Human Rights Watch said Tuesday that Tunisia was to reform the "law 52", a controversial text which makes it systematically punishable by imprisonment of drug consumption, mainly cannabis.

In a report entitled "All this for a seal," published on January 2, the NGO Human Rights Watch (HRW), based in New York, denounced the "social cost" of the "Law 52", enacted in 1992 by the dictatorship of Zine el Abidine Ben Ali. Legislation that provides for a minimum sentence of one year of drug use in prison and prohibited judges to take into account mitigating circumstances.

A draft law to reduce penalties for drug use would stop short of fixing major human rights concerns in the current law, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Tunisian authorities should revise the law to eliminate all prison sentences for recreational drug use or possession.

The new bill reduces sentences, but still contains some troubling flaws

(Tunis) - A new drugs bill would reduce penalties for drug use without answering all the concerns raised by human rights with the current law, declared the Human Rights Watch in a report released today. The Tunisian authorities should revise the law to eliminate all prison terms for use or possession of drugs for recreational purposes.

Recently Mexico became one of the few countries to legalize marijuana cultivation and possession, joining Bangladesh, Colombia, Uruguay, and others. But in some regions, most specifically the Middle East, there is a set of strict laws when it comes to cannabis possession or cultivation.

The Pirate Party of Tunisia has set the decriminalization of cannabis as a priority in their next elections. Earlier the main political parties have committed to address this. However, the State has been passive regarding the revision of Law 52 on consumption of illegal substances. This law has been used to incarcerate more than 1,500 youths since the last elections in 2014.

The Pirate Party of Tunisia has noted several negative developments regarding changing this law:

Shaheed Elhafed — The drug seizures in the region countries have reached alarming proportions in recent months, according to press sources of the countries affected by the cannabis trafficking.

"The plague is gaining ground and taking dangerous proportions," said the press highlighting that "inquisitors investigations were often revealing and the discoveries confirm the transformations in the matter" in reference to changes in the methods used by traffickers to route their poison.

A new study published by Assabah on Wednesday reveals the popularity of drugs in schools and educational institutions, showing that about 50 percent of students smoke marijuana and drink alcohol. Since the revolution, drug addiction rates in Tunisia have reportedly increased by 70 percent.

Surveys concluded that marijuana is the most used drug in Tunisia, followed by cocaine, and heroin. Subutex, originally a medication for the treatment of addiction to heroin and other drugs, has particularly gained popularity since being essentially introduced, illegally, to the Tunisian market after the revolution.