About The 1961 UN Single Convention And Its Impact On Indonesian Cannabis Regulation

Photo illustration of the cannabis plant (Felix Dufour / Unsplash)

JAKARTA - The United Nations (UN) Commission has removed marijuana from its list of the most dangerous drugs in the world. That way, the results of the 1961 UN convention on the dangers of marijuana no longer apply. How have the provisions of the UN convention influenced the law against cannabis in the world, including Indonesia, for decades?

Launching CNN, Thursday, December 3, the United Nations Narcotics Commission approved the World Health Organization (WHO) recommendation to remove cannabis and cannabis resin from Agenda IV under the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotics. The designation of cannabis under Agenda IV places marijuana and its derivatives in the same category as heroin and other opioids.

Marijuana is not only seen as "highly addictive and highly responsible for crime." The convention also labels marijuana as a "highly dangerous plant of very limited medical or therapeutic value." A vote held on Wednesday, December 2, ruled that marijuana and its resin would no longer be classified as the most dangerous substance. The vote also recognized the medical benefits of marijuana.

The votes collected were 27-25 votes to reset the status of marijuana and cannabis resin. The United States (US), Great Britain, Germany and South Africa were among those voting in favor. Meanwhile, countries such as Brazil, China, Russia and Pakistan voted against.

This move is largely symbolic and may not have a direct impact on the way governments in many countries control narcotics. But it could give a boost to efforts to legalize medical marijuana in countries that call for UN guidance.

United Nations Convention and the Indonesian Narcotics Law

The 1961 UN Convention has had a major influence on how countries in the world regulate the regulation of the cannabis plant. In Indonesia, the 1961 UN Convention was adopted into Law (UU) Number 35 of 2009.

Through this convention, the United Nations stipulates a legal product that is obliged to be ratified by Indonesia and other UN member states. For Indonesia, the ratification automatically revokes the colonial law Verdoovende Middelen Ordonnantie, replaced by Law 9/1976.

Since then, convictions against drug users have been started. The rewards are no joke. From prison to tickets to the afterlife. After that, Indonesia again changed the national law on narcotics. The references are the same: the UN convention.

The first amendment was the ratification of the UN Convention on Psychotropics in 1971. The ratification was adopted into the enactment of Law 5/1997 on Psychotropics. Furthermore, armed with the results of the 1988 UN convention on the Eradication of Illicit Narcotics and Psychotropics, Indonesia made changes to Law 5/1997 to Law 22/1997 on Narcotics.

Finally, Indonesia changed Law 22/1997 into Law 35/2009 on Narcotics. This last change - notabene still adhering to the 1988 UN convention - is the legal basis for the eradication of narcotics to this day. In addition, the amendment also establishes the National Narcotics Agency (BNN) as a state institution that deals specifically with the eradication of narcotics abuse. Sentencing is also enforced based on this law.

Forget the UN Convention

This historic UN decision, according to the Narcotics Advocacy Coalition for Health, has a major influence on marijuana's position in international narcotics policy. So that it is no longer a barrier to the development of science and its use in the medical world. For this reason, they call on the Indonesian government to also start to open up to the potential use of domestic medical marijuana.

"The Narcotics Advocacy Coalition for Health calls on the Indonesian Government to also start to open up the potential use of medical marijuana in the country. As a concrete step, the Government needs to follow up by issuing regulations that allow marijuana to be used for medical purposes," said the statement from the Narcotics Advocacy Coalition for Health. VOI.

The coalition consisting of Rumah Cemara, ICJR, LBH Masyarakat, IJRS, Yakeba, EJA, and LGN has long been voicing the potential for medicinal use of marijuana. Most recently, they also accompanied three mothers of children with cerebral palsy who submitted a petition for a judicial review of the Narcotics Law to the Constitutional Court which prohibits the use of Narcotics Category I for health purposes.

This opportunity, according to activists, should be used as a momentum for the Indonesian government to overhaul its narcotics policy. "The results of the UN voting can be used as medical legitimacy which must be followed by member countries, including Indonesia, which always refers to the provisions of the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotics," he concluded.