Arrested By Police For Marijuana, These 2 Artists Ask Why Indonesia Doesn't Legalize Marijuana

Illustration of Arrested Drugs (Photo: Pixabay)

JAKARTA - Several Indonesian artists have been arrested for drug use. For example, Jefri Nichol, Rizky Nazar, Anji, Tio Pakusodewo once felt the cold of the cell when they were suspects.

Marijuana use among artists is quite common. The reason is to relax the body and maintain focus. When caught, these 2 artists actually questioned the reason why Indonesia did not legalize marijuana.

1. Jeff Smith

Jeff Smith was arrested by the West Jakarta Metro Police unit for being found in possession of narcotics class one marijuana on April 15, 2021 in the early hours of the morning. Kanit I of the West Jakarta Metro Police Narcotics Unit, AKP Arif Purnama Oktora, in his statement, Saturday, April 17, explained that his party had found four reading books about marijuana.

The books were obtained after the arrest of Jeff Smith at his residence, Jagakarsa, South Jakarta. "There was a reading book about marijuana that was found during the inspection at JS's house. It has been confiscated," said Arif.

Jeff Smith even admitted that he did collect books about marijuana. Jeff Smith stated that the books were for educational purposes only. Monday, April 19, at the West Jakarta Police Headquarters, with a police officer pointing a microphone at him, Jeff Smith said:

I want to apologize to my extended family and loved ones. And I also want to apologize to all Indonesians because I have been a bad example and I have done things that are not exemplary.

After delivering the police briefing, Jeff Smith expressed his personal opinion. He criticized the classification of cannabis plants as class I narcotics. Jeff Smith also urged the government to immediately conduct cannabis research.

"Furthermore, in my opinion, marijuana does not deserve to be categorized as a class one narcotic. As soon as possible, Indonesia must conduct research," said Jeff Smith.

2. Anji

The police also confiscated the book Hikayat Tree Cannabis related to the case of possession and consumption of marijuana by Erdian Aji Prihartanto alias Anji. Anji admits that the Hikayat Tree of Marijuana is a form of education. Anji wants to know why other countries legalize marijuana, while Indonesia does not.

"So indeed, according to brother AN, this is part of the relevant education related to marijuana itself because colleagues understand that 48 states in America have legalized this cannabis plant. But that's not the domain of the police," Ady.

The Cannabis Tree Hikayat book is actually an old book. This book is printed under the title Hikayat Cannabis Tree: 12000 Years of Fertilizing Human Civilization. First published in 2011, this book has been printed in revised editions in February 2019 and March 2020.

Hikayat Tree Ganja was written and compiled by Dhira Narayana with the Lingkar Ganja Nusantara (LGN) team, a non-profit organization that focuses on researching knowledge about the civilization and culture of cannabis in the archipelago. This 342-page book has long been an important part of the cannabis literacy collection.

The Cannabis Tree Saga contains basic information to introduce the five finger plant to the reader. About medical marijuana, the civilization of cannabis in the world, to the cannabis culture of the archipelago, which is about how Indonesian people in various regions use marijuana for generations for various aspects of life.

In addition, there are various other topics that appear in the book. For example, how cannabis has become a world savior plant or how cannabis is in the international political economic system. However, we chose the three most interesting chapters to describe.