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PETALING JAYA: Interior Minister Hamzah Zainudin says that controls on cannabis in the country are not affected by the reclassification of the drug by a United Nations (UN) agency.
Earlier this week, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime voted to remove cannabis and cannabis resin from the most strictly controlled category of narcotics.
The World Health Organization has made this recommendation to facilitate research on the medical use of cannabis.
“Cannabis and other cannabis-related items remain controlled by the Dangerous Drugs Act of 1952, where action can be taken against anyone who breaks the law,” Hamzah said in a statement.
The Dangerous Drugs Act carries severe penalties, including the death penalty.
He said the reclassification also did not mean that international controls on cannabis were relaxed, as they are still strictly governed by Schedule I of the 1961 Convention on Narcotic Drugs, a global text governing drug controls.
Hamzah said Malaysia, as a member of three UN drug conventions, including the 1961 Convention, is committed to the eradication of drug-related crime at the national and international levels.
