KUWAIT: More than 100 families have already come forward to seek treatment for relatives using drugs since Kuwait’s new anti-drug law came into force, according to the Ministry of Interior.
The early figures were shared just weeks after the law became effective on December 10, highlighting what officials described as growing trust in its confidential, treatment-focused provisions.
Lieutenant Colonel Mohammed Manawer, Assistant Director at the General Department for Drug Control, said the department has handled more than 100 reports submitted by families reporting their children for the purpose of treatment.
“The reports are handled with complete confidentiality and privacy, and they are not recorded in the criminal record, in order to protect the future of the person using drugs,” said Manawer in remarks reported by KUNA. He was speaking at a dialogue session organized by the Center of Government Communication in cooperation with the Ministry of Justice, with participation from the Public Prosecution and the Ministry of Interior.
The new drug law gives people with addiction clear legal guarantees to seek treatment without criminal accountability if they come forward to the police. Families or individuals can contact police through its hotline (1884141) or by visiting in person, Manawer said. Specialized teams are dispatched to the user’s location and transfer them to an addiction treatment center to begin treatment, he added.
Manawer stressed that the law strictly criminalizes the disclosure of information related to such reports. He warned against exploiting addiction reports for malicious intent or personal disputes, noting that anyone proven to have filed a false report faces up to two years in prison.
Police powers
On police powers, Manawer said the law allows stop-and-arrest procedures if a person appears in an abnormal condition, is proven to be using drugs, disturbs public peace, poses a danger to others, or is unable to care for themselves. “These conditions, if present, legally justify the stop,” he said.
He added that the new law addressed previous legal gaps that had led to invalid procedures and acquittals. Ahmed Al-Kandari, deputy public prosecutor, said the new law reflects a shift from a punishment-based approach to a treatment-focused system, while keeping strict penalties for trafficking and promotion. The decree broadly criminalizes consuming drugs, possessing them “in any form whatsoever,” promoting or offering them for use, and participating in or facilitating drug-related activity.
Al-Kandari noted that the new law carries forward the spirit of the repealed 1983 anti-narcotics law. The old law specifically made it a crime to be present in places set up for drug use, with limited exemptions for close family members or residents of the same home — though that explicit provision no longer exists.
Although the new 2025 decree law does not explicitly criminalize mere presence in a location where drugs are used, individuals found at a drug-use site may still face arrest and prosecution. Al-Kandari warned that anyone found in drug-use locations with knowledge and intent to participate or facilitate could face legal action. — Agencies
