Drug use among Emiratis has risen significantly this year, police say. Related ■ Drug arrests in Dubai double 'compared to last year' Addiction is more an illness than a crime Topic Crime Drugs A total of 84 citizens were arrested between January and April this year compared to 54 in the same period last year, according to the Dubai Police Anti Narcotics department. Officials said the main cause of the 57 per cent increase was the rise in popularity of four new types of narcotic pills this year. They declined to identify the pills, but said in a statement they are hoping to have the pills added to the controlled drugs list soon. "For the last three years the Narcotics Department has called for the addition of new narcotic pills to the controlled drugs list, which falls under article 41 of the narcotics law, so a consumer would face between one and three years upon conviction," said a department official. There were also 77 non-Arab expatriates arrested on the same charge during the first quarter, in comparison to 76 last year. Meanwhile, the number of Arab expatriates arrested for drug use increased by 110 per cent to 76 in comparison to 34 last year. The combined figures reveal a significant rise in the total drug cases registered in Dubai, from 160 last year to 238 cases in 2012.
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