[LINK] "Nightmare in Dubai for Toronto gay couple"

[rfmcdpei]

I was surprised to find out, via Slap Upside the Head, about the horror story experienced by a Canadian gay couple in Dubai. Xtra has it.

A gay Toronto couple was detained for 28 days in Dubai for carrying the prescription arthritis drug Celebrex, which is banned in the United Arab Emirates (UAE

Comments

[ext_193996]

I've always thought that Dubai is going to make for some unbelievably impressive ruins in a few decades' time. Given this article, and other views I've had of the place, I can't say I'd shed any tears at that turn of events.

[absinthe_dot_ca]

Unfortunately, it is the responsibility of a traveller to ensure they are complying with local laws in countries they are planning to visit. A good first step is to go to Voyage.gc.ca, which is run by the Foreign Affairs department of the Government of Canada.

From their page on the UAE: There have been a number of consular cases of Canadians imprisoned in the UAE with regard to possession, use, and trafficking of illegal drugs, including drugs used outside of the UAE and still traceable in the blood or urine. Canadians should also know that prescription or over-the-counter drugs that are legal in Canada (e. g. codeine) may be restricted in the UAE. (Emphasis mine - this seems to imply that if they think you were partying elsewhere they can subject you to fairly invasive testing.)

The article also doesn't say if the pills were in a prescription bottle with the doctor and patient names on it - many people transfer pills to a different bottle, and when you cross a border, this can cause a lot of problems.

[dubaiwalla]

Dubai has a long record of locking people up for possession of controlled substances, even in cases like this one, where the drugs in question are commonly prescribed in other countries. So my first reaction was that this would have little to do with their being gay. But then it's more than a little strange that they were both detained.