Draft First Amendment to Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Law No. (50) of 2017

Article 1 — Title and Scope

This Law shall be called the ‘First Amendment to Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Law No. (50) of 2017’ and read with the original Law as one law. It completes the existing prevention, treatment, rehabilitation and enforcement framework without a parallel legal system.

Article 2 — Replacement of Definitions

Article (1) of the Law is repealed and replaced as follows:

Article (1): For this Law, the following terms have the meanings below:

1. Narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and chemical precursors: substances in the annexed schedules and additions made under this Law consistently with Iraq’s international obligations.
2. New psychoactive substance: an unscheduled substance or new preparation with psychoactive effects or risks of misuse or dependence requiring assessment and temporary or permanent control.
3. Drug use: use of a narcotic or psychotropic substance unlawfully or contrary to prescription or medical purpose.
4. Substance-use disorder: a health condition diagnosed under Ministry of Health medical standards, not established merely by apprehension or preliminary testing.
5. Treatment: evidence-based medical, psychological and social interventions, including assessment, symptom management, medication and psychological treatment where indicated, and relapse prevention.
6. Rehabilitation: interventions restoring psychological, social, educational and occupational functioning and independent living after health stabilisation.
7. Aftercare: organised voluntary follow-up after intensive treatment to reduce relapse and support integration.
8. Prevention: evidence-based policies and programmes reducing initiation and risk factors and strengthening protection for individuals, families, schools and communities.
9. Treatment diversion: judicial referral of a person using drugs or possessing them for personal use to assessment, treatment or rehabilitation instead of execution of a custodial sentence.
10. Controlled delivery: permitting an illicit or suspected shipment to continue under surveillance, with judicial authorisation and international cooperation where appropriate, to identify its network and route and apprehend those responsible.
11. Commission: the High National Commission for Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Affairs.
12. Directorate: the Ministry of Interior’s General Directorate for Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Affairs.
13. Treatment centre: a health institution or unit licensed by the Ministry of Health to diagnose and treat substance-use disorders.
14. Rehabilitation centre: an institution providing psychological, social, vocational and aftercare services following health assessment and in coordination with the Ministry of Health.
15. Child: any person under eighteen.

Article 3 — Replacement of Objectives

Article (2) is repealed and replaced as follows:

Article (2): This Law aims at a balanced, integrated national response based on:

1. Preventing illicit trafficking, dismantling organised networks and cutting off proceeds and financing channels.
2. Evidence-based prevention of initiation, particularly among children, young people and groups at greatest risk.
3. Accessible, voluntary, quality treatment for substance-use disorders, preserving dignity and confidentiality.
4. Expanded alternatives to conviction and custodial punishment for use and personal possession where trafficking intent is unproven.
5. Aftercare and educational, occupational and social reintegration, reducing stigma and discrimination.
6. Control of substances, precursors and preparations without harming legitimate needs for controlled medicines in treatment, anaesthesia, pain relief and palliative care.
7. Stronger investigation, laboratory testing and judicial, security, border and financial cooperation under judicial supervision.
8. A national data, early-warning, research and evaluation system directing evidence-based policy.

Article 4 — Developing the High National Commission

Article (3) is amended as follows:

1. The High National Commission remains within the Ministry of Health, chaired by the Minister of Health, with a Ministry of Interior representative of at least deputy-minister rank as deputy chair.
2. Membership shall include representatives of at least director-general rank from Justice, Finance, Labour and Social Affairs, Education, Higher Education and Scientific Research, Youth and Sport, Planning and Agriculture, and border-port, customs, national-security, intelligence and forensic-medicine bodies, plus a Kurdistan Region representative and relevant professional bodies.
3. A permanent technical secretariat shall follow up decisions, strategy, performance indicators and data. It shall not replace competent security or treatment bodies.
4. The Commission may invite judicial, prosecution, professional-association, university, civil-society, recovering-patient and expert representatives without voting rights, respecting judicial independence and confidentiality.

Article 5 — Meetings and Decisions

Article (4) is amended to require meetings at least every two months, with emergency meetings for new threats, psychoactive substances or major trafficking changes. Decisions shall pass by a majority present after quorum, with minutes and decisions recorded. Non-confidential summaries of decisions, policies and indicators shall be published within thirty days, excluding protected security and personal information.

