On Sept. 20, the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council published the UN Human Rights Office Report regarding human rights issues that have developed due to the War on Drugs. This report was created by request of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in April 2023, and was introduced during the 54th session of the Human Rights Council, which lasts between Sept. 11-Oct. 13.

“UN report urges [member] states to end overreliance on punitive measures to address drugs problem & shift to interventions grounded in #humanrights & public health. It is essential that laws, policies & practices deployed to address drug use must not exacerbate human suffering,” UN Human Rights posted on X.

The report suggests that decriminalizing drug possession for personal use should be a priority. “If effectively designed and implemented, decriminalization can be a powerful instrument to ensure that the rights of people who use drugs are protected,” a UN press release stated.

According to UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, global change is sorely needed. “Laws, policies, and practices deployed to address drug use must not end up exacerbating human suffering. The drug problem remains very concerning, but treating people who use drugs as criminals is not the solution,” Türk said in a press release. “States should move away from the current dominant focus on prohibition, repression and punishment and instead embrace laws, policies and practices anchored in human rights and aimed at harm reduction.”

Ultimately, the report gathers that “disproportionate use of criminal penalties” lead drug users away from seeking out a treatment. Statistics gathered from the 2023 World Drug Report show that 660,000 people die from drug-related causes annually, and 10% of new HIV infections in 2021 were related to people who injected drugs.

The report calls the effects of the War on Drugs as “profound and far-reaching.” “Militarization of law enforcement in the so-called War on Drugs contributes to severe human rights violations, including extrajudicial killings. And disproportionate use of criminal penalties contributes significantly to prison overcrowding,” the UN press release said.

The UN also stated that the people who are most negatively affected by current drug policies are Black women, women in general, indigenous people, and youths who come from poor backgrounds. “Today’s drugs policies have the greatest impact on those who are poorest and most vulnerable,” Türk added.

Due to an increase in people receiving the death penalty for drug-related convictions, many people have suffered at the hands of these policies. An estimated 37% of global executions were related to drug convictions, and those offenses doubled in 2022 compared to data provided in 2021.

Particularly in Singapore in recent years, the death penalty has been issued to people trafficking cannabis. In July 2022, Singapore executed a 49-year-old man for cannabis trafficking. In May 2023, the country hung a 37-year-old man for trafficking cannabis in the amount of three pounds, in addition to another individual who was hanged just a few weeks prior.

“The current overemphasis on coercion and control to counter drugs is fanning an increase in human rights violations despite mounting evidence that decades of criminalization and the so-called War on Drugs have neither protected the welfare of people nor deterred drug-related crime,” Türk concluded.

The press release for the report ends by applauding the countries that have worked to adopt policies that protect the public and defend humans rights, through “evidence-based, gender-sensitive and harm reduction approaches.”

The UN report includes a multi-point list of recommendations on how to reapproach drug policies and step back from harmful, punitive models. This includes suggestions such as implementing decriminalization, and adopting drug policies that “advance the rights of people who use drugs” and offer medical care to treat drug related conditions (such as viral hepatitis or HIV by way of injection). It also suggests policies that don’t lead to parents having their child removed from their care, or punishing pregnant people. The report also recommends abolishing the death penalty for all crimes, not just drug-related offenses, among many other strong proposals to put people first. 

The UN will review the 2019 Ministerial Declaration, which is an ongoing multi-year work plan to keep track of drug policy commitments made by member states, in 2024. That review will lead to the development of drug policies that need to be addressed by 2029, with the goal of having protected human rights by the 2039 UN Agenda.

In December 2020, a U.N. Commission for Narcotic Drugs panel voted to reclassify cannabis. While this recommendation didn’t guarantee that any member states would immediately legalize cannabis possession and use, it was still a monumental announcement. “This is a huge, historic victory for us, we couldn’t hope for more,” said independent drug policy researcher Kenzi Riboulet-Zemouli. Many advocates applauded the decision and hoped that it would empower other countries to implement regulatory frameworks for cannabis. 

