Jakarta, IO – The Constitutional Court (MK) struck down a petition to conduct a judicial review on the legalization of medical marijuana. It ruled that the benefits so far outweigh the harm that may be incurred. Under the current Narcotics Law, marijuana is banned and categorized as Class I narcotics.
Nevertheless, through Decision 106/PUU-XVIII/2020, it obliged the government to immediately conduct research on the health benefits of medical marijuana.
“The Court is of the opinion that an immediate study and research should be conducted on the type of narcotics in Class I to determine whether or not it can be used for health and medical therapy,” said Chief Justice Anwar Usman, according to report by CNN Indonesia, Thursday (21/7).
Read: MK rejects judicial review petition for medical marijuana legalization
In fact, MK recommended that the government set out the policy through a revision of the law. In addition, it assessed that the balance between the advantages and disadvantages would not be achieved if the government does not have a proper infrastructure in place.
“Even though it is a legal fact that many people suffer from certain diseases with phenomena that may be cured by treatment using certain types of narcotics, this is not directly proportional to the magnitude of the consequences if the government is not prepared,” stated Usman. (un)