---
Briton jailed in Dubai after officials find cannabis weighing less than
a grain of sugar under his shoe

A British man has been jailed for four years in Dubai after customs
officials found 0.003grammes of cannabis in the tread of his shoe.

Dubai is also holding an employee of the production company that makes
Big Brother after authorities arrested him on suspicion of possessing
illegal drugs.

The clampdown has prompted warnings to travellers to take "extreme
caution" when travelling to the United Arab Emirates.

Earlier this week, Keith Andrew Brown, a 43-year-old from Middlesex was
imprisoned for four years after 0.003g cannabis was found in the tread
of his shoe.

Brown was stopped in transit from Ethiopia to London last September.

The amount of the drug found on his shoe would not be visible to the
naked eye and weighs less than a single grain of sugar.

On February 2 a German citizen was detained for an alleged drugs offence
when entering Dubai.

Cat Le-Huy, 31, an employee of the production company that makes Big
Brother who was living in London, was found carrying melatonin pills to
help with jetlag and sleeping problems.

Authorities also claim they discovered fragments in one of his bags
which they believe to be hashish.

Le-Huy, head of technical at Endemol UK, maintains the fragments are
dirt and has since been held in a detention centre while the fragments,
melatonin and his urine are tested. He is expected to be transferred to
a prison today.

More than 2,000 people have now signed a petition asking for the
British-based technical expert to be released.

Poppy seeds in food, common over-the-counter medications and traces of
banned substances are enough to warrant four-year prison sentences in
the United Arab Emirates, travellers were warned today.

Visitors to Dubai and Abu Dhabi are now being advised to "take extreme
caution" and "avoid arrest for 'possession' of a controlled substance".

The advice, issued by the legal charity Fair Trials International,
follows a recent spate of arrests and imprisonment.

The charity, which assists those facing trial abroad, has urged
travellers to ensure they are completely free of any substances
prohibited by the country they are visiting.

Fair Trials International Chief Executive Catherine Wolthuizen said: "We
have seen a steep increase in such cases over the last 18 months.

"Customs authorities are using highly sensitive new equipment to conduct
extremely thorough searches on travellers and if they find any amount -
no matter how minute - it will be enough to attract a mandatory
four-year prison sentence."

And the list of banned substances in the UAE includes many products
which are available over-the-counter and off-the-shelf in the UK.

These include medications such as codeine, a common ingredient in pain
relief and cold-and-flu medication, and the common baking ingredient,
poppy seeds.

Other recent cases include that of a 33-year-old Londoner who was
arrested at Dubai airport last May after travelling to the UAE on business.

Customs officials found 2g of cannabis in his pocket which he had
forgotten about.

He was sentenced to four years' imprisonment, but granted clemency and
released in October 2007.

Customs officers in Dubai also alleged they found 0.03g of cannabis on
Robert Dalton, 25, from Kent when he travelled to Dubai last year.

He was stopped and searched at the airport and arrested.

He is currently on trial and if convicted, will mostly likely receive a
four-year prison sentence.

Tracy Wilkinson, 45 of West Sussex, was arrested at Dubai airport in
2005 for possession of codeine which she had been using to ease chronic
back pain.

She was held in custody for 8 weeks before officials accepted proof from
her doctor of its use for prescribed medical purposes only.

19 French nationals have been arrested in the past 18 months for
possession of banned substances.

Ms Wolthuizen added: "What many travellers may not realise is that they
can be deemed to be in possession of such banned substances if they can
be detected in their urine or bloodstream, or even in tiny, trace
amounts on their person.

"We even have reports of the imprisonment of a Swiss man for
'possession' of three poppy seeds on his clothing after he ate a bread
roll at Heathrow."

The UAE is becoming one of the world's most popular tourist and transit
destinations - partly due to extensive marketing of its beaches and shops.

Charities now say travellers must be alerted to the risks they face if
they are not completely clean of any banned substance or do not have a
prescription for their medication.

Fair Trials International will publish a comprehensive list of banned
pharmaceuticals on their website tomorrow. This can be found at
www.fairtrials.net.

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk

---
Briton jailed in Dubai after officials find cannabis weighing less than
a grain of sugar under his shoe

A British man has been jailed for four years in Dubai after customs
officials found 0.003grammes of cannabis in the tread of his shoe.

Dubai is also holding an employee of the production company that makes
Big Brother after authorities arrested him on suspicion of possessing
illegal drugs.

The clampdown has prompted warnings to travellers to take "extreme
caution" when travelling to the United Arab Emirates.

