Judiciary has come out to clear the air about last week’s Constitutional Court repealed the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Control) Act, 2015 which among others prohibited the sale and use of several narcotic drugs in the country.
In a statement released on Tuesday, the Judiciary dismissed as untrue, claims that the court legalized marijuana with this decision.
“This is to clarify that that is not the correct interpretation of the decision of the
Constitutional Court. For now, it should be known that the Constitutional Court did not and has never legalized the use of the restricted drugs and/or substances under the impugned law,” the Judiciary said in a statement.
According to the Judiciary, the previous law, the National Drug Policy and Authority Act which had been replaced by the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Control) Act, 2015 now remains in place to fill the gap.
“The annulment of the Act does not invalidate the provisions of sections 26, 29, 47, 49 and 60 (1) (b) and (c) of the National Drug Policy and Authority Act, which is now the applicable law in regard to regulation and use of restricted substances. Therefore, the substances previously restricted under the National Drug Policy and Authority Act remain restricted.”
Police on Monday said they would continue enforcing the National Drug Policy and Authority Act after the annulment of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Control) Act, 2015.