Chukha court sentenced a 20-year-old man to a year in prison for illegal possession of cannabis on August 31. The sentence is compoundable.

Gedu police detained Sangay Tashi from Khamdang in Trashiyangtse for illegally possessing 2.31gms of cannabis on July 8 this year. Office of the Attorney General (OAG) charged him for violating the Narcotic Drugs Psychotropic Substances and Substance Abuse Act of Bhutan 2015.

The defendant contended that he brought the cannabis for his own consumption.

The court ruled that Sangay Tashi violated section 131 of the Narcotic Drugs Psychotropic Substances and Substance Abuse Act of Bhutan 2015, which states, “A defendant shall be guilty of an offence of illegal possession of cannabis and its derivatives if it is equal to or less than the quantity determined in Schedule VII of the Act.”

The offence of illegal possession of cannabis is graded a misdemeanour.

The judgment stated that although the sentence term for the offence ranges from one year to three years in prison, Sangay Tashi was given the minimum sentencing of one year since he did not have a criminal record.

Staff reporter