Kuwait’s new drug law to impose death penalty, life terms

Kuwait City: Kuwait has approved a new anti-drug law that introduces significantly tougher penalties for narcotics offences, including life imprisonment, the death sentence and fines reaching two million Kuwaiti dinars. The law will take effect on December 15.

In a statement posted on X on Sunday, November 30, Kuwait’s Ministry of Interior said that the legislation aims to strengthen national security and curb drug trafficking and misuse.

The law outlines strict penalties for activities related to narcotics, including:

• Trafficking and smuggling
• Cultivation and manufacturing
• Promotion, distribution and handling of drugs

It identifies several aggravated offences:

• Exploiting minors in drug-related activity
• Committing offences in hospitals, schools, rehabilitation centres or other sensitive institutions
• Coercing individuals into drug consumption
• Using public authority or influence to support illegal acts
• Running organised criminal groups
• Planting drugs to falsely implicate others
• Tampering with evidence

The legislation also tightens control over medical misuse, with penalties for:

• Improper dispensing of controlled substances
• Misuse of medical prescriptions
• Drug consumption inside prisons, police stations and restricted facilities

Alongside punitive measures, the law introduces structured avenues for treatment, including:

• Voluntary admission to addiction treatment centres
• Confidential reporting of addiction by relatives up to the third degree
• Criminal penalties for leaking sensitive information
• Penalties for filing malicious or false reports

To educate the public, the Ministry will launch a nationwide campaign titled Protect the Nation, covering television, radio, digital platforms, cinemas and public screens.

The Ministry said the law forms part of Kuwait’s broader effort to confront narcotics networks and will require cooperation from institutions and the wider community.