IS IT POSSIBLE TO CONDUCT RESEARCH ON CANNABIS PLANTS IN INDONESIA?

The recent discourse on the use of cannabis for medical or medical purposes has led to debate as a statement from Mr Rafli Kande, a member of the House of Representatives' Commission IV, proposes the Indonesian government to export medical cannabis. The proposal was put forward in a working meeting between the Indonesian Parliament and the Minister of Trade. In his proposal, he explained the export of cannabis in question was the use of cannabis for medical needs, not legalization for free use let alone misused. This statement from Mr. Rafli Kande certainly raises questions for people who have only known that cannabis is a type of narcotics and is very dangerous. The question is, can cannabis be used for medical or treatment needs? In Indonesia there is no official research process carried out by the government about the efficacy of cannabis plants for medical or treatment purposes. Some studies conducted outside Indonesia indeed show that cannabis can have benefits for certain diseases, but it also has no less dangerous side effects.

According to Dr. Danang Ardiyanto from the Research Center and Development of Medicinal Plants and Traditional Medicines, the reason why not many researchers have conducted the study because there are alternative herbal plants that are less risky than cannabis. In addition, the main problem that has not developed cannabis research in Indonesia is its potential for abuse. Regulations regarding cannabis can be found in Act No. 35 of 2009 concerning Narcotics. In the Narcotics Act, cannabis plants, all plants of the cannabis genus and all parts of cannabis plants including seeds, fruit, straw, processed products of cannabis plants or parts of cannabis plants including cannabis resin and hashes are classified in the list of narcotics group I. Related to research / research on this cannabis plant, Article 8 paragraph (2) of the Narcotics Law stipulates that a limited amount of narcotics of class I can be used for research in the context of developing science and technology. The question then is, If this research on the medical benefits of cannabis is to be carried out, who has the authority to give permission to use cannabis for research purposes? where can researchers get the plant to study? and What is the mechanism of supervision of the cannabis research process in order to avoid abuse?

Article 13 paragraph (1) of the Narcotics Act states that "Science institutions in the form of educational and training institutions as well as research and development conducted by the government or private sector may obtain, plant, store and use Narcotics for the benefit of science and technology after get the Minister's permission ". Then further in Article 13 paragraph (2) of the Narcotics Act states that "Further provisions regarding the requirements and procedures for obtaining permission and use of Narcotics as referred to in paragraph (1) are regulated by Ministerial Regulation."

Based on Article 13 paragraph (1) of the Narcotics Act, a Minister's permission is needed to obtain, plant, store and use Narcotics for research purposes. Related to research on the use of cannabis for medical and treatment purposes, the authority to grant research permits is issued by the Minister of Health. However, there is no Ministerial regulation that regulates the requirements and procedures for obtaining a permit to use narcotics for research purposes as stipulated in Article 13 Paragraph (2) of the Narcotics Act. In addition, there are no laws and regulations that explicitly regulate who is authorized to provide this cannabis plant to researchers for research. So, the government must establish a legal regulation that fully and expressly regulates the permit, who has the authority to provide the cannabis plant for research, and also how the mechanism of supervision of this research process so that abuse of the cannabis plant does not occur. After research on cannabis plants is done then it can be proven, whether this cannabis plant is beneficial for medical needs or not.