Article 6 — Replacement of Commission Functions

Article (5) is repealed and replaced as follows:

Article (5): Within each body’s competence, the Commission shall:

1. Approve a five-year national strategy and funded implementation plan covering prevention, treatment, rehabilitation, enforcement, borders, justice and data.
2. Set measurable national targets for treatment coverage, service quality, relapse, deaths, health harms, seizures and financial dismantling of networks, rather than detention numbers alone.
3. Adopt national prevention, treatment, rehabilitation and aftercare standards with Health and competent bodies.
4. Propose schedule and control updates for new psychoactive substances and precursors, balancing control and essential-medicine availability.
5. Coordinate federal, regional and governorate policies, clarify responsibilities and prevent duplicate centres and functions.
6. Approve joint national training for judges, investigators, laboratories and health, social and educational personnel.
7. Approve research, early-warning and programme-evaluation frameworks and publish an annual drugs and national-response report.
8. Propose programme budgets and submit annual financial reports identifying prevention, treatment, rehabilitation and enforcement expenditure.

Article 7 — Developing the General Directorate

Article (6) is amended as follows:

1. The Directorate shall investigate, gather evidence and apprehend networks and seize substances and precursors under law and judicial supervision, developing specialised intelligence-analysis, financial-investigation, digital-evidence and international-cooperation units.
2. Specialised land, air and sea border and port units shall be established according to risk assessments, with clear remits preventing overlap with border forces, customs and the Border Ports Commission.
3. Information-sharing with domestic and foreign bodies shall follow necessity and lawful purpose, with database access logged.
4. The Directorate shall not administer medical treatment or make clinical decisions. In any affiliated rehabilitation centres, its role is limited to security and non-medical administration; treatment decisions belong to Health and licensed personnel.
5. The Directorate shall publish an annual report on aggregate seizure trends, patterns, ports and cases referred to courts, without disclosing covert methods or personal data.

Article 8 — Rehabilitation and Aftercare Reorganisation

Article (7) is repealed and replaced as follows:

Article (7):

1. Labour and Social Affairs, coordinating with Health, shall establish and organise rehabilitation, aftercare and integration for those completing treatment, leaving correctional institutions or referred to community programmes.
2. Services shall include vocational training, education and completion of studies, family counselling, employment support and transitional housing where needed. Disclosure of treatment history to employers may not be required except in professions legally requiring specified health examinations.
3. Post-treatment participation shall be voluntary unless part of a time-limited judicial measure. Licensed non-governmental organisations may provide services under audited performance contracts.
4. Relapse shall not exclude a person from rehabilitation; treatment needs shall be reassessed.

Article 9 — National Drugs Observatory

Article (7 bis) is added as follows:

Article (7 bis):A national drugs and psychotropic substances observatory shall be established within the technical secretariat, technically linked to Planning and Health. It shall collect and analyse anonymised data from Health, Interior, courts, customs, ports, Labour, Education and other bodies; monitor new substances, use patterns, deaths, harms, prices and routes; and issue annual reports and early warnings. Public registers of people using drugs and use of treatment data for employment or criminal prosecution are prohibited.

Article 10 — National Prevention System

Article (7 bis/1) is added as follows:

The Commission shall adopt evidence-based prevention differentiated by age and risk, emphasising family and child skills, school attachment, mental health, reduced dropout, sport, culture and employment. Fear-based campaigns, unjustified mass testing or public shaming shall not replace proven prevention programmes.

Article 11 — Schools and Universities

Article (7 bis/2) is added as follows:

1. Education and Higher Education shall establish age-appropriate prevention, train counsellors in early detection and confidential referral, and provide clear routes to mental-health and substance-use treatment services.
2. A student’s admission of use or request for help shall not itself result in expulsion or criminal referral absent independent evidence of trafficking, coercion or danger to others.
3. Educational-institution testing shall satisfy necessity, proportionality, consent, confidentiality and confirmatory-testing rights. Universal random testing requires a special law and demonstrated necessity.

