Growing Marijuana For Wife's Medicine: Fidelis' Efforts To Save Lives Ended In Prison In 2017

JAKARTA - The popularity of marijuana as a medicinal plant is not new. In the archipelago especially. The country of the Veranda of Mecca, Aceh has even known the use of marijuana for generations since time immemorial. Five finger plants are used for various purposes. From cooking spices, natural pesticides, to herbal medicines. Now everything has changed. Marijuana is considered as the culprit of crime. The user is considered a criminal. Fidelis Arie Sudewarto also felt it. In fact, he used marijuana to treat his wife.

Since time immemorial the cannabis plant has been present in the archipelago. The plant is easy to find. Cannabis is almost all over the country. from Sumatra to Bogor (Buitenzorg). The popularity of plants from the Cannabaceae family is undeniable.

The presence of terms such as marijuana, gandja, marijuana, or gendji is inherent among the bumiputras. At that time, marijuana was known as a plant that was rich in benefits. The benefits were then 'told' from generation to generation. As proof, many of the Bumiputa people manage it into cooking spices, natural pesticides, and herbal medicines.

The greatness of marijuana as a drug or what is now called medical marijuana is increasingly being lifted by the documentation that records the five finger plant is rich in benefits. The documentation includes the Book of Tajul Muluk or the Book of Mujarobat and the masterpiece of the German botanist, GE Rumphius, Herbarium Amboinense (1741).

The Acehnese culturalist, Tungang Iskandar, is right about that. He said the use of marijuana has been common for the people of Aceh since the past. Cannabis is considered capable of treating diabetes or diabetes.

In the context of cooking spices, moreover. Cannabis is useful so that the meat becomes tender and tastes good. This is proof that Aceh, which is predominantly Muslim, is actually able to accept cannabis as a plant rich in benefits.

"I think that (the use of marijuana) is no longer a secret. That, in practice, the Acehnese have been using it for a long time. In cooking, for example. Cannabis seeds are often used in gravy, not to mention in gravy which is cooked for special rituals where every big cook, a man is the cook.”

“Marijuana is illegal because of its misuse. It means that if you use it correctly, it can be a different story. Islam is all for good. So, let's examine and act on all issues that are still gray, namely by supporting things that have many benefits and rejecting things that are indeed very bad," said Tungang Iskandar when contacted by VOI.

The designation of marijuana as a dangerous narcotic since 1961 erased everything. Marijuana is considered by the world to be comparable to heroin, cocaine, morphine, and opium. Indonesia also followed in that footsteps. Therefore, marijuana is considered a estuary of crime. Its users are considered criminals. The image of marijuana is so bad.

Gradually the benefits of marijuana, especially in Indonesia, are no longer heard. Because, whoever brings, uses, distributes marijuana will be subject to punishment. From rehabilitation to prison.

Time flies. The use of marijuana unexpectedly emerged from Sanggau, West Kalimantan in 2017. The echo of the use of marijuana emerged from a civil servant named Fidelis Arie Sudewarto. Initially, Fidelis and his wife, Yeni Riawati, lived as a harmonious and complementary couple. Many dreams that both want to achieve. Not even a single significant problem befell their family.

However, problems arose in 2016 when Yeni fell ill. The fever is only half the body. Some parts of the body are paralyzed. Fededis was worried. He also tried the best treatment for his wife.

Going back and forth to the hospital became his routine. The doctor also thought that his wife was only considered to be suffering from a congenital disease of pregnancy.

“The symptoms are like fever but the condition is strange. The fever is only in the right half of the body. The left is normal. Sometimes sweating to the point of getting wet. However, when I went down to the hospital to be checked, at that time the doctor just said maybe it was pregnant. So I was only given vitamins and told to rest.”

“It hurts again like that, and it gets worse. He couldn't even move his left hand. The bottom half can't be moved. Until that time the doctor had not been able to decide what the real disease was. We've been to Pontianak, in Sanggau we can't. We were even referred to Singkawang, until we did two MRIs. The main thing is to go back and forth to the hospital," said Fidelis in the Mahatma Putra fictitious documentary entitled Atas Nama Daun (2022).

The results of going back and forth to the hospital revealed that Yeni had the rare disease Syringomyeila. A form of central nervous system disorder caused by cysts that grow on the spine. However, hospital treatment did not progress in Fidelis' eyes. He decided to go home to take care of his wife at home.

He looked for other alternative treatment for his wife. He also did a little research. He reads a lot of books. Fidelis is even a regular visitor to the online library of Harvard University. Fidelis has an epiphany about the only right medicine for his wife. Marijuana, his name. Cannabinoids from marijuana are believed to be a panacea.

Fidelis then learned about online cannabis cultivation from Syringomyeila survivors around the world. He managed the marijuana independently to give to his wife. The pinnacle of being loved by scholars arrived. Yeni conditions continue to improve.

Cannabis can change the situation. Yeni can sleep soundly, increase her appetite, and urinate or defecate smoothly. Miraculously, Yeni, who previously had difficulty communicating, was able to be active again as usual. At one time Yeni also sang.

As his wife's condition began to recover, Fidelis needed to grow more marijuana. The capacity of Fidelis' house is no longer suitable for marijuana trees to become the estuary. After all, he needed more cannabis plants to get the Cannabinoid extract. Alias he needs to grow marijuana in an open garden. He also applied for a dispensation to the Sanggau District National Narcotics Agency to grow marijuana.

Instead of receiving a dispensation, Fidelis was detained by BNN on February 19, 2017. BNN confiscated 39 of his marijuana trees. Simultaneously with the arrest of Fidelis, treatment efforts against his wife automatically stopped. A few weeks later, Yeni passed away on March 25, 2017.

“Unfortunately, Fidelis' actions were reported to the authorities, the local National Narcotics Agency (BNN), and the man was forced to languish in a detention cell since 19 February 2017. After Fidelis was detained so he could no longer provide his wife with marijuana, Yeni died on 25 March , leaving behind two children.”

“The law revolves around legality. People caught violating the law must bear the consequences, as has been written. There is no room for compromise. Head of the National Narcotics Agency Budi Waseso, for example, assessed that Fidelis' action of growing marijuana was intolerable and there was no forgiveness even though the plant was used for treatment. That is, the law closes itself to considerations outside the legal aspect, such as human values and compassion," concluded Arie Saptaji in his book Warung Jorok, Rich People, and Pancasila (2022).