As announced a few weeks ago, Malaysia is seriously considering decriminalizing cannabis. A progressive initiative that contrasts with the drastic penalties still applied in the context of a law dating back to 1952.
Death sentence confirmed for “Doctor Ganja
On August 30, the news broke that Muhammad Lukman Bin Mohamad, nicknamed “Doctor Ganja”, had been sentenced to death for giving free cannabis oil to sick people in need.
Granted leave to appeal, “Docteur Ganja” won’t find a better jury: the second trial, held on November 27 in Putrajaya, confirmed the sentence handed down by the lower court: “possession, processing and distribution of cannabis”.
This offence carries the death penalty, unlike possession and consumption offences, which are punishable by “only” ten years’ imprisonment with ten lashes, and seven years’ imprisonment with ten lashes.
However, Dr. Ganja still has one last joker: the Court of Appeal has granted him leave to make a final appeal, this time to the Federal Court.
Legislative malaise.
A judgment whose severity was not well received by Malaysians, since public opinion overwhelmingly in favor of a softening on the issue had prompted the Minister of Law to prepare a bill to abolish the death penalty for cannabis-related crimes.
An initiative launched in October 2018 that was intended to get all convicted cannabinoid criminals off death row. The government in Kuala Lumpur decided to abandon this idea last March, shocking (again) not only Malaysians, but also the human rights associations that were counting on Malaysia to set an example.
A case that illustrates the Malaysian authorities’ two-sided stance on the issue, as the personal use of cannabis is being decriminalized in order to “distinguish between drug addicts in need of treatment and drug traffickers”. The question now is, which category does Muhammad Lukman Bin Mohamad fall into? Drug addicts in need of treatment, drug dealers or doctors guided by altruism?
If the answer is obvious, it’s far less so for Malaysian judges, still trapped in their rigidity.
Vincent
