A senior local UMNO Youth leader has joined the national debate started in the Youth Parliament on whether Putrajaya should decriminalise the use and sale of one of the war on drugs’ most popular boogeymen: marijuana.
Syed Rosli Jamalullail, assistant secretary of the Taman Cempaka, Pandan Division chapter of UMNO Youth, said today that the Federal Government should consider allowing Malaysians the freedom to consume marijuana by amending existing legislature banning its cultivation, use, and sale.
Syed Rosli contends that marijuana does not cause an individual to be come aggressive after consuming it, nor does weed result in impaired judgment – a stark difference from the effects of alcohol, which is allowed under the law.
“I’ve been raising this issue since last year,” Syed Rosli told Astro Awani‘s Wan Syamsul Amly today.
“Cigarettes and vapes pose great health risks to the public, but marijuana on the other hand is proven to calm the nerves and can even lead to a reduction in the crime rate.”
He also noted that in the Netherlands, several prisons had to be closed down due to the lack of convicts, after weed use was legalised.
“Why don’t we just legalise ganja in Malaysia? A lot of studies say it could ease the stress that’s brought upon by the high cost of living,” Syed Rosli added.
Syed Rosli’s comments come just a day after it was reported that member of the Youth Parliament, Muhamad Ridhwan Muhamad Rosli, called for Putrajaya to consider reclassifying marijuana under the law, as many youths don’t even consider it a narcotic.
Ridhwan also claimed that the addiction rate for marijuana users was far lower than that of more dangerous drugs, such as morphine, heroin, and methamphetamines.