It’s safe to say that over the past three years, many countries have begun to reevaluate their drug policies and embrace cannabis legalization. 

The country of Malta became the first in the European Union to legalize cannabis in December 2021. Earlier this year in July, Luxembourg became the second EU country to legalize. Thailand also removed weed from its list of banned substances in June 2022.

Other countries, such as the Netherlands and Switzerland, are working on cannabis pilot programs to test how legal cannabis would work in their respective regions.

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For the second time in three weeks, Singapore officials executed a man by hanging for a nonviolent cannabis-related charge in what critics are calling a “killing spree.”

A Malay man in Singapore, 37, whose family asked for him not to be named, was executed at Changi Prison Complex in the eastern part of the city for allegedly trafficking 1.5 kilograms (3.3 pounds) of cannabis. That would be considered a commercial delivery in one of the U.S. legal markets.

He was executed despite a last-minute attempt to appeal his case, which was rejected by the court without a hearing. Al Jazeera reports that ​​Singapore officials hanged 11 people last year—all for drug-related charges—after a brief pause of killing during the COVID pandemic.

Just over one pound of pot warrants a death sentence: Under Singapore’s abnormally strict drug laws, trafficking more than 500 grams (1.1 pounds) of cannabis can result in the death penalty. “Drug traffickers are less likely to traffic drugs and reduce the amount of drugs trafficked if they are aware of the penalties involved,” the Singapore Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) claims, referring to its use of capital punishment by hanging. 

Kokila Annamalai of the Transformative Justice Collective said was convicted in 2019 of trafficking about 1.5 kilograms of cannabis.

“If we don’t come together to stop it, we fear that this killing spree will continue in the weeks and months to come,” Annamalai told The Associated Press.

According to the man, authorities lied about the amount of cannabis involved, and that it was actually a smaller amount than they claimed. The man appealed to reopen the case, based on DNA evidence and fingerprints that linked him to a much smaller amount of pot—which he admitted to possessing—but the court rejected it.

Tangaraju Suppiah, 46, was executed at dawn on April 26, rejecting a growing number of anti-death penalty campaigners to end the country’s cruel use of capital punishment.

Tangaraju was originally sentenced to death on October 9, 2018 for attempting to traffic more than 1 kilogram of cannabis to Singapore. He was originally detained in 2014 for drug consumption and failure to report for a drug test. 

Tangaraju was also held at Singapore’s Changi Prison Complex.

British billionaire Sir Richard Branson, a long opponent of the death penalty, and a group of world leaders called for action for what they describe as a disturbing case of what may be an innocent man.

The hanging took place in a country that canes people for tagging walls with punishments much harsher than you’d see in the U.S.

Nagaenthran Dharmalingam, a Malaysian with learning disabilities, was executed on a drug charge last year, but his case prompted protests, which is a rarity in Singapore. Through the years, Singapore has dealt with “Malayophobia,” another factor that complicates cases such as this.

In a report in March, Harm Reduction International (HRI) found that despite a worldwide shift towards abolishing capital punishment, there were at least 285 executions for drug-related charges last year, more than double the number the year prior.

Singapore isn’t the only country employing medieval punishments for drugs. HRI reminds readers that China, Vietnam, and North Korea also execute people for nonviolent drug charges.

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Singapore officials executed a man today—by hanging—who was found guilty of drug trafficking a kilogram of cannabis into the country.

NDTV in India reports that Tangaraju Suppiah, 46, was executed at dawn on Wednesday, rejecting a growing chorus of anti-death penalty campaigners to end the country’s cruel use of capital punishment.

British billionaire Sir Richard Branson, a long opponent of the death penalty, and a group of world leaders called for action for what they describe as a disturbing case of what may be an innocent man.

Branson wrote a detailed blog post pleading for mercy, while The European Union (EU) and Australian MP Graham Perrett issued statements in defense of the man. The EU statement, jointly issued on April 24 with the diplomatic missions of EU member states Norway and Switzerland, called on authorities to halt Tangaraju’s execution and commute his sentence to a non-capital sentence.

Parrett was noticeably disgusted by the choice of punishment.

