Syed Saddiq Discusses Potential Benefits of Cannabis & Ketum With PM, Gets Positive Response

By Lara Kramer  •  14 Apr 2022 in News

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Yesterday, Syed Saddiq took to Instagram and Twitter to announce that he had been in discussion with Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob in regards to the country’s recent plan to research alternative medication.

“We discussed industrial hemp, medical cannabis and ketum,” the tweet read.

The conversation took place when the young politician led the Malaysian Medical Cannabis Caucus. He stated that the Caucus trusts that taking on progressive research will greatly benefit the medical industry and boost the economy simultaneously.

Last year, members of Parliament from both sides of the political divide formed a bi-partisan parliamentary caucus over regulating the use of ketum and medical cannabis as among recognised forms of medicine in Malaysia.

The 9-member Medical Cannabis Caucus (MCC) is chaired by Syed Saddiq.

Azalina Othman Said, Kelvin Yii, and Khalid Samad were also present at the meeting at the Prime Minister’s office in Putrajaya.

Furthermore, the minister confirmed that action will be taken upon citizens who were initially prosecuted to cannabis-related crimes. This was a heavy concern among netizens when the medical research process was first made public.

“Issues in relation to Malaysians that have been caught up in legal actions pertaining to the usage of cannabis for medical purposes was also touched on,” he wrote.

Towards the end of the Instagram post, Syed Saddiq also joyfully trumpeted that the Prime Minister responded well to the matter, supporting the suggestion and was eager to raise issues of this kind during future cabinet meetings.

Netizens praised the minister’s initiative, saying that it was a mature, mindful and necessary move.

Later that same day, he also posted a photo alongside Yasin Sulaiman’s family, apologising for overlooking a letter Yasin sent to him last October.

Yasin was charged under Section 39B (1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 for using medical cannabis for therapeutical reasons. His lawyer, Yusmadi Yusoff, presented to the media that the singer suffered from bipolar disorder.

“No parents would ever want to see their child be convicted for seeking medical help. My own mother, as well, urged me to help Yasin. I have seen parents forced to purchase CBD from overseas for their ailing kids, and doctors going to great lengths to treat their patients with it. This is a matter of life and death,” he said.

The nation-building minister included a photo of Yasin’s message to him in the fourth slide of the post.

He added that although cigarettes and alcohol were responsible for numerous deaths, talk of cannabis in medical settings was shunned and unlawful, whereas these terms and laws are severely outdated and the World Health Organisation (WHO) no longer considers cannabis (AKA weed/marijuana/ganja) a narcotic.