Earlier this week, Keith Andrew Brown, a 43-year-old from Middlesex was
imprisoned for four years after 0.003g cannabis was found in the tread
of his shoe.

Brown was stopped in transit from Ethiopia to London last September.

The amount of the drug found on his shoe would not be visible to the
naked eye and weighs less than a single grain of sugar.

On February 2 a German citizen was detained for an alleged drugs offence
when entering Dubai.

Cat Le-Huy, 31, an employee of the production company that makes Big
Brother who was living in London, was found carrying melatonin pills to
help with jetlag and sleeping problems.

Authorities also claim they discovered fragments in one of his bags
which they believe to be hashish.

Le-Huy, head of technical at Endemol UK, maintains the fragments are
dirt and has since been held in a detention centre while the fragments,
melatonin and his urine are tested. He is expected to be transferred to
a prison today.

More than 2,000 people have now signed a petition asking for the
British-based technical expert to be released.

Poppy seeds in food, common over-the-counter medications and traces of
banned substances are enough to warrant four-year prison sentences in
the United Arab Emirates, travellers were warned today.

Visitors to Dubai and Abu Dhabi are now being advised to "take extreme
caution" and "avoid arrest for 'possession' of a controlled substance".

The advice, issued by the legal charity Fair Trials International,
follows a recent spate of arrests and imprisonment.

The charity, which assists those facing trial abroad, has urged
travellers to ensure they are completely free of any substances
prohibited by the country they are visiting.

Fair Trials International Chief Executive Catherine Wolthuizen said: "We
have seen a steep increase in such cases over the last 18 months.

"Customs authorities are using highly sensitive new equipment to conduct
extremely thorough searches on travellers and if they find any amount -
no matter how minute - it will be enough to attract a mandatory
four-year prison sentence."

And the list of banned substances in the UAE includes many products
which are available over-the-counter and off-the-shelf in the UK.

These include medications such as codeine, a common ingredient in pain
relief and cold-and-flu medication, and the common baking ingredient,
poppy seeds.

Other recent cases include that of a 33-year-old Londoner who was
arrested at Dubai airport last May after travelling to the UAE on business.

Customs officials found 2g of cannabis in his pocket which he had
forgotten about.

He was sentenced to four years' imprisonment, but granted clemency and
released in October 2007.

Customs officers in Dubai also alleged they found 0.03g of cannabis on
Robert Dalton, 25, from Kent when he travelled to Dubai last year.

He was stopped and searched at the airport and arrested.

He is currently on trial and if convicted, will mostly likely receive a
four-year prison sentence.

Tracy Wilkinson, 45 of West Sussex, was arrested at Dubai airport in
2005 for possession of codeine which she had been using to ease chronic
back pain.

She was held in custody for 8 weeks before officials accepted proof from
her doctor of its use for prescribed medical purposes only.

19 French nationals have been arrested in the past 18 months for
possession of banned substances.

Ms Wolthuizen added: "What many travellers may not realise is that they
can be deemed to be in possession of such banned substances if they can
be detected in their urine or bloodstream, or even in tiny, trace
amounts on their person.

"We even have reports of the imprisonment of a Swiss man for
'possession' of three poppy seeds on his clothing after he ate a bread
roll at Heathrow."

The UAE is becoming one of the world's most popular tourist and transit
destinations - partly due to extensive marketing of its beaches and shops.

Charities now say travellers must be alerted to the risks they face if
they are not completely clean of any banned substance or do not have a
prescription for their medication.

Fair Trials International will publish a comprehensive list of banned
pharmaceuticals on their website tomorrow. This can be found at
www.fairtrials.net.

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk

---
Briton jailed in Dubai after officials find cannabis weighing less than
a grain of sugar under his shoe

A British man has been jailed for four years in Dubai after customs
officials found 0.003grammes of cannabis in the tread of his shoe.

Dubai is also holding an employee of the production company that makes
Big Brother after authorities arrested him on suspicion of possessing
illegal drugs.

The clampdown has prompted warnings to travellers to take "extreme
caution" when travelling to the United Arab Emirates.

Earlier this week, Keith Andrew Brown, a 43-year-old from Middlesex was
imprisoned for four years after 0.003g cannabis was found in the tread
of his shoe.

Brown was stopped in transit from Ethiopia to London last September.

The amount of the drug found on his shoe would not be visible to the
naked eye and weighs less than a single grain of sugar.

On February 2 a German citizen was detained for an alleged drugs offence
when entering Dubai.

