Preventing Oversight on Medical Cannabis Legislation in Malaysia: Analysis of Risks, Benefits and Regulation Requirements

Abstract

The United Nations Office on Drug and Crime (UNODC) ranked cannabis as the most widely used substance worldwide in 2021. It has been predicted that the use will dramatically increase in the next five years due to an increasing number of countries starting to legalise it for medical purposes. In 1983, Malaysia declared the substance use problem as a national emergency. Since then, the government has taken many steps to establish a ‘country without illicit drugs’. To analyse risks, benefits and regulations of medical cannabis, a narrative review synthesising the findings of literature retrieved from computerised database search was conducted. Increasing evidence shows that legalising cannabis leads to an increased number of people starting to abuse this substance and become dependent on it, including the country that became the first to legalise cannabis. Although there are claims and studies reported that medical cannabis is needed to treat certain diseases, the decision to legalise cannabis in Malaysia needs to carefully weigh the risks and benefits. After all, there are other FDA-approved medicines clinically proven to be safe and effective alternatives that are currently available to treat such diseases. The control of cannabis licensing and selling needs to be taken into serious consideration before deciding on the regulatory status of cannabis. Therefore, the best way to prevent the spike of cannabis abuse in Malaysia is by prohibiting possession, planting, harvesting and processing cannabis, even for personal use. The lack of high-quality clinical trials regarding the benefits and harms of cannabis for medical purposes should also be a major consideration before the decision to legalise cannabis is made.