News:2023-01-01/Report/harm-reduction-international-drug-control-and-detention-in-sri-lanka-a-broken-system: Difference between revisions
From Landrace.Wiki - The Landrace Cannabis Wiki
More actions
Eloise Zomia (talk | contribs) m Eloise Zomia moved page News:2026-03-02/073356 to News:2023-01-01/Report/harm-reduction-international-drug-control-and-detention-in-sri-lanka-a-broken-system without leaving a redirect: Auto-canonicalize NewsItem title |
Eloise Zomia (talk | contribs) Bot: Add semantic properties |
||
| Line 7: | Line 7: | ||
|country=Sri Lanka | |country=Sri Lanka | ||
}} | }} | ||
<div style="display:none;"> | |||
[[Has event date::2023-01-01]] | |||
[[Has event category::Report]] | |||
[[Has event headline::Harm Reduction International: Drug control and detention in Sri Lanka — "A broken system"]] | |||
[[Has event summary::Harm Reduction International published "Drug Control and Detention in Sri Lanka — A Broken System," documenting severe disproportionate penalties under Sri Lanka's drug control legislation. The report found that possession or trafficking of as little as 2 grams of heroin could attract life imprisonment or the death penalty. Cannabis penalties, while less severe, gave judges "significant discretion." Overburdened and under-resourced courts meant persons accused of drug offenses risked weeks or months in pre-trial detention, incentivising guilty pleas — regardless of actual guilt — to receive a fine and release. Those unable to pay the fine faced up to six months' imprisonment, "effectively criminalising poverty." The report contextualised these findings against a backdrop of 152,979 drug-related arrests in 2022 — a 13% increase attributed to Sri Lanka's economic crisis — with the government implementing a new National Policy for Drugs covering demand reduction, supply control, coordination, and research.]] | |||
[[Has source URL::https://hri.global/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/HRI_global-overview_2023_FINAL.pdf]] | |||
</div> | |||
Latest revision as of 03:32, 3 March 2026
1 January 2023
Report
Sri Lanka·
Harm Reduction International: Drug control and detention in Sri Lanka — "A broken system"
Harm Reduction International published "Drug Control and Detention in Sri Lanka — A Broken System," documenting severe disproportionate penalties under Sri Lanka's drug control legislation. The report found that possession or trafficking of as little as 2 grams of heroin could attract life imprisonment or the death penalty. Cannabis penalties, while less severe, gave judges "significant discretion." Overburdened and under-resourced courts meant persons accused of drug offenses risked weeks or months in pre-trial detention, incentivising guilty pleas — regardless of actual guilt — to receive a fine and release. Those unable to pay the fine faced up to six months' imprisonment, "effectively criminalising poverty." The report contextualised these findings against a backdrop of 152,979 drug-related arrests in 2022 — a 13% increase attributed to Sri Lanka's economic crisis — with the government implementing a new National Policy for Drugs covering demand reduction, supply control, coordination, and research.