The story · written by gpt-6,
Bangladesh’s 2000 narcotics amendment gave courts an express power to send drug users for treatment instead of, or alongside, the prescribed punishment.[1] It also expanded the licensing provisions for authorised pharmaceutical use, treatment and scientific research to include cultivation.[1] The same amendment introduced supervised drug deliveries as a way to identify people involved in trafficking.[1][2]
A decade after the cannabis ban
The 1990 narcotics law prohibited growing, trading, possessing and using narcotics other than alcohol, subject to its authorised exceptions.[1] It specifically listed ganja, cannabis plants, cannabis resin and tetrahydrocannabinol in its penalty table.[1]
The later amendment revised several parts of that system, including the rules for lawful activities and the consequences of unlawful drug use.[1] The official historical text identifies these changes as additions made by the 2000 amending law.[1]
Licences and permits governed authorised activities
Where a controlled drug or plant was needed for authorised pharmaceutical use, treatment or scientific research, the revised exception allowed cultivation under a licence.[1] Applying and using the drug required a permit, while carrying and transporting it required a pass.[1] The Act also retained prescribing controls, including written authorisation for doctors prescribing drugs in its two stricter classes.[1]
The treatment-centre provisions were revised too.[1] The government could establish counselling, treatment and rehabilitation centres, while private operators could establish and run them under licence.[1] Government hospitals, including prison hospitals, could be designated as addiction-treatment centres by a Gazette notification.[1]
Courts gained a treatment alternative for users
The amendment added separate use penalties by drug class: two to seven years for Class A, one to five years for Class B, and six months to two years for Class C, each with a fine.[1] A court could consider the seriousness of the offence and order treatment in addition to, or instead of, that punishment.[1]
Alongside those treatment provisions, investigators gained controlled delivery: allowing a suspicious drug consignment to move under official supervision to identify the people behind it.[1][2] Government written approval was required, with authorisation lasting no more than three months at a time.[1] The 2002 investigation-deadline amendment later added time limits and officer accountability to this enforcement system in Bangladesh.[1]
Listed for context. No score change is recorded for Bangladesh here.
References
- Bangladesh — Narcotics Control Act 1990, official historical consolidation with amendment notesMinistry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, Bangladesh · Sections 9(3), 15, 19(3A)–(3B), 42A and 42B; notes identify Act 39 of 2000 and Act 32 of 2002 insertions
- Diversion of Precursor Chemicals and Counter Measures, Section FourUnited Nations Office on Drugs and Crime · Printed p. 88 (PDF p. 32), Bangladesh: controlled delivery introduced by the 2000 amendment
Checked. The date and the event were compared with a source that was read.