“Imagine being hanged by the neck until you are dead because of a bit of dope,” Parrett tweeted in a series of posts. “This is the fate that awaits Tangaraju Suppiah of Singapore. Yesterday Tangaraju’s family were delivered his execution notice that announced he would be hanged the day after ANZAC Day.” (Anzac Day is Australia’s Memorial Day.)

Tangaraju was sentenced to death on October 9, 2018, for attempting to traffic more than 1 kilogram of cannabis to Singapore. He was originally detained in 2014 for drug consumption and failure to report for a drug test. 

Tangaraju was held at Singapore’s Changi Prison Complex in the eastern part of the city.

Branson argued that “the system is broken beyond repair.” He contends that in the U.S. alone, nearly 190 people have been exonerated and freed from death row since 1976. Branson also tried to free “drug trafficker” Nagaenthran Dharmalingam, who was executed by hanging in 2022. Branson was invited to take part in a live televised debate with the city state’s home affairs minister K. Shanmugam, but declined to do so.

In 1994, an American 19-year-old was caned in Singapore for graffiti, left in a bloody mess. Drug laws are similar. “Drug traffickers are less likely to traffic drugs and reduce the amount of drugs trafficked if they are aware of the penalties involved,” the Singapore MHA claims, referring to its use of capital punishment by hanging. 

Branson wrote a blog post entitled “Why Tangaraju Suppiah doesn’t deserve to die,” and posted it on his website, a powerful plea supported by photos of the man with his family. “Singapore may be about to kill an innocent man,” he pleads.

“Tangaraju’s case is shocking on multiple levels,” Branson wrote. “Singapore has a long and troubled history of executing drug offenders, following mandatory sentencing laws that proscribe the death penalty for certain threshold amounts of drugs.”

He continued, “The country’s government has repeatedly claimed that its draconian laws serve as an effective deterrent of drug-related crime. However, Singaporean authorities have repeatedly failed to provide any tangible evidence for that assertion. Killing those at the lowest rungs of the illicit drug supply chain, often minorities living in poverty, is hardly effective in curbing an international trade worth hundreds of billions every year.”

Branson claims that Tangaraju was nowhere near the pot at the time, and several more details about his arrest are sketchy, to say the least.

Singapore’s Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on April 25 fired back and said that Branson’s remarks are “disrespectful.”

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Olympic gold medalist and swimmer Joseph Schooling, 27, apologized after facing backlash from his native Singapore for smoking weed while in Vietnam. Singapore’s drug laws are among the strictest in the world, and the stigma there is strong.

Schooling was in Hanoi, Vietnam, where he won two gold medals, while competing for the Hanoi 2022 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games on leave from military service, and there he was caught smoking some weed.

Heads are spinning at the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) and the Singapore Ministry of Defence after they learned of Schooling’s pot use from the country’s Central Narcotics Bureau. The Singapore Ministry of Defence released an August 30 press release, announcing that Schooling will undergo drug testing for the next six months.

“The Central Narcotics Bureau has concluded its investigations on PTE Joseph Schooling, and handed over the management of the case to the SAF, as he is a full-time National Serviceman,” the release reads. “Urine tests for controlled drugs conducted on PTE Joseph Schooling returned negative. However, PTE Schooling confessed to have consumed cannabis overseas in May 2022, when he was on short term disruption from full-time National Service (NS) to train and participate in the Southeast Asian Games.

“Following existing protocol, PTE Schooling will be placed on a supervised urine test regime for six months. All SAF personnel who test positive during this regime will be charged and sentenced accordingly.”

Lancaster Online reports that Schooling posted an apology on Instagram, in a now-deleted post.

“I gave in to a moment of weakness after going through a very tough period of my life,” Schooling said in a message posted Tuesday night on Instagram. “I am sorry that my actions have caused hurt to everyone around me, especially to my family and the young fans who look up to me.”

“I made a mistake and I’m responsible for what I’ve done. I will make amends and right what is wrong. I won’t let you down again,” the post reads.

