customs officials uncovered a speck of cannabis weighing just 0.003g - so small it would be invisible to the naked eye and weighing... Copyright 2008 Fri, 08 Feb 2008 14:12:56 -0800 Sat, 09 Feb 2008 12:20:20 -0800 http://www.movabletype.org/?v=3.34 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Comment by max solomon because dubai is a boomtown & most humans could give a shit about ethics, as they are desparate for money.

melatonin is illegal? i use that for jet lag, so i always take it with me overseas.

]]> max solomon http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/more_drug_news#c930866 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/more_drug_news#c930866 Drugs Fri, 08 Feb 2008 14:22:42 -0800 Comment by linus fucking savages
try to tell me these barbarians dont need some "civilising"

]]> linus http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/more_drug_news#c930885 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/more_drug_news#c930885 Drugs Fri, 08 Feb 2008 14:26:14 -0800 Comment by Fnarf So much for Dubai's plan to be the world's #1 tourist spot.

]]> Fnarf http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/more_drug_news#c930901 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/more_drug_news#c930901 Drugs Fri, 08 Feb 2008 14:28:45 -0800 Comment by infrequent no kidding.

]]> infrequent http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/more_drug_news#c930958 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/more_drug_news#c930958 Drugs Fri, 08 Feb 2008 14:38:20 -0800 Comment by Dave Coffman Add that to the fact that 'mos are really welcome there and I'll be sure to buy some of their waterfront property real soon.

]]> Dave Coffman http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/more_drug_news#c930972 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/more_drug_news#c930972 Drugs Fri, 08 Feb 2008 14:41:18 -0800 Comment by Idiom police Step foot?

]]> Idiom police http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/more_drug_news#c931000 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/more_drug_news#c931000 Drugs Fri, 08 Feb 2008 14:47:21 -0800 Comment by Greg Well, scratch that one off my list.

]]> Greg http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/more_drug_news#c931025 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/more_drug_news#c931025 Drugs Fri, 08 Feb 2008 14:52:33 -0800 Comment by Will in Seattle Dubai is just Saudi Arabia with a nice facade.

]]> Will in Seattle http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/more_drug_news#c931036 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/more_drug_news#c931036 Drugs Fri, 08 Feb 2008 14:55:32 -0800 Comment by mmbb We enforce our zero tolerance to a precision of ten thousandths.

]]> mmbb http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/more_drug_news#c931042 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/more_drug_news#c931042 Drugs Fri, 08 Feb 2008 14:56:59 -0800 Comment by Jerry It's all worth it for the indoor ski slope.

]]> Jerry http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/more_drug_news#c931061 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/more_drug_news#c931061 Drugs Fri, 08 Feb 2008 15:00:51 -0800 Comment by Nandor Don't forget the French teenage boy who was raped (and possibly infected with AIDS) by some guys in Dubai ... and then threatened with prison for homosexuality after his parents reported the crime to the authorities: http://boycottdubai.com.

]]> Nandor http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/more_drug_news#c931067 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/more_drug_news#c931067 Drugs Fri, 08 Feb 2008 15:02:25 -0800 Comment by Fifty-Two-Eighty These "people" aren't even animals, they're vermin. Even cockroaches are above them on the evolutionary ladder.

]]> Fifty-Two-Eighty http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/more_drug_news#c931091 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/more_drug_news#c931091 Drugs Fri, 08 Feb 2008 15:09:40 -0800 Comment by markinthepark You know they stopped this guy and combed him over only because he's black and dressed all rasta.

]]> markinthepark http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/more_drug_news#c931130 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/more_drug_news#c931130 Drugs Fri, 08 Feb 2008 15:17:01 -0800 Comment by teenburger That place is creepy. They can have their rich, drug-free, fake world to themselves. I'm never going there!

]]> teenburger http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/more_drug_news#c931139 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/more_drug_news#c931139 Drugs Fri, 08 Feb 2008 15:19:10 -0800 Comment by Fnarf How can you possibly prove that a flake of anything on the sole of one's shoe is yours? Are they going to prosecute people with paper money, since (according to legend) it all has traces of cocaine on it?

]]> Fnarf http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/more_drug_news#c931279 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/more_drug_news#c931279 Drugs Fri, 08 Feb 2008 15:54:51 -0800 Comment by Megan W @12
By "people" do you mean the authorities or legislatives in the UAE, or the 4.5 million people who live there?

]]> Megan W http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/more_drug_news#c931293 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/more_drug_news#c931293 Drugs Fri, 08 Feb 2008 15:57:53 -0800 Comment by muggims Heeeey...great way to get rid of somebody for four years. Someone should have given George Bush a free trip to Dubai with a little somethin' in his suitcase in 2002. Hindsight is 20/20.

]]> muggims http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/more_drug_news#c931303 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/more_drug_news#c931303 Drugs Fri, 08 Feb 2008 16:00:11 -0800 Comment by COMTE @1:

Apparently, melatonin, although perfectly legal to purchase and possess just about everywhere else in the world is illegal in Dubai.

In addition, most drugs prescribed for you by your doctor are also illegal there.

@13:

That's probably not at all implausible, as they're just as racist there as they are homophobic. Most of the horror stories you hear of a similar nature to these almost always involve either non-whites, or whites who display some sort of "ethnic" appearance (e.g. dredlocks).