Article 12 — Workplaces and Communities

Article (7 bis/3) is added as follows:

Labour, with Health, shall issue workplace prevention, early-detection and referral guidance respecting occupational safety and non-discrimination. Ministries and governorates may finance licensed community programmes for families, youth and high-risk areas, with independent outcome evaluation and no funding based on numbers referred to detention or treatment.

Article 13 — Research and Programme Evaluation

Article (7 bis/4) is added as follows:

Public bodies implementing prevention, treatment, rehabilitation or national campaigns shall provide anonymised performance data to the observatory and researchers under privacy and ethics rules. Large national programmes shall undergo periodic effectiveness, equity and cost evaluation; ineffective or harmful programmes shall be stopped or amended.

Article 14 — Electronic Licensing and Medical Traceability

Articles (8)–(24) shall be amended as necessary to enable Health to establish a unified electronic platform for import, export, manufacturing and dispensing permits and controlled-substance records, with paper backup during outages. It shall include access controls, indelible change logs, alerts for unusual patterns and continuity of lawful patient treatment, avoiding delays for administrative matters resolvable electronically.

Article 15 — Replacement of Article 25 Database Rules

Article (25) is repealed and replaced as follows:

1. Health shall establish a regulatory register of licensees and the substance and preparation supply chain, without automatic integration with patient or substance-use treatment records.
2. Data shall be retained as necessary for oversight and audit under implementing regulations, with access levels and electronic logs of every view or change.
3. Security bodies may access individual treatment files only by judicial order concerning a separate trafficking offence; seeking treatment alone is insufficient grounds.
4. Prescriptions and health records remain subject to medical confidentiality and data-protection legislation when effective.

Article 16 — Ports and Laboratory Testing

Article (26) is amended as follows:

1. Seized substances shall be tested by accredited laboratories under documented chain of custody from seizure to destruction or retention.
2. Preliminary field testing alone shall not establish substance type or weight in a criminal judgment. Laboratory confirmation under national quality standards is required.
3. Defendants or representatives may request retesting of a retained sample by an independent accredited laboratory where type or weight affects legal classification or punishment.
4. Health, the Border Ports Commission, customs and Interior shall exchange lawful-shipment data without disrupting medical supply.

Article 17 — Temporary Control of New Psychoactive Substances

Article (26 bis) is added as follows:

1. On a reasoned technical recommendation from a committee including forensic medicine, pharmacy, toxicology and security bodies, the Health Minister may temporarily control a new psychoactive substance for no more than twelve months where serious evidence of danger and misuse exists.
2. The decision, reasons, chemical name and synonyms shall be published in the Iraqi Gazette. A full scientific assessment shall begin during that period to determine permanent scheduling or lifting of control.
3. Temporary control shall not criminalise acts preceding publication.

Article 18 — Chemical Precursors

Article (26 bis/1) is added as follows:

Health, customs and Interior shall establish risk-based precursor controls covering licensing, reports of unusual orders and shipments, and traceability without unjustified burdens on lawful industry. Suspected cases shall be investigated under law; quantity or industrial activity alone shall not establish criminal intent.

Article 19 — Balancing Control and Medicine Availability

Article (26 bis/2) is added as follows:

When setting quotas and restrictions, Health shall ensure controlled medicines needed for anaesthesia, surgery, pain treatment, palliative care, mental health and substance-use treatment according to medical need. Anti-diversion measures may not deprive eligible patients of lawful medicines. Shortage, stock and dispensing indicators shall be reviewed periodically.

Article 20 — Aggravating Factors in Organised Trafficking

Article (28 bis) is added as follows:

Without prejudice to harsher statutory punishment, trafficking aggravating factors include managing or financing an organised criminal group; using a child or exploited person for transport or promotion; trafficking in or around educational, health or correctional institutions to target attendees; abusing public office or border ports; laundering proceeds or concealing beneficial owners; or violence or weapons to protect criminal activity. These do not apply to mere use or personal possession.

Article 21 — Possession for Personal Use

Article (32) is amended so classification rests on personal-use intent established from all evidence. Its prescribed penalty may apply where no treatment or alternative measure applies. First-time offenders shall not receive detention where no trafficking intent exists and they accept the court’s Article (39) measure, unless they intentionally breach it after warning or a reasoned legal impediment exists.

