AN Australian union official will be among the first to test new drug laws now in place in Bali which are even harsher than those that put Schapelle Corby behind bars for 20 years.
Robert Paul McJannett, arrested last week in Bali and accused of trying to bring 1.7g of marijuana to the holiday island, will be one of the first people to be dealt with under the new regime, according to a report in The Daily Telegraph.
The new narcotics law, enacted late last year, stipulates minimum sentences for drug possession and import and export and makes it harder for people to claim they are addicts in order to be dealt with leniently and receive just a few months in jail.
In addition to the new laws is a Supreme Court practice note, which regulates the amount of drug which can be deemed to be for a user.
For marijuana the limit for a user is a maximum of one cigarette or 0.05g.
Anything over that and it is less likely the accused would be dealt with under legislation for users and addicts which carries a much more lenient jail term and offers the possibility of being sent to drug rehabilitation rather than jail.
The new laws are not good news for 48-year-old, who is now in Kerobokan Jail awaiting trial.
Police say that because Mr McJannett was allegedly caught with 1.7g they will not charge him with personal use because it is well over the 0.05g limit as required under the legislation.
In the past, Australians caught with small amounts of drugs in Bali have been convicted under laws for drug addicts and sentenced to just a few months in jail after providing doctor’s reports attesting to their addiction.
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