]]> COMTE http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/more_drug_news#c931310 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/more_drug_news#c931310 Drugs Fri, 08 Feb 2008 16:02:25 -0800 Comment by Anna Montana Bah hahahaha! Muggims - you crack me up ;)

]]> Anna Montana http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/more_drug_news#c931316 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/more_drug_news#c931316 Drugs Fri, 08 Feb 2008 16:03:39 -0800 Comment by Matthew teenburger @14:

Agreed. If I was crazy rich, I can think of a thousand places I'd rather go than this sterile, self-contained universe.

]]> Matthew http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/more_drug_news#c931339 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/more_drug_news#c931339 Drugs Fri, 08 Feb 2008 16:10:59 -0800 Comment by Gitai It's all a ploy to make US drug policies seem reasonable.

]]> Gitai http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/more_drug_news#c931379 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/more_drug_news#c931379 Drugs Fri, 08 Feb 2008 16:23:58 -0800 Comment by Fnarf Remember that most of that startling skyline in Dubai was built with slave labor, most of it Pakistani or Palestinian.

I'd like to see some State Department action on this if it starts happening to Americans. So far it mostly seems to be Brits. Why hasn't the Brown government done anything? Dubai has no oil, they are wholly dependent on the good will of outsiders. Withdraw it. Start by refusing permission for British teams to play in March's Dubai World Cup horse race. Make Man Utd withdraw their training school.

Did Michael Jackson and David Beckham ever buy those retarded "islands" they were rumored to be considering?

]]> Fnarf http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/more_drug_news#c931396 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/more_drug_news#c931396 Drugs Fri, 08 Feb 2008 16:27:51 -0800 Comment by I Got Nuthin My kids, ages 8 & 11 take melatonin almost every night to help them fall asleep...

]]> I Got Nuthin http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/more_drug_news#c931406 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/more_drug_news#c931406 Drugs Fri, 08 Feb 2008 16:31:53 -0800 Comment by denim Who flies airplanes into these places? Even Indiana Jones would make a detour.

]]> denim http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/more_drug_news#c931615 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/more_drug_news#c931615 Drugs Fri, 08 Feb 2008 18:23:16 -0800 Comment by Fifty-Two-Eighty @16, the people who are making up and enforcing these idiotic rules - and the dipshit mullahs and ayatollahs who are behind them.

]]> Fifty-Two-Eighty http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/more_drug_news#c931663 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/more_drug_news#c931663 Drugs Fri, 08 Feb 2008 19:12:22 -0800 Comment by Fnarf 24 - Dubai is one of the biggest air hubs in the world, staging flights between Europe, Asia and Africa. It might even be in the top ten.

]]> Fnarf http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/more_drug_news#c931666 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/more_drug_news#c931666 Drugs Fri, 08 Feb 2008 19:17:30 -0800 Comment by stdzrock lets invade dubai!!!??

]]> stdzrock http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/more_drug_news#c931675 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/more_drug_news#c931675 Drugs Fri, 08 Feb 2008 19:29:12 -0800 Comment by Jamey Apparently, melatonin, although perfectly legal to purchase and possess just about everywhere else in the world is illegal in Dubai. Not to mention that it is a naturally occuring hormone found in all living creatures, including us...]]> Jamey http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/more_drug_news#c931724 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/more_drug_news#c931724 Drugs Fri, 08 Feb 2008 20:30:04 -0800 Comment by RainMan So where did that tiny speck of cannabis come from? Some other traveler at the Dubai airport apparently made it under their radar screen.

]]> RainMan http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/more_drug_news#c931745 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/more_drug_news#c931745 Drugs Fri, 08 Feb 2008 20:58:58 -0800 Comment by gnossos And the scary part of the story is all of the folks proclaiming they would never set foot in Dubai...yet as Fnarf notes @26, Dubai is a huge air hub...it's the Schipol of the middle east. So you may have no choice but to set foot there without really going out of your way.

And like the dude in the story get nabbed for flippin' nothing.

]]> gnossos http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/more_drug_news#c931835 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/more_drug_news#c931835 Drugs Fri, 08 Feb 2008 22:57:00 -0800 Comment by Andy M I just came back from Dubai. It is a boomtown; the skyscapers are climbing ever higher and they're busy building islands in the sea as we speak.

Yes, it's an odd, autocratic place. But for the 80% of the population that are third-nation citizens (the 'slave labor' referred to @22), it represents economic opportunity -- something not always available in their home countries. I worked with an Indian guy while I was there and he thought Dubai was great.

More puzzling is the attraction for the rich Westerners they hope to attract. Sure the shopping is great & weather's fine (wintertime only), but it's really just the best of a bad lot as far as Persian Gulf vacation spots go. Pretty rough neighborhood all 'round.

And, obviously, don't expect to stone out.

]]> Andy M http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/more_drug_news#c931881 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/more_drug_news#c931881 Drugs Sat, 09 Feb 2008 01:24:30 -0800 Comment by GirlAnachronism Ugh, and my former school (NYU) is building a new campus there. Terrible, terrible idea.

]]> GirlAnachronism http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/more_drug_news#c932089 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/02/more_drug_news#c932089 Drugs Sat, 09 Feb 2008 12:20:20 -0800