02/07/2007 00:00:00
Indonesia: Cannabis debate angers some Indonesians
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Will Indonesia legalise cannabis?
A study by Indonesia's National Narcotics Agency has sparked a squabble
in the world's largest Muslim nation, after it suggested the drug might
be useful in the alternative fuel or agriculture industries, and the
government should consider legalising its use.
Indonesia's vice president Jusuf Kalla has also suggested it is
acceptable to use cannabis for cooking.
"To add up in a curry or soup recipes, that's common," Kalla said last week.
"Not to get high, but merely for food seasonings.
"It's alright to use it as a food seasoning, but it should not be fully
legalised."
But the issue has drawn a strong response from the militant Islamic
group Islamic Defenders Front (FPI).
On Friday, dozens of FPI members threatened to burn down the National
Narcotics Agency if it took the idea any further.
"If it is legalised, we will wage war with the National Narcotics Agency
and we will burn this building," Eka Jaya told FPI supporters, who had
gathered chanting "Allahu Akbar" (God is great) outside the Jakarta office.
It also volunteered to help authorities catch drug offenders.
"If the agency is incapable of obliterating the drugs syndicates, allow
FPI (to help), by giving us access to weapons and permission to
investigate and catch (them)," Jaya said.
A legal expert from the National Narcotics Agency has played down the
suggestion cannabis could be legalised.
"(The legalisation) will not happen," Brigadier General Jeanne Mandagi said.
"(The ban) will stay for a long time."
Mandagi said most Indonesians were against drugs, and wanted cannabis to
remain a banned substance.
"No one wants to legalise it, and the debate was generated because of
misunderstanding