A mother handed her 18-year-old son in to the police after discovering he was taking drugs.
The woman visited the anti-narcotics department and asked officers to save her son’s life after she found out he had been taking illegal drugs with friends.
"The mother told police that bad friends dragged her son to drug consumption," said Lt Colonel Dr Juma Sultan Al Shamsi, director of awareness and prevention at the anti-narcotics department.
"Counsellors from the department sat with the young man and conducted regular medical check-ups."
Lt Col Al Shamsi said the UAE’s drugs law gives parents the right to protect their children by placing them in rehabilitation centres in order to seek professional help in kicking their habit.
"The current law on the fight against narcotics and psychotropic substances is a positive step towards tackling the issue," Lt Col Al Shamsi said.
"The law shifts the focus to developing policies on prevention, treatment, harm reduction and rehabilitation, which will turn around the lives of many drug users, their families and others who are affected by their behaviour."
Lt Col Al Shamsi added the new law prohibited a criminal case being brought against drug users if they, or their family, notify a drug treatment unit.
Under changes to the law, the use of illegal drugs has been downgraded to a misdemeanour and options other than jail have been provided for first-time offenders, under changes to the anti-narcotics law.
The minimum four-year jail sentence has been reduced to two, and the Attorney General has the power to send an offender for treatment without the case going to court, after advice from police and prosecutions.
If a drug user is handed over by their family to a rehabilitation centre, police or prosecutors, they face no penalty and will remain in treatment until the centre decides they can be released.
Previously this was only the case if the drug user turned themselves in.
The minimum period spent in rehabilitation centres has been reduced from three to two years.

Source: The National