Article 22 — Distinguishing Use from Trafficking

Article (32 bis) is added as follows:

Quantity alone is not conclusive evidence of trafficking intent. Courts shall infer intent from all facts, including preparation and division, promotion or sale methods, money flows, communications, distribution equipment, relevant trafficking history and other lawful evidence. The judgment shall separately state reasons concerning intent.

Article 23 — Seizure, Confiscation and Financial Investigation

Article (34) is amended as follows:

1. Asset seizure requires a reasoned judicial decision and shall be limited, pending determination, to assets reasonably believed linked to criminal proceeds or instrumentalities.
2. Confiscation shall not extend to spouses’, children’s or third-party property unless courts establish actual ownership by the convicted person or criminal origin, preserving good-faith objection rights.
3. Financial investigations shall coordinate with anti-money-laundering bodies, using beneficial-ownership and suspicious-transfer data under law.
4. Confiscated assets shall be managed, sold or transferred to the Treasury transparently. Enforcement-body or investigator rewards shall not be a percentage of confiscated value.

Article 24 — Protection of Witnesses, Informants and Cooperating Persons

Article (37 bis) is added as follows:

Existing witness, expert, informant and victim protection applies to organised-network cases meeting its conditions, with special family protection where appropriate. Benefits or mitigating excuses for informants or collaborators require a judicial decision and verification of information’s substance. Cooperation shall not exempt murder, torture or a separate more serious offence.

Article 25 — Replacement of Judicial Treatment Measures

Article (39) is repealed and replaced as follows:

Article (39):

1. Where an accused person uses drugs or possesses them for personal use without proven trafficking intent, the court or investigating judge where appropriate shall refer them for independent clinical assessment by an accredited health body to determine substance-use disorder, risk and treatment needs.
2. Instead of a custodial sentence, or with its execution suspended, courts may order one or more of: outpatient treatment, residential treatment where medically needed, psychosocial follow-up, preventive education, appropriate community service, medically conditioned monitoring tests or aftercare.
3. Measures shall be proportionate, time-limited and reviewable. Liberty restrictions may not exceed the maximum penalty for the act.
4. Relapse alone is neither disobedience nor a new offence and requires plan reassessment. Alternatives may be revoked only for repeated intentional refusal after appropriate treatment is provided and the clinical team’s opinion heard.
5. Execution of the remaining sentence shall be suspended upon programme success under court-set conditions. Non-judicial consequences of conviction may be expunged after a statutory period without a new offence.

Article 26 — Voluntary Treatment and Non-prosecution

Article (40) is repealed and replaced as follows:

Article (40):

1. No criminal case for use or personal possession shall be brought against someone voluntarily seeking treatment from a health institution or accredited referral body before enforcement action for the same incident.
2. Voluntary treatment requires neither hospitalisation nor a fixed stay. Plan and duration shall follow clinical assessment and patient consent.
3. No person may be forcibly retained in treatment except a physician-determined emergency under mental-health law or a judicial order based on medical assessment and specified treatment need, subject to review.
4. Treatment-session statements shall not prove prior use or personal-possession offences. This does not bar trafficking investigations based on independent evidence.
5. Families, schools or employers may seek advice or referral; treatment shall follow lawful consent and child-protection rules where applicable.

Article 27 — Treatment and Data Confidentiality

Article (41) is repealed and replaced as follows:

Article (41):

1. Treatment applicants’ identity, diagnosis, plans and records are confidential health information, disclosed only by consent, lawful life-protection exceptions or a specific judicial order.
2. Employers, educational institutions, insurers and security bodies shall not receive treatment records merely on request.
3. Observatory data shall be anonymised or aggregated. Intentional unlawful disclosure shall incur disciplinary and criminal penalties under applicable provisions.
4. No card or visible marker may identify someone as a person who uses drugs or is in recovery.

Article 28 — Patient Rights in Substance-use Treatment

Article (41 bis) is added as follows:

Patients have rights to dignity, non-discrimination, understandable diagnosis and treatment-option and risk information, participation in planning, integrated general and mental healthcare, family communication according to their wishes, independent complaints, protection from violence, coercion, forced labour and unjustified isolation, and copies of records under law.

