title: Incarceration or mandatory treatment: Drug use and the law in the Middle East and North Africa.
abstract: In the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), drug policies are embedded in the prohibition paradigm. Laws and legislation criminalize all types of activities related to illicit drugs. This article gives a detailed assessment of the provisions of Arab national laws to control the use of illicit drugs across the areas of punishment of drug users, penalties for drug dependence, legislation on use and dependence treatment, and the right of the convicted people who use drugs to confidentiality. It reviews the national legislations on drug control of 16 Arab countries as amended in January 2011.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Law, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt.
authors.forename: Fattouh
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Al-Shazly
authors.affiliation: Global Health Programme, Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva, Switzerland. Electronic address: khalid.tinasti@graduateinstitute.ch.
authors.forename: Khalid
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tinasti
mesh_terms: D000352:Africa, Northern / Q000453:epidemiology; D055030:Drug Users / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D004335:Drug and Narcotic Control / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D033161:Government Regulation; D006801:Humans; D037141:Mandatory Programs / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D008877:Middle East / Q000453:epidemiology; D011330:Prisons / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D013997:Time Factors
keywords: Arab legislation; Drug dependence; MENA; Mandatory drug treatment