KUALA LUMPUR – The Pakatan Harapan (PH) administration was to have announced the legalisation of medical marijuana and the decriminalisation of drug possession in 2020, but this was derailed by the Sheraton Move just days before the planned event.
Muar MP Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman, who revealed this, said he as the youth and sports minister at the time was to have held a press conference led by then prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, together with the Home Ministry and the Health Ministry.
The press conference was scheduled for Wednesday, February 26, 2020, but was axed when Dr Mahathir resigned as prime minister two days before on Monday, February 24.
“What people don’t know (is that the) Sheraton (Move) happened on a Sunday, right? Monday was when Tun (Dr Mahathir) stepped down as prime minister, and then the crisis happened.
“On that very same week, on a Wednesday, it (the press conference) was already arranged, and this was after months of planning that we would do a joint press conference.
Not just the decriminalisation of drug addiction – the plan and execution – but we were about to announce an ambitious plan for Malaysia to embark on the legalisation of medical cannabis and industrial hemp,” the Muar MP told The Vibes in a recent podcast session.
“The plan (would have been) on how the government and private sector will work together with a proper regulatory plan and execution.
“So, when Tun stepped down, I was like, no! If only it happened slightly after,” he said.
PH, which won federal power in 2018, had announced in June 2019 its plans to embark on policy changes to legalise cannabis for medical purposes and to stop criminal prosecution of drug possession and users. Trafficking, however, would have remained a criminal offence.
Syed Saddiq, who was formerly Armada chief and is now Muda president, also explained that 90% of the PH cabinet at the time had agreed to legalise medical marijuana and decriminalise drug possession.
Despite the change of government that followed the Sheraton Move, Syed Saddiq said he still pursued the agenda and had met with the relevant ministries as the issue remains one of public health importance.
“Medical cannabis is a very immediate and urgent issue because there are many Malaysians today who are consuming it illegally, despite being prescribed by trained medical practitioners.
There are children with ADHD, children with many different issues. There are also those from the older generation, I won’t mention names, but there are super highly influential people in our society who are taking it.
“There is a consensus across the community. Tun Zaki Azmi, the former chief justice said: ‘Hey, if you can take morphine as prescription drugs, then why can’t we take medical cannabis?’ So when I see Thailand, it is so frustrating because we should have done it first,” he said.
Syed Saddiq was referring to Thailand’s move to decriminalise the use of cannabis on June 9, becoming the first country in Asia to allow the cultivation and sale of hemp products.
He went on to explain that medical cannabis would greatly benefit public health and provide a great economic boost to the country. – The Vibes, August 12, 2022
Tune into the full episode of the podcast titled The Good, the Bad and the Ugly – Ep 12 tomorrow at 10am
