Efforts to legalise medical marijuana in Indonesia have gained ground in recent years, even though the government remains resistant to the idea. Photo: AFP Efforts to legalise medical marijuana in Indonesia have gained ground in recent years, even though the government remains resistant to the idea. Photo: AFP
Efforts to legalise medical marijuana in Indonesia have gained ground in recent years, even though the government remains resistant to the idea. Photo: AFP
Dikanaya Tarahita
Opinion

Opinion

Dikanaya Tarahita and Muhammad Zulfikar Rakhmat

Fears of drug abuse aside, Indonesia should give medical marijuana more thought

  • Despite Indonesia’s long history with cannabis, the government has refused to give ground on its use, even for medicinal purposes
  • Although steps have been taken to allow research, officials say marijuana potentially causes dependency, and the costs of legalisation would outweigh the benefits

Muhammad Zulfikar Rakhmat
Dikanaya Tarahita and Muhammad Zulfikar Rakhmat

Updated: 5:00pm, 8 Mar, 2020

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Efforts to legalise medical marijuana in Indonesia have gained ground in recent years, even though the government remains resistant to the idea. Photo: AFP Efforts to legalise medical marijuana in Indonesia have gained ground in recent years, even though the government remains resistant to the idea. Photo: AFP
Efforts to legalise medical marijuana in Indonesia have gained ground in recent years, even though the government remains resistant to the idea. Photo: AFP
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Muhammad Zulfikar Rakhmat

Muhammad Zulfikar Rakhmat

Muhammad Zulfikar Rakhmat is an academic at Universitas Islam Indonesia and is a researcher associate at Jakarta-based Institute for Development of Economics and Finance (INDEF). His research focuses on China's foreign policy in Indonesia and the Middle East. He completed his PhD on the Belt and Road Initiatives in the Gulf at the University of Manchester in 2018.