Dubai police arrest American man for possession of hashish consumed OUTSIDE the UAE

It’s happened again. Dubai’s strict drug laws prohibit the possession of hashish/marijuana, but possession there, includes carrying drugs within one’s bloodstream. That means visitors to the UAE who have consumed hashish/marijuana legally in their own country, can be arrested for possessing hashish in their blood when they get to Dubai. This is exactly what happened to 51 year old Silicon Valley veteran, Peter Clark, who faces three years in a desert jail.

Las Vegas resident Peter Clark flew to Dubai on the 24th of February 2021 for a few days to assess professional recording studios, but was admitted for emergency hospital treatment after falling ill with pancreatitis. Before discharge, the hospital took a urine sample to test for drugs and found residue traces of hashish. They dutifully reported their findings to police who promptly turned up to the hospital to charge Peter, who was still in a drowsy state, having not been able to eat or drink since he was admitted. On the 3rd of March, Peter was handcuffed and taken to Al Barsha police station, where he was put in a detention cell with three other men. He didn’t understand why he had been detained. He had not brought any drugs into the UAE, purchased or consumed any drugs in Dubai. He knew the law.

Still feeling extremely unwell, having suffered hyperglycemia and respiratory alkalosis with a blood sugar level more than ten times what it should have been due to the pancreatitis, Peter was then taken to the Anti-Narcotics unit and thrown into a filthy cell with at least ten other men arrested for drug possession. The hospital had provided a number of medications (including antibiotics) for him to continue but the police denied his repeated requests for help, causing the vein in the crook of his left elbow to become infected from the multiple IVs the hospital administered.