Musician deported for having tramadol, but no prescription
Case spurs warning from lawyers for visitors to be aware
ABU DHABI // An American musician has been deported after being found with controlled painkillers without a proper prescription.
The case has sparked renewed calls from lawyers for tourists to take more care when bringing medicine into the country. Matthew Gonzales, 37, was arrested in April on charges of illegal possession of tramadol, and deported on Friday. He had been sentenced to two years in jail but that was later reduced to deportation and a Dh7,000 fine.
Mr Gonzales, a musician and IT worker, was passing through Abu Dhabi on April 16 to board a Royal Caribbean cruise ship when he was arrested for not having a prescription for his pain medication.
Tramadol is on the list of banned drugs.
His sister, Nicole Denil, presented documents proving that Mr Gonzales had been prescribed tramadol by his doctors and the sentence was reduced. She also used the hashtag #freematty on social media to draw attention to the case.
“We had the lawyers trying to move the appeal day,” Ms Denil said. “We had senators from five different states and congressmen from five different states lobbying for this.”
Mr Gonzales said he had been in Al Wathba prison for more than two months.
“It’s obviously good to be home,” he said. “My sister is an angel, a rock star.
“I don’t think I’ll ever be able to walk through a full day without feeling unburdened. I owe her everything.”
Authorities have repeatedly warned about bringing in drugs without prescriptions.
Lawyer Huda Al Falamarzy said she had seen many cases of tourists who were unaware of the regulations and arrested for bringing in medication without the necessary documents.
“It is not just that they must have an authenticated prescription from an official and certified authority in their home country, but it also has to be very accurate,” Ms Al Falamarzy said.
“The exact dosage has to be mentioned and signed by a certified doctor.”
She said she was representing a young man on similar charges.
“He has a prescription for one month’s worth of medication,” Ms Al Falamarzy said. “In the prescription it said that he was to take one tablet a day.
“Unfortunately, he found that it was cheaper to order his medicine online in bulk so he ordered three months’ worth.”
Customs alerted the authorities and he was arrested.
“If your prescription is for one month, make sure you only bring in one month’s worth of medicines,” she said, adding that Mr Gonzales received a lenient sentence.
In October last year, President Sheikh Khalifa updated the 1995 law to downgrade the use of illegal drugs to a misdemeanour. Under the previous law, Mr Gonzales would have been sentenced to four years in prison.
A list of restricted and controlled medicines or drugs is available on the Ministry of Health’s website.