High time for change on cannabis laws - Syed Saddiq
PETALING JAYA - Muda president Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman has urged for the law on the use of cannabis in the country to be renewed.
The existing law in Malaysia, he said was outdated compared to other developed countries as it has remained unchanged for more than 70 years.
He said in some countries, cannabis were used for medicinal purposes.
"In terms of law enforcement, I am responsible for ensuring that the laws in this country follows the development of time.
"Unfortunately in Malaysia, the laws related to cannabis are still outdated, old and have not been renewed for over 70 years." he said.
He said this after the court proceeding of nasyid singer and composer Muhammad Yasin Sulaiman who was charged with cultivating and trafficking cannabis at the Courts Complex, here, today.
Syed Saddiq who was also the chairman of the Medical Cannabis Caucus (MCC) said that if Yasin was in the other 40 developed countries in the world, the latter would not be in jail and instead would be celebrated for his act of curing a disease.
"We always refer to the World Health Organisation (WHO) in the vaccination process and many other things, but in this issue when WHO recommended and suggested (medicinal) cannabis, Malaysia is still behind on this.
"That is why I am here giving moral support and as a legislator, I am always keen to bring these reform proposals to Parliament.
"We have managed to set up a bi-partisan parliamentary caucus which are represented by all parties." he said.
Syed Saddiq said the use of Cannabidiol (CBD) could help in treating various medical conditions such as bipolar disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism, among others.
He also expressed his opposition to the death penalty in cases of use of marijuana as an alternative medical treatment.
"We owe a duty to help them as a compassionate society and not let them stand alone. "Not only Yasin, but thousands of people out there in Malaysia use CBD for medical purposes. We should defend them," he said adding that the government should approve the use of medicinal marijuana.
In solidarity with Yasin, Syed Saddiq and members of the public gathered at the court's vicinity, here, to show their support to the accused.
Earlier, when Yasin's case came up for mention, the court fixed June 22 for the submission of the chemist report.
On March 31, the Mimpi Laila singer was charged in two separate courts, here, with cultivating 17 cannabis plants and trafficking 214 grammes of cannabis.
The 47-year old pleaded not guilty at the Sessions Court to cultivating the drugs while no plea was recorded at the magistrate's court for the charge of trafficking the drugs as the case was under the jurisdiction of the High Court.
He allegedly committed the offences at a condominium unit in Kota Damansara at about 5.30pm on March 24.
The charge framed under Section 6B(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, for cultivation of cannabis carries an imprisonment for life and whipping of not less than six strokes, if convicted.
Meanwhile, under Section 39B(1)(a) of the Act (for drug trafficking), he faces a death sentence, or an imprisonment for life and if he is not sentenced to death, he shall be punished with whipping of not less than 15 strokes, if convicted.
