Muda president Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman has reiterated opposition to the death penalty in cases of medical marijuana use.
He said seeking alternative medical treatments was not an offence that deserved extreme punishment in the form of hanging.
"The death penalty is too heavy a sentence for patients just because their medical problems require alternative treatment such as cannabis and hemp.
"The act of patients seeking alternative treatment should not be equated to crimes like murder," he said in a statement.
Syed Saddiq said this while expressing solidarity with singer Yasin Sulaiman, who was in court today.
Yasin had been charged under the Dangerous Drugs Act for trafficking and cultivating marijuana. He faces the death sentence if convicted.
The singer claimed that he had used marijuana to treat his severe bipolar disease.
Alternative treatment
Syed Saddiq said the government must acknowledge that there are marijuana users who consume it for medical purposes, and are not dealers looking to make money.
He said Malaysia should also follow in the footsteps of 40 other countries that recognise marijuana as an alternative treatment.
He added that judges, as well as the Attorney-General's Chambers, must be given discretion when deciding on medical marijuana cases so as to avoid the mandatory death penalty.
Syed Saddiq heads Parliament's bi-partisan Medical Cannabis Caucus.
Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob was said to have responded positively to the caucus' suggestions and was in the process of reviewing the former Pakatan Harapan government’s decision on alternative treatments using ketum and medical marijuana.
Besides a source of treatment, the caucus also argued that marijuana could be a cash crop for Malaysia.
While there is no medical marijuana legally available at the moment, Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin has said that manufacturers are welcome to submit their products to the Drug Control Authority for review and potential approval for sale. - Mkini
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