Jakarta (Antara) – In the midst of several countries legalizing marijuana for medical use, Indonesia remains unfazed to follow suit as the country never used the substance as a form of medication, which was revealed by the Head of National Narcotics Agency (BNN) laboratory, Brig. Gen. Mufti Djusnir.

"It is because we have included marijuana as a Class I narcotics under Law No. 35/2009. We agree to not use substances classified as Class I for medical needs," said Mufti.

Mufti asserts that no laws in Indonesia exist that legalizes the substance for medical use prior to the Narcotics Law (UU) in 2009, as the current law only allows its use for research purposes by authorized institutions.

This substance is deemed to have extreme addiction. "The misuse far exceeds its positive use. Many have abused marijuana consumption rather than for medical uses," said Mufti.

"New information arose of European countries such as the Netherlands, the United States of America that initially legalized them but is now facing problems. It is difficult to control society's social issues. They seem to be reviewing the use of medical marijuana," said Mufti.

Source: https://en.tempo.co/read/1230987/bnn-talks-about-global-medical-marijuana-dilemma