Aruba tells prosecutors to drop many cannabis cases up to 5 grams

Aruba’s prosecutor-general brought a drug-prosecution guideline into operation on 11 February 2021. For a small amount of soft drugs, it specified dismissal of the case and surrender of the drugs, while retaining exceptions and a scale of prosecution demands for larger quantities.

The document matters because it explains how an offence could remain in law while attracting a limited enforcement response. It does not establish a right to possess, buy or grow cannabis.

A five-gram band

The soft-drug table, organised under Article 4 of the Narcotic Drugs Ordinance, lists dismissal and surrender in its 0–5 g possession/courier band. The general instructions also provide for seizure and destruction of drugs found by the authorities.

The table therefore describes how prosecutors should handle specified cases. The presence of a small-quantity band does not make the substance lawful or provide a legal place to obtain it.

The exceptions matter

A footnote removes the ordinary response where possession accompanies another offence, involves repeat offending or concerns a minor. It also identifies special circumstances, including possession during a carnival procession, at work or in a government building.

The guideline separately explains that a minor with a user quantity may face a prosecution-related intervention intended to support prevention and assistance. Age and circumstances therefore affect the response even within the smallest quantity band.

Demands depend on role and quantity

For the table’s 5–250 g band, the possession/courier demand is up to one month in prison, potentially partly suspended, with three years’ probation. The same band gives higher demands for intermediaries and organisers: up to two and four months respectively.

Above that range, the soft-drug table refers to half the demand used for hard drugs. These are prosecutorial demands, rather than sentences a court must automatically impose. The document’s general principles also consider the person’s role, repeat offending and individual circumstances.

A policy within the Kingdom

The guideline says its preparation took account of policies elsewhere in the Kingdom, especially the 2018 regional guideline. That background does not make the quantity bands identical across jurisdictions.

For Aruba’s history, the verified event is the commencement of this particular instruction. The earlier policy has not been reconstructed here, so the entry does not claim that February 2021 was the first occasion on which a small cannabis case could be dismissed.^[1]