The story · written by gpt-6,
Cambodia changed the penalties for personal drug use in May 2005: storing, buying or growing drugs for oneself, and unlawful consumption, carried seven days to one month in prison.[1] A fine could be added, while prosecutors and judges retained discretion for very small quantities used in customary village practice.[1]
The original law had allowed a fine alone
The law approved in December 1996 had already prohibited cannabis cultivation, subject to limited research permission.[2] It dealt separately with growing, buying and storing drugs for personal consumption, and with consuming them unlawfully.[2]
For those personal-use offences, the original text allowed six days to one month in prison, a fine of 100,000–1,000,000 riel, or both.[2] That choice mattered because the wording expressly allowed a financial penalty without imprisonment.[2]
The 2005 version instead prescribed seven days to one month, with a possible additional fine of 25,000–100,000 riel.[1] The fine range became lower while the ordinary penalty wording required imprisonment.[1][2]
Customary consumption still had a narrow exception
The amendments retained discretion where an offence involved a very small quantity consumed as a usual habit.[1] A prosecutor could drop charges; once a case reached court, a judge could forgo punishment or issue a warning.[1]
The law tied that discretion to non-addictive consumption by villagers following ancestral practice.[1] It therefore identified particular people and circumstances for possible leniency, while leaving the decision with prosecutors and judges.[1]
Repeat offending, or an offender working in health management or care, doubled the ordinary personal-use penalties.[1]
Treatment remained part of the legal response
The amended law also protected people who voluntarily sought treatment for the consumption offence before prosecution.[1] Prosecutors could direct people into treatment, and courts could take completion into account.[1]
Those rules connected punishment with a treatment system: whether someone appeared voluntarily, complied with an order or completed treatment could affect what happened to their case.[1]
The next law replaced the personal-use scheme
The 2012 drug law expressly replaced the 1997 legislation and its 2005 amendments.[3] It set a basic two-to-five-year prison penalty for unlawful keeping of drugs in its first two tables, and separate penalties for cultivation.[3]
The older customary-consumption idea survived in the new consumption rules.[3] In Cambodia, that limited discretion continued alongside criminal penalties and increasingly detailed treatment procedures.[3]
Listed for context. No score change is recorded for Cambodia here.
References
- Law on the Control of Drugs, 1997, as amended 9 May 2005 — NACD compilation, third editionNational Authority for Combating Drugs · 2007 · English Articles 90–98, printed pp. 48–51 (PDF pp. 137–140); footnotes identify 2005 amendmentsarchived
- Council for the Development of Cambodia — Law on Control of Drugs, original unofficial English translationArticle 98, original translation, PDF pp. 47–48; personal use and customary village discretionarchived
- Law on Drug Control, 2 January 2012 — English translationKingdom of Cambodia · National Authority for Combating Drugs · 2012 · Articles 10–14, 38, 40, 45, 100–110 and 125; Table Iarchived
Checked. The date and the event were compared with a source that was read.