Article 29 — Informed Consent

Article (41 bis/1) is added as follows:

Free, informed consent is the default. Court-ordered admission is not unlimited authorisation for medical procedures. Urgent treatment without consent requires imminent medical danger and shall be limited to necessity, with reasons documented and reviewed. Research participation requires separate consent and shall not affect treatment entitlement.

Article 30 — Children, Women and Groups with Special Needs

Article (41 bis/2) is added as follows:

1. Children shall receive services separate from adults, respecting best interests, development, education and family rights. Drug use shall not lead to placement in an adult security centre.
2. Specialised services shall support women, including pregnant women and mothers, preventing abrupt treatment interruption or procedures harmful to pregnancy or children.
3. Reasonable accommodation shall support persons with disabilities, with appropriate services for co-occurring mental disorders, chronic diseases or histories of violence and exploitation.
4. Children’s rights, juvenile justice, disability-rights laws and applicable health rules shall be observed in all cases.

Article 31 — Treatment Continuity in Detention

Article (41 bis/3) is added as follows:

Justice, Health and detention authorities shall ensure continued treatment of substance-use and co-occurring disorders, no interruption of approved medicines for non-medical reasons, voluntary blood-borne-disease testing, and discharge planning and healthcare linkage before release. Medical decisions remain with health personnel.

Article 32 — Overdose and Emergency Help-seeking

Article (41 bis/4) is added as follows:

1. Health shall establish a national overdose-response protocol covering emergency aid, approved life-saving medicines, treatment referral and follow-up.
2. No use or personal-possession prosecution shall follow a good-faith emergency request for oneself or another after overdose where discovery arose from that request itself. This excludes trafficking, violence and independent offences.
3. Health providers shall not incur liability merely for properly delivering emergency treatment.

Article 33 — Co-occurring Diseases and Health-harm Reduction

Article (41 bis/5) is added as follows:

Substance-use treatment shall integrate prevention, diagnosis and treatment of mental illness, viral infections, blood-borne diseases and other associated risks. Health may approve scientifically established interventions reducing mortality and health harms under professional instructions, without authorising unlawful possession outside the service.

Article 34 — Treatment Standards and Accreditation

Article (41 bis/6) is added as follows:

1. Health shall issue national substance-use treatment standards consistent with current international evidence, including assessment, detoxification where needed, psychosocial and medication treatment, relapse prevention, aftercare and co-occurring conditions.
2. Each treatment centre shall be led by a specialist or physician qualified under Ministry instructions, with staffing ratios, training and supervision requirements.
3. Degrading or scientifically unsupported practices—including beating, punitive confinement, forced labour and deprivation of food or medicine—are prohibited and grounds for closure and referral of responsible parties to competent bodies.
4. Standards shall be reviewed at least every three years or when substantive new evidence emerges.

Article 35 — Licensing Non-governmental and Private Centres

Article (41 bis/7) is added as follows:

No private or non-governmental body may provide residential or medical substance-use treatment without Health licensing, requiring facility, staffing, medicine, emergency, rights, medical-record, complaint and serious-incident reporting standards. Licensed organisations may offer psychosocial support and aftercare within their remit without practising medicine or detaining people.

Article 36 — Inspections and complaints

Article (41 bis/8) is added as follows:

The Ministry of Health shall establish announced and unannounced inspections of public and private treatment centres and allow patients or their families to submit confidential complaints to an independent unit within the Ministry or to the Public Prosecution. Aggregate inspection findings and corrective measures shall be published without patients’ names. Licences may be suspended or withdrawn in cases of serious danger or repeated violations.

Article 37 — Controlled delivery and special investigative techniques

Article (45) is repealed and replaced by the following:

Article (45):

1. Controlled delivery, technical tracking, covert surveillance and other legally permitted techniques may be used to uncover trafficking networks with prior authorisation from the investigating judge upon a reasoned application specifying the duration, scope and responsible authority.
2. For cross-border operations, the Ministry of Interior shall coordinate with the judiciary, the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Justice and counterpart authorities under applicable agreements and the principle of reciprocity.
3. The substances, quantities, persons handling the consignment and chain of custody shall be documented, and the results submitted to the investigating judge.
4. An operation must not induce a person to commit an offence they had no intention of committing. Evidence obtained through an unlawful procedure shall be excluded under the general rules.

