Indonesian court rejects call to legalise medicinal use of cannabis

Indonesia’s constitutional court ruled that existing laws on narcotics are constitutional, rejecting requests to use marijuana for medical purposes.

The country’s top court did crack the door for potential future use of cannabis for health conditions by ordering the government to review the way it categorizes narcotics. 

A change in the existing classification would be needed to allow medical marijuana to become available in Indonesia, presiding judge Anwar Usman said in the ruling on Wednesday. 

Indonesia currently places marijuana among the most-addictive substances, making its use outside of research activities illegal.

Amending its category could be a first step in legalizing medical marijuana in a country that imposes the death penalty for drug trafficking.