The story
Timor-Leste’s own drug law took effect on 26 January 2017. It kept personal cannabis use, possession and growing as criminal offences, with up to one year in prison or a fine in the lower quantity band. It also allowed punishment to be waived for an occasional user in that band and protected the confidentiality of people seeking treatment.[1]
Parliament replaced an inherited legal regime
The final parliamentary vote took place on 18 October 2016. The government presented the bill as part of its public-safety programme, while describing drug use as a health problem requiring treatment and assistance.[2]
The published law explained why a domestic replacement was needed. Courts had relied on Indonesian legislation carried over under Timor-Leste’s constitutional continuity rules. The preamble criticised that inherited regime’s incompatibility with the country’s constitutional principles, including its absolute prohibition of the death penalty.[1]
The new law was promulgated on 23 January, published on 25 January and commenced the following day.[1]
Personal use had its own penalty bands
The personal-use offence covered consumption and activities solely for personal consumption, including growing, producing, buying and possessing controlled drugs. Its lower band allowed up to one year in prison or a fine of up to 120 daily units.[1]
Above five times the daily reference quantity, the ceiling rose to two years or a fine of up to 240 daily units. The annex listed daily references of one gram for herbal cannabis, half a gram for resin and a quarter gram for oil. Those figures determined penalty bands within a criminal offence.[1]
Unauthorised trafficking outside the personal-use offence carried five to fifteen years. A considerably less serious trafficking case had a separate one-to-five-year range.[1]
Seeking help carried confidentiality protections
People asking a doctor or health institution for help were guaranteed anonymity and individual treatment. Medical staff had professional-secrecy duties and were not required to report the patient’s identity or treatment to the criminal authorities.[1]
The law required the Health Ministry to arrange free assistance for people presenting voluntarily. It also allowed prison to be suspended when a person with drug dependence voluntarily accepted treatment under court supervision.[1]
Courts and politicians continued to shape the debate
Later in 2017, Lusa reported a three-and-a-half-year sentence for Tony Crean in a cannabis-plant case, with his defence announcing an appeal.[3]
The 2022 debate over cannabis policy returned to the relationship between punishment, health and policing. The Timor-Leste profile explains the law’s personal-use rules, trafficking penalties and treatment provisions.[1]
Listed for context. No score change is recorded for Timor-Leste here.
References
- Timor-Leste — Law 2/2017, final text in Jornal da República, 25 January 2017Printed pp. 60–82; articles 6–7, 11–17, 22, 26–29 and 50; Annex I and Table I-Carchived
- Government of Timor-Leste — Parliament approves the drug-trafficking billFinal parliamentary vote on 18 October 2016, also recorded in the final lawarchived
- Lusa via RTP — Australian sentenced to three and a half years in Timor-Leste, 20 October 2017archived
Checked. The date and the event were compared with a source that was read.