Police Propose Regulating Thresholds for Narcotics Possession to Distinguish Dealers from Users

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - The Indonesian National Police (Polri) has proposed regulating detailed thresholds for narcotics possession in the Narcotics and Psychotropics Bill (RUU). The aim is to firmly distinguish between users and dealers. Director of Narcotics Crimes at the National Police Criminal Investigation Agency, Brigadier General Eko Hadi Santoso, stated that the rules regarding possession limits for narcotics have not been clearly regulated in the law to date. “The first substantive issue highlighted is the regulation of possession thresholds for narcotics. So far, Law No. 35 of 2009 on Narcotics has mandated medical and social rehabilitation for addicts and victims of abuse. However, it does not explicitly regulate the possession limits that can differentiate between victims and dealers,” said Eko during a hearing at Commission III of the House of Representatives (DPR RI) on Tuesday (7/4/2026). In practice, Eko explained, the determination of thresholds for users who are rehabilitated still refers to Supreme Court Circular (SEMA) No. 4 of 2010. “The guidelines for setting the said limits are actually only binding internally within the Supreme Court environment,” Eko revealed. Therefore, Polri proposes that the Narcotics and Psychotropics Bill comprehensively regulate possession thresholds. Polri even submits lower threshold figures compared to the initial draft. For example, Polri proposes a threshold of 3 grams for marijuana, down from the previous 25 grams. For methamphetamine (sabu), it proposes 1 gram from the previous 8.4 grams. Meanwhile, for ecstasy, it proposes 5 pills from the previous 10 pills. As for heroin, it proposes 1.5 grams from the previous 5 grams. “With these threshold provisions, it is hoped that there will no longer be doubts in distinguishing the handling between victims of abuse and narcotics dealers,” said Eko.