Canadian man faces life in prison in Dubai for travelling with cannabis, wife says
CBC
A Mississauga man is facing life in prison in Dubai for travelling with more than 100 grams of cannabis products his wife says he was using to help cope with chronic pain related to Addison's disease.
Maurice Kevin O'Rourke, 64, was arrested in July in the United Arab Emirates during a layover from Canada on his way to South Africa, after airport officials in Dubai found 50 grams of cannabis and 60 grams of CBD oil in his luggage.
The substances weren't prescribed. But Pamela O'Rourke says her husband had no intention of breaking the law and is calling on officials in Dubai to have compassion for his situation.
"This is a 64-year-old man who made a mistake," she told CBC Toronto. "To say that he's going to have to spend the rest of his life in a foreign country by himself … and with his illness, a life sentence could be months or weeks."
O'Rourke has Addison's disease, an autoimmune disorder that makes him susceptible to infections, his wife says.
Since he was detained, he's undergone two surgeries for an infection, leaving him with an open wound, according to his wife. He was held in hospital for 40 days but has since been moved back to a detention centre with instructions to change his bandages twice a day.
His wife also says O'Rourke has not had access to his regular medication since being detained, leaving his family worried about his health.
CBC Toronto reached out to the U.A.E embassy in Ottawa for comment on O'Rourke's situation on Friday afternoon, but hasn't received a response as of midday Monday. This story will be updated if the embassy opts to comment.
U.A.E. has a zero-tolerance policy for many drugs
Canada warns travelers the U.A.E. has a zero-tolerance policy toward drugs. Official travel advice outlines that some medications — like codeine and psychiatric medications — that are available in Canada by prescription or over-the-counter are classified as controlled substances in the country.
It's illegal to bring them into the country, even in small quantities, without prior permission from the U.A.E. Ministry of Health.
Travellers have been arrested in the U.A.E. for having residual cannabis in their bodies from well before entering the country, says Radha Stirling, founder of Detained in Dubai, a group that helps "foreign victims of injustice in the United Arab Emirates."
Stirling told CBC Toronto that travellers should be extra cautious as a result.
"With Canada's liberal laws on cannabis use, it's quite possible that citizens could be arrested for residual, legally smoked, legally consumed cannabis products on arrival in Dubai," Stirling said.
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