Cat Le-Huy, 31, an employee of the production company that makes Big
Brother who was living in London, was found carrying melatonin pills to
help with jetlag and sleeping problems.

Authorities also claim they discovered fragments in one of his bags
which they believe to be hashish.

Le-Huy, head of technical at Endemol UK, maintains the fragments are
dirt and has since been held in a detention centre while the fragments,
melatonin and his urine are tested. He is expected to be transferred to
a prison today.

More than 2,000 people have now signed a petition asking for the
British-based technical expert to be released.

Poppy seeds in food, common over-the-counter medications and traces of
banned substances are enough to warrant four-year prison sentences in
the United Arab Emirates, travellers were warned today.

Visitors to Dubai and Abu Dhabi are now being advised to "take extreme
caution" and "avoid arrest for 'possession' of a controlled substance".

The advice, issued by the legal charity Fair Trials International,
follows a recent spate of arrests and imprisonment.

The charity, which assists those facing trial abroad, has urged
travellers to ensure they are completely free of any substances
prohibited by the country they are visiting.

Fair Trials International Chief Executive Catherine Wolthuizen said: "We
have seen a steep increase in such cases over the last 18 months.

"Customs authorities are using highly sensitive new equipment to conduct
extremely thorough searches on travellers and if they find any amount -
no matter how minute - it will be enough to attract a mandatory
four-year prison sentence."

And the list of banned substances in the UAE includes many products
which are available over-the-counter and off-the-shelf in the UK.

These include medications such as codeine, a common ingredient in pain
relief and cold-and-flu medication, and the common baking ingredient,
poppy seeds.

Other recent cases include that of a 33-year-old Londoner who was
arrested at Dubai airport last May after travelling to the UAE on business.

Customs officials found 2g of cannabis in his pocket which he had
forgotten about.

He was sentenced to four years' imprisonment, but granted clemency and
released in October 2007.

Customs officers in Dubai also alleged they found 0.03g of cannabis on
Robert Dalton, 25, from Kent when he travelled to Dubai last year.

He was stopped and searched at the airport and arrested.

He is currently on trial and if convicted, will mostly likely receive a
four-year prison sentence.

Tracy Wilkinson, 45 of West Sussex, was arrested at Dubai airport in
2005 for possession of codeine which she had been using to ease chronic
back pain.

She was held in custody for 8 weeks before officials accepted proof from
her doctor of its use for prescribed medical purposes only.

19 French nationals have been arrested in the past 18 months for
possession of banned substances.

Ms Wolthuizen added: "What many travellers may not realise is that they
can be deemed to be in possession of such banned substances if they can
be detected in their urine or bloodstream, or even in tiny, trace
amounts on their person.

"We even have reports of the imprisonment of a Swiss man for
'possession' of three poppy seeds on his clothing after he ate a bread
roll at Heathrow."

The UAE is becoming one of the world's most popular tourist and transit
destinations - partly due to extensive marketing of its beaches and shops.

Charities now say travellers must be alerted to the risks they face if
they are not completely clean of any banned substance or do not have a
prescription for their medication.

Fair Trials International will publish a comprehensive list of banned
pharmaceuticals on their website tomorrow. This can be found at
www.fairtrials.net.

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk

---
As a police officer, I arrested several people for DUI which was
unrelated to alcohol. Stan White is wrong. Cannabis is a mind-altering,
intoxicating and slightly addictive drug. It is not a play toy and
should never be used by teens.

I also believe that it should be legal, regulated taxed and given the
same regulations as alcohol and tobacco. Public safety will improve,
when we stop chasing adults using cannabis in their homes and instead
focus on the deadly DUI and reckless drivers.

Howard Wooldridge is an education specialist with Law Enforcement
Against Prohibition

http://www.couleenews.com/articles/2008/02/07/opinion/letter.txt

---
As a police officer, I arrested several people for DUI which was
unrelated to alcohol. Stan White is wrong. Cannabis is a mind-altering,
intoxicating and slightly addictive drug. It is not a play toy and
should never be used by teens.

I also believe that it should be legal, regulated taxed and given the
same regulations as alcohol and tobacco. Public safety will improve,
when we stop chasing adults using cannabis in their homes and instead
focus on the deadly DUI and reckless drivers.

Howard Wooldridge is an education specialist with Law Enforcement
Against Prohibition

http://www.couleenews.com/articles/2008/02/07/opinion/letter.txt

---
As a police officer, I arrested several people for DUI which was
unrelated to alcohol. Stan White is wrong. Cannabis is a mind-altering,
intoxicating and slightly addictive drug. It is not a play toy and
should never be used by teens.

