Worried About A Lot Of 'Illicit Passengers', UGM Professors Ask For Marijuana Not To Be Legalized Even For Medical Purposes

JAKARTA - Professor of the Faculty of Pharmacy, Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) Prof. Dr. Zullies Ikawati, Apt. proposes that marijuana not be legalized even for medical purposes. Because the processed plant products are still classified as narcotics group I.

"For me, I hope many agree with me, that I say no to the legalization of marijuana even though it has a medical purpose," said Zullies in the webinar 'The Long Road to Legalization of Medical Marijuana' quoted by Antara, Wednesday, July 6.

"Cannabis plants, all plants of the Cannabis genus, all parts of the plant and their processed products are included in class I narcotics," he added.

Based on Law (UU) No. 35 of 2009 concerning Narcotics, class I narcotics are narcotics that can only be used for scientific development purposes and are not used in therapy, and have a very high potential to cause dependence.

Zullies also highlighted that there would be great potential for cannabis abuse if the plant was legalized.

He was referring to other narcotics such as morphine which can currently be prescribed as a drug. However, the plant that produces it, namely opium, is still included in the class I narcotics which cannot be used as medical therapy.

"We can refer to other narcotics such as morphine. Morphine is a drug, it can be prescribed for severe cancer pain. But the opium, the plant that produces it, is still classified as group I because the potential for abuse is large," he said.

"Cannabis is also like that. If marijuana is classified as class II for example and is allowed, there will be many stowaway passengers. Because what percentage do people really need medical marijuana? It will be difficult to regulate it," he continued.

So, according to Zullies, what can be legalized are cannabis-derived compounds such as cannabidiol, not the plant. The reason is, these compounds are not psychoactive and can be used as drugs based on clinical trials that have been carried out.

"So, (cannabidiol) can fall into group II or even III because it does not have the potential to be abused, given its non-psychoactive nature," said Zullies.

However, according to Zullies, the legalization process for cannabis-derived compounds must follow the rules of drug development using related clinical trial data.

"We also can't use regulation like herbal medicine. Even though it's like herbal medicine, both are from plants, but you can't do that, because (the plants) contain intoxicating compounds," added Zullies.

In addition, he continued, coordination from all relevant parties, namely the DPR, the Ministry of Health, the National Narcotics Agency (BNN), to the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) was needed to make regulations on the development and use of drugs derived from marijuana.

"We really have to be open that the possibility of marijuana is a source of a drug. But, of course, all the risks and benefits must be considered," he concluded.