Executive Director of the Institute, Anggara, stated that it is a measure that could possibly be taken, especially considering the fact that a number of countries in the South East Asia region have previously addressed the matter.
For example, on Dec 24, Thai parliament passed a reform on the use of marijuana for health purposes, he noted.
"The agreement to amend the Thai Narcotics Law of 1979 was obtained during an extra parliamentary session, just before the new year`s holiday. After the meeting, the Chairperson of the Drafting Committee of the Thai Parliament stated that this was a New Year gift for the people of Thailand," he remarked in a statement received here on Wednesday.
Anggara further stated that the measure taken by the Thai government was a step forward, considering that the country is known for its strict narcotics policy.
"Meanwhile, the ownership of certain amounts of marijuana in Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia can lead to a death penalty," he added.
The same reform is currently being explored by Malaysia, as in September, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad opened the room for the government to carry out a discussion on medical cannabis, after the emergence of the case of a person charged with capital punishment for providing medical services using cannabis oil.
"The first focus of the Malaysian government at that time was to abolish capital punishment for the ownership, processing, and distribution of marijuana. Through the abolition of capital punishment, Malaysia opened a space to review its narcotics policies, including changing the view that marijuana is part of a drug that should be regulated and not completely banned," he revealed.
In addition to Thailand and Malaysia, the Philippines is also preparing arrangements to legalize the use of marijuana for health.
Looking at the experiences of several countries in the Southeast Asian region, Anggara believed that Indonesia has the momentum to make changes to the marijuana ban for health purposes in 2017.
This, he continued, referred to the case of Fidelis, a civil servant from Sanggau sub-district, West Kalimantan, who was sentenced to eight months in prison on Aug 2, 2017, for giving his wife a treatment with marijuana extract for a rare disease she suffered.
Based on a court ruling, Fidelis was declared to have violated the provisions of Article 116 of Law No. 35 of 2009.
"Reflecting this case, Indonesia clearly needs a regulation on marijuana for health purposes. This case emerged because the government has not been able to fulfill the community`s interest in accessing the use of narcotics for the health sector," he reiterated.
In a global context, regulations on marijuana for the purposes of personal health have been implemented all across the world, as there are at least 30 countries that have legalized the use of marijuana for health, including Argentina, Australia, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Lesotho, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, Mexico, The Netherlands, Norway, Peru, Poland, Romania, San Marino, Switzerland, Turkey, Uruguay, and Zimbabwe.
Reporting by Aubrey Kandelila Fanani
Editing by Aria Cindyara
Reporter: antara
Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2018