I also believe that it should be legal, regulated taxed and given the
same regulations as alcohol and tobacco. Public safety will improve,
when we stop chasing adults using cannabis in their homes and instead
focus on the deadly DUI and reckless drivers.

Howard Wooldridge is an education specialist with Law Enforcement
Against Prohibition

http://www.couleenews.com/articles/2008/02/07/opinion/letter.txt

---
As a police officer, I arrested several people for DUI which was
unrelated to alcohol. Stan White is wrong. Cannabis is a mind-altering,
intoxicating and slightly addictive drug. It is not a play toy and
should never be used by teens.

I also believe that it should be legal, regulated taxed and given the
same regulations as alcohol and tobacco. Public safety will improve,
when we stop chasing adults using cannabis in their homes and instead
focus on the deadly DUI and reckless drivers.

Howard Wooldridge is an education specialist with Law Enforcement
Against Prohibition

http://www.couleenews.com/articles/2008/02/07/opinion/letter.txt

---
As a police officer, I arrested several people for DUI which was
unrelated to alcohol. Stan White is wrong. Cannabis is a mind-altering,
intoxicating and slightly addictive drug. It is not a play toy and
should never be used by teens.

I also believe that it should be legal, regulated taxed and given the
same regulations as alcohol and tobacco. Public safety will improve,
when we stop chasing adults using cannabis in their homes and instead
focus on the deadly DUI and reckless drivers.

Howard Wooldridge is an education specialist with Law Enforcement
Against Prohibition

http://www.couleenews.com/articles/2008/02/07/opinion/letter.txt

---
As a police officer, I arrested several people for DUI which was
unrelated to alcohol. Stan White is wrong. Cannabis is a mind-altering,
intoxicating and slightly addictive drug. It is not a play toy and
should never be used by teens.

I also believe that it should be legal, regulated taxed and given the
same regulations as alcohol and tobacco. Public safety will improve,
when we stop chasing adults using cannabis in their homes and instead
focus on the deadly DUI and reckless drivers.

Howard Wooldridge is an education specialist with Law Enforcement
Against Prohibition

http://www.couleenews.com/articles/2008/02/07/opinion/letter.txt

---
CALLS from a top Sheffield police officer to reverse a decision to
downgrade cannabis are "misplaced", Sheffield MP Nick Clegg said.
The Liberal Democrat leader said he has "not seen any evidence" that the
increased number of cannabis factories discovered across the region is
linked to the drug being downgraded four years ago from Class B to Class C.

And he said the explosion in the use of stronger strains of "skunk"
cannabis would have happened irrespective of its classification.

The Sheffield Hallam MP's comments comes after Chief Superintendent Jon
House said he believed the downgrading of cannabis has led to a huge
growth in the criminal production of the drug in South Yorkshire.

Chief Supt House wants ministers to now reverse the decision to
reclassify the drug, made by Sheffield Brightside MP David Blunkett when
he was Home Secretary.

To prove his point he revealed that a total of 64 separate cannabis
factories were discovered by South Yorkshire Police across in 2007 -
compared to just seven in 2004.

But speaking to The Star, Mr Clegg said: "I have not seen any concrete
evidence.

"In fact, all the evidence I have seen - and there have been extensive
studies on this - have not demonstrated any direct link between the
downgrading from B to C of cannabis and increased take up of cannabis.

"There is a problem with the increased take up of skunk and there has
been thankfully a real crackdown on what are in effect cannabis growing
mini factories in residential properties in parts of Sheffield.

"They found attics with great ultraviolet lights being used by criminal
gangs

"I have not seen any evidence that that is because of the
recategorisation of that drug."

He said people had become "obsessed" by the idea that drug
recategorisation will change the behaviour of people who use drugs.

"The police and the government need to get out of this view, which I
think is a misplaced one," he added.

He welcomed a debate about recategorisation but stressed that the final
decisions should be taken out of the hands of politicians.

Instead the government's drug advisors - the Advisory Council on the
Misuse of Drugs - should be given a beefed up role.

And turning to the growing use of more powerful strains of cannabis, he
said: "I think the advent of skunk is something that would have hit the
estates of Sheffield irrespective of whether it was categorised B or C."

http://www.thestar.co.uk/news/Cannabis-regrade-calls-39misplaced39.3753142.jp
--
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