Article 38 — Financial investigation and drug-related corruption

Article (45 bis) is added as follows:

Where serious indications of organised trafficking exist, financial investigations and tracing of beneficial owners, assets and suspicious transfers shall proceed alongside the main investigation in coordination with the competent anti-money-laundering and integrity authorities. Suspected bribery or facilitation by a public official at a border crossing, security agency or regulatory body shall be referred immediately to the competent investigating authority, while protecting the confidentiality of the investigation.

Article 39 — Ministry of Health responsibilities and the treatment network

Article (48) is repealed and replaced by the following:

Article (48):

1. Within six months, the Ministry of Health shall map national treatment needs and define service levels: primary care and early detection, outpatient clinics, intensive treatment units, residential centres where needed, emergency care and aftercare.
2. It shall ensure an effective referral pathway in every governorate. Where gaps exist, it may contract licensed private or non-governmental providers while retaining responsibility for quality and oversight.
3. The Ministry shall adopt a unified national protocol; a training programme for physicians, nurses, psychologists, social workers and pharmacists; and a system for accreditation, quality and serious incidents.
4. Separate services shall be provided for children and women where necessary, with integration into mental-health, infectious-disease and emergency services.
5. It shall launch a confidential national contact and referral service and require centres to inform patients of their rights and complaint mechanisms.

Article 40 — Updating schedules and scientific oversight

Article (49) is repealed and replaced by the following:

Article (49):

1. The Minister of Health may issue the instructions necessary to implement this Law and update its attached schedules in accordance with international control decisions and obligations and national risk assessments.
2. Every update shall state its reasons and specify the scientific name, synonyms, schedule and effective date, and shall be published in the Iraqi Gazette.
3. When scheduling a substance with a recognised medical use, the Ministry shall establish arrangements ensuring continued legitimate medical access and control of diversion.
4. Temporary control of new psychoactive substances may be adopted under Article (26 bis), but shall not become permanent scheduling without a technical assessment.

Article 41 — Fund supporting prevention, treatment, testing and drug control

Article (49 bis) is added as follows:

1. A special account within the public treasury, called the ‘Fund Supporting Prevention, Treatment, Testing and Drug Control’, shall be established. Its resources shall be determined by the federal budget law, legally accepted donations and a legally specified proportion of confiscated proceeds after judgments become final.
2. Its resources shall be allocated annually among four published expenditure headings: laboratories and testing; prevention and data; treatment and rehabilitation; and drug-control capacity building.
3. Its accounts shall be subject to the Ministry of Finance and the Federal Board of Supreme Audit, and its annual financial statements shall be published. Seizure bonuses calculated as a proportion of confiscations or by the number of detainees are prohibited.
4. The Fund shall not replace ministries’ core appropriations, and treatment services must not depend on the availability of confiscation revenue.

Article 42 — Strategy and annual report

Article (49 bis/1) is added as follows:

The current national strategy shall serve as the starting point for implementation until its term expires. Six months before expiry, the Commission shall commission an independent evaluation and prepare the next strategy. In the first quarter of each year, it shall submit to the Council of Ministers and Council of Representatives a report on implementation, expenditure, indicators and legislative gaps. A public edition shall be published after confidential information is removed.

Article 43 — Transitional provisions

The Commission, Directorate, centres, licences, data and schedules in force when this Law is issued shall continue, and their arrangements shall be brought into compliance without interrupting services. New regulations and instructions shall be issued within no more than twelve months; standards for treatment, licensing, confidentiality and treatment diversion shall be issued within six months. Until then, previous instructions shall remain effective insofar as they do not conflict with this amendment.

Article 44 — Repeal and commencement

Any provision conflicting with this Law is repealed to the extent of that conflict. Existing stricter provisions governing organised trafficking offences shall remain unaffected unless expressly amended. This Law shall enter into force ninety days after publication in the Official Gazette; provisions on confidentiality, the right to treatment and non-discrimination shall apply from publication.