Criminalization Of Medical Cannabis Users Brings Outdated Narcotics Laws Back To The Discussion Table

Photo illustration (Margo Amala / Unsplash)

JAKARTA - Convictions due to the use of medical marijuana have the potential to occur again. There used to be the Fidelis Arie case. Now it is Reyndhart Rossy N Siahaan's turn to consume marijuana for his own illness.

Reyndhart, a man from Jakarta who was traveling to East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) for business was arrested by the NTT Police for using marijuana at his boarding house on November 17, 2019, as reported by Kompas. Reyndhart's attorney, Herie CN, said his client was forced to consume marijuana to treat spinal cord disease he had suffered since 2015.

"Our client has suffered from spinal cord pain since 2015 and recurred in 2018," said Herie. He said his client was trying to find a way to treat his illness. After finding information about alternative medicine by drinking cannabis boiled water, Reyndhart ventured to try it.

He admitted to Herie that the ingredients could reduce the pain he was suffering. However, the legal process is still ongoing. Reyndhart was charged under Article 127 paragraph 1 letter a of the Narcotics Law Number 35 of 2009 with the threat of one year in prison.

The Narcotics Law Problem

The Coalition for the Advocacy Society for the Use of Narcotics for Health encourages a humane justice in this case. They urged the Panel of Judges to release Reyndhart of all charges. Because, marijuana is owned and used for medical purposes.

"The coalition encourages the Panel of Judges to prioritize justice and legal benefits. So it is appropriate and very fair if the Panel of Judges is willing to release Reyndhart Siahaan of all charges," said Coalition spokesman Ma'ruf Bajammal in a press release received by VOI.

The impetus that is hard to imagine when the problematic Law 35/2009 has not changed. However, as hope, what the Coalition conveyed actually made a lot of sense. This means that the legal process must run according to justice. We know that Law 35/2009 has many problems. The perspective of users as victims of narcotics abuse often escapes the judicial process.

We once discussed the issue of this law through the article "The Origin of the Narcotics Law in Indonesia and the Myriad Problems Behind It". This law contains many problems. Apart from being obsolete, the unfulfilled perspective of users as victims of abuse often has implications for imprisonment of users. So many people log in as users and leave as dealers.

"Because users are not criminals and they must be supported not locked up," said Bajammal.

The coalition consisting of LBH Masyarakat, Lingkar Ganja Nusantara (LGN), ICJR, Rumah Cemara, IJRS, EJA, Yakeba also urged the government to review Indonesia's narcotics policy. The Reyndhart case should be an eye opening momentum.

Research into the benefits of marijuana must be done. This is important as a basis for amending Law 35/2009 which was born from the ratification of the 1961 United Nations (UN) convention. For the Coalition, this law is not only obsolete, but also violates the right to fulfill public health.

Revised Law

Article 8 paragraph (1) of Law 35/2009 does prohibit the use of narcotics Category I for health services. However, the Coalition reminded that the original purpose of the Narcotics Law was to ensure the availability of narcotics for health services.

As written in Article 4 letter a of the Narcotics Law. The coalition considers that the Narcotics Law should not prohibit the use of narcotics for health services.

Furthermore, the Coalition emphasized that the criminalization that occurred in people such as Reynhardt and Fidelis was contrary to the main purpose of narcotics, which is for the health of the Indonesian people. As stated in Article 28H paragraph 1 of the 1945 Constitution, it is stated that the right to health services is a human right guaranteed in the constitution.

"Therefore, it is clear that the prohibition of narcotics for class I narcotics for medical purposes is against the norms of the right to health. Learning from the cases of Fidelis and Reynhardt, it is time for Indonesia to open up and provide opportunities to use class I narcotics for health services," he said.

In 2017, a similar case happened to Fidelis Arie. He is one of the people who managed to prove that marijuana contains health benefits. He is taking care of his wife, Yeni Riawati who is suffering from a spinal cord disease (syringomyelia).

Thanks to the treatment, his wife gradually began to recover. However, efforts to care for Yeni had to be interrupted because the husband who took care of her, Fidelis, was arrested by the National Narcotics Agency after she was caught growing marijuana in her house. A few weeks after Fidelis' arrest, March 25 2017, Yeni died.