Curaçao renews guidance to drop most cases involving up to 25 grams

Curaçao renewed its drug-prosecution guidance on 1 December 2018. For cannabis in the 0–25 g band, it directs confiscation and a dismissal that may carry conditions. The next band, 25–50 g, calls for prosecutors to seek a fine of up to NAf 500, with exceptions for circumstances including minors, repeat offending and suspected dealing.^[1]

A shared policy for the Dutch Caribbean

The prosecutor-general addressed the chief prosecutors of Curaçao, Sint Maarten and Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba. The new document replaced instructions dated 1 July 2015 and set out how prosecutors should approach drug cases and sentencing requests.^[1]

Quantity was a guide, alongside matters such as a person’s role, the duration of dealing and the money earned. For repeat offending within five years, the requested penalty could increase by 50–100%, depending on the circumstances.^[1]

Small quantities could end with dismissal

The cannabis table provided confiscation and potentially conditional dismissal in its lowest band, then a fine request in the next. From 50 g upwards, it used half the sentencing request in the cocaine/heroin table.^[1]

These bands operated within criminal drug law. Curaçao’s later consolidated ordinance continued to prohibit cannabis possession and use, while containing specified medical exceptions.^[2]

The guideline also began its general case-handling section with instructions to arrest and hold people found with controlled drugs, subject to decisions required by the particular circumstances. A dismissal could therefore follow an encounter with the criminal-justice system.^[1]

Exceptions changed the response

The low-quantity cannabis approach excluded cases involving another offence, repeat offending, indications of dealing or minors. It also listed possession during carnival parades, at work, in government buildings or in detention facilities.^[1]

For minors, even a 0–5 g user quantity was to be prosecuted to support assistance from addiction-care or other services. Grow cases required individual assessment, taking account of plant numbers, location, professionalism and involvement.^[1]

Prosecutors’ requests remained distinct from the law

The guidance favoured partly suspended sentencing requests for resident first offenders, with a three-year probation period. It generally did not seek probation reports for non-residents, while allowing the defence to put relevant personal circumstances before the court.^[1]

Curaçao’s 2024 replacement law kept its cannabis prohibitions, medical exceptions and high statutory maxima. The country profile explains that law alongside the separate instructions governing prosecutors’ requests.^[3]