Up in smoke: Ministry to revoke marijuana’s designation as ‘medicinal plant’
The 2009 Narcotics Law includes the plant as a type-1 narcotic, alongside opium and cocaine
Saturday, August 29, 2020
The Agriculture Ministry will revise a 2020 ministerial decree that lists marijuana as a “medicinal plant”. Signed on Feb. 3, the decree includes marijuana (Cannabis sativa) as one of 66 medicinal plants whose production is under the supervision of the ministry’s horticulture directorate general. The decree went viral after the Nusantara Marijuana Network (LGN) posted a photo of the document on its Instagram account, @lgn_id. The ministry responded that it would revise the decree because of Agriculture Minister Syahrul Yasin Limpo’s commitment to “eradicate drug abuse”. Marijuana had been listed as a medicinal plant since 2006 because the ministry wanted to help marijuana farmers shift to growing other crops.