The Speaker of Parliament Anita Among has given the Attorney General up to Thursday 18th May 2023 to present to Parliament the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substance Control Bill for reconsideration

The bill was to have been re-tabled as a Private Members Bill sponsored by Bugiri Municipality MP Asuman Basalirwa but the Attorney General intervened.

Kiryowa Kiwanuka said that his office needs more time to study a Constitutional Court ruling against the original law which may have an effect on the bill, and then design a way forward
Bugiri Municipality Member of Parliament Asuman Basalirwa, who sponsored the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Control Bill as a private member was ready to present it to Parliament for the first reading as an improved version of the earlier Act.

This followed the Constitutional Court ruling on 06th May 2023 that nullified the entire Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Control Act of 2016 on the grounds that Parliament passed it without the required quorum.
According to Parliament, the bill which seeks to regulate and ban the use of drugs in Uganda has been treated as urgent. But the Attorney General told legislators that his office was still within its mandated timeframe before taking any action on the bill.
According to the Attorney General, it was not proper for such a critical bill for the country to be handled by a private member bill yet it was originally moved by the government. He reiterated the government’s interest in the bill despite the Constitutional Court ruling.
Some MPs claimed that the Attorney General’s Chambers has acted shabbily in many instances by neglecting several important bills and as such the courts end up striking down the bills, leaving Parliament looking bad.
The Speaker of Parliament Anita Among gave the Attorney General up to Thursday 18th May 2023 to come up with the proposed changes to the bill and present it to Parliament for reconsideration.
And should the Attorney General fail to present the bill, MPs have vowed to move ahead and have the bill presented as a private member's bill.

Drug abuse is one of the social ills afflicting many people in Uganda, especially the youth who end up as social misfits and also suffer from mental illnesses. 

Ramson