Malaysia’s Cabinet, headed by the Prime Minister, has agreed to allow the cultivation of cannabis and kratom for medical purposes.
Deputy Communications and Multimedia Minister Zahidi Zainul Abidin said the Cabinet had no objections and instructed his ministry to discuss with Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin how best to go about approving the cultivation process.
“This is a very good development, especially for those working in the medical field. But I would like to reiterate that any endorsement is for medicinal purposes and not for recreational use,” Zahidi said as quoted by Utusan Malaysia.
Zahidi noted that there was strong overseas demand for hemp and kratom due to their medicinal qualities and said he was confident Cabinet would soon approve their medicinal use in Malaysia as the local culture was for the moment limited for export.
Earlier this month, Malaysia’s Parliamentary Medical Cannabis Caucus said policy issues on the development of the hemp, cannabis and kratom industry would be raised in Cabinet after a meeting was held.
The meeting, attended by Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob, acknowledged that the industry was widely developed in many countries, including neighboring Thailand.
Earlier, Khairy said his ministry was ready to collaborate with industry players or academia to conduct research on the medical use of cannabis. Theoretically, the medical use of cannabis is not prohibited in Malaysia, but due to a lack of local production, access to it is complicated.
The president of the Malaysian Medical Association, Dr Koh Kar Chai, said all available evidence on medical cannabis must now be reviewed by local experts and its feasibility must be studied and assessed before a decision is made. plug.
“It’s not something that can be decided overnight,” he told The Sun.
Dr Koh said that apart from scientific evidence, the government must consider licensing and regulations, as well as legislation for the responsible sale and consumption of medical cannabis, if approved by authorities.