Yahoo! News Editor Chia Han Keong wrote an op-ed, saying that Schooling deserves empathy—not backlash—for a crime as small as cannabis. In the meantime, Schooling’s entire reputation is on the line.

Schooling vs. Phelps

In 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Schooling beat Michael Phelps—the most decorated Olympian of all time—at the 100-meter butterfly. Schooling has described Phelps as his “idol” and was enthralled to beat him at his own game.

Schooling was sent to the Olympics while studying at the University of Texas in Austin. At the Tokyo Olympics 2021, he was eliminated while trying to defend his 100-meter butterfly title.

Ironically, Phelps himself was forced to apologize in the United States when he was caught smoking weed by a British tabloid, and a photo surfaced of Phelps hitting a bong, quickly going viral in 2008. For any other 23-year-old, it would have been considered normal behavior.

“I acted in a youthful and inappropriate way,” Phelps said in a statement. Like Schooling, Phelps probably had no choice but to publicly express remorse for smoking weed.

“I engaged in behavior which was regrettable and demonstrated bad judgment. “I’m 23 years old, and despite the successes I have had in the pool, I acted in a youthful and inappropriate way, not in a manner that people have come to expect from me,” Phelps said. “For this, I am sorry. I promise my fans and the public—it will not happen again.”

Despite smoking weed in his youth, Phelps is one of if not the fastest swimmer alive. Compare this to the fastest runner alive, Olympian Usain Bolt, who is a known supporter of cannabis businesses. 

That said, it’s probably not fair to associate cannabis with slowing down our physical bodies. In the professional world of sports, however, it’s a whole different story.

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As Amnesty International pleads to stop Singapore’s fifth execution in under four months, one man, whose name is not being released, was executed by hanging at the Changi Prison Complex in east Singapore for the crime of trafficking cannabis. 

Singaporean executions are carried out by “long-drop hanging”—usually taking place at dawn. The country is notorious for its use of corporal and capital punishments, and the country’s hanging system has been criticized for at least the past 20 years. During canings, for instance, a 1.2 meter-long cane of about 1.2 centimeters in diameter is used to beat the perpetrator, sometimes for drug offenses. For the crime of trafficking cannabis, the death penalty is mandatory.

Thanks to activists like Kokila Annamalai, we know when severe injustices amid the War on Drugs take place in the farthest stretches of the globe. People like Annamalai are tired of executions for drug-related crimes, especially when it involves cannabis and other harmless crimes.

“We have confirmation that a 49-year-old Singaporean Malay man was executed today, 26 July, at Changi Prison,” Annamalai tweeted. “He has lived in prison since 2015, after being convicted of trafficking in cannabis (marijuana). He was sentenced to the mandatory death penalty.”

Activists say racism is part of the equation, as the region is allegedly prone to racially-biased decisions during the legal process. The 49-year-old Malay man executed for cannabis trafficking was one of 17 prisoners who had filed a suit accusing the Singaporean government of racial bias in their prosecutions in capital punishment cases. Unfortunately, the lawsuit was tossed out and nearly anyone involved in the case was allegedly targeted—even the defense attorney.

“This is the 6th confirmed execution in a span of 4 months,” Annamalai continued in subsequent tweets. “He was one of 17 prisoners who had filed a historic suit accusing the Singapore state of racial bias in their prosecutions in capital punishment cases. The suit was thrown out last year and their lawyer M Ravi was slapped with heavy fines after being accused of abuse of process by the attorney-general (AG).”

Singapore publicly reveals very little, if any information about its executions, which come in the form of hangings. Local anti-death penalty non-governmental organizations (NGOs) like Transformative Justice Collective ask questions regarding the deaths and the surrounding circumstances. They get information through other prisoners or inmates’ relatives, which is the only way information is possible.

Singapore officials also executed another man, Singaporean Nazeri Lajim, 64, with a long history of drug use and other drug offenses, who had been sentenced in 2017 for trafficking 960 grams of heroin.

Earlier this month, VICE World News followed the families of people on death row in Singapore due to drug charges. They found clemency appeals to the president were rejected and hopes were destroyed in one of the harshest places on the planet to be caught with drugs.

“This morning, the family of Kalwant Singh, a Malaysian on death row in Singapore, was informed that his execution has been scheduled for next week, 7 July 2022,”  the Transformative Justice Collective tweeted on June 29.

Singh was arrested in 2013 for drugs. He was 23 years old then and has spent the past nine years in prison.

According to activists, executions by hanging came to a standstill during COVID-19.

VICE World News reports that Malaysia and Singapore shared a gung-ho approach to the death penalty, but both countries’ approach to drugs were originally rooted in British colonial-era laws. But then nearby in Thailand, cannabis has been decriminalized, suggesting drug reform is overdue in the corner of the globe.

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A man who imported one kilogram of cannabis (about 2.2 pounds) from Malaysia into Singapore in 2018 is set to hang after his appeal against the conviction and sentence was dismissed by the Apex Court on Tuesday, October 12.

Channel News Asia reports that Singaporean Omar Yacob Bamadhaj, 41, was sentenced to death in February after being convicted of one count of importing cannabis into Singapore. Bamadhaj was caught smuggling three bundles containing at least one kilogram of cannabis.

The country’s zero-tolerance policy for drugs has led to the hangings of hundreds of people, including dozens of foreigners. 

During a routine border checkpoint at Woodlands Checkpoint late in the night on July 12, 2018, police discovered the bundles Bamadhaj was carrying. His father drove the vehicle, but was found to be unaware of the cannabis bundles.

The Alleged Crime

Bamadhaj agreed to smuggle the cannabis—a Class A drug in Singapore—two days earlier on July 10, 2018 and collected three bundles wrapped in newspapers a day later near a mosque. Bamadhaj allegedly obtained the packages from two friends, Din and Latif. Bamadhaj first said that he agreed to deliver the packages and then said he did not know what they contained.

When asked why there were differences in his accounts, Bamadhaj reportedly replied, “I said that because I was not at the right state of mind. I was feeling high from the stick I had smoked with Din. High to me is like being semi-conscious.”

On Tuesday, Bamadhaj’s lawyer Hassan Esa Almenoar said there was reasonable doubt as to whether Bamadhaj imported the drugs knowingly or not, and said it was “difficult to conclude that he planned all this”.

Bamadhaj argued that the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) officers had coerced him into admitting to the crime, threatening him, saying, “If you refuse to admit to this, I will throw both you and your father to be hanged.”

Tourists who smoke pot may be in for a bit of culture clash if they choose to visit Singapore—a famously intolerant country with penalties for drugs reaching up to death by hanging. Singapore applies corporal and capital punishments to foreigners—going beyond what other drug-free countries do.

In  2016, when a Nigerian named Chijioke Obioha was hanged in Singapore for possession of 2.6 kilograms of pot.

Singapore and Cannabis

Some countries in Asia are exceptionally intolerant when it comes to drugs. In 2014, Jackie Chan’s son Jaycee did six months of hard time in jail after being busted with 100 grams of cannabis in China. But Singapore’s punishments for drugs make China’s punishments look like a cake walk.

In Singapore, you can be jailed for failing to flush the toilet. Business Insider published an article in 2012, entitled “How to Travel in Singapore Without Getting Caned.” It listed other serious Singaporean “offenses” including selling gum or sipping water on a train. Or standing too close to a child. One graffiti vandal, Mas Selamat bin Kastari, for instance, was slapped with “a terror plot” for political stencil graffiti.

Singapore is one of the worst places on the planet to get caught with pot. Singapore courts can dish out the death penalty to anyone caught with over 500 grams of cannabis—around 1,000 joints. 

Singapore also does hesitate to punish foreigners if they are caught with drugs, unlike other drug-free nations such as Saudi Arabia or China. In those countries, a foreigner caught with drugs would most likely be deported instead.

Singapore doesn’t even need evidence of drug possession to jail a foreigner. Singapore might be the world’s only country that will require drug tests to foreign nationals and then arrest anyone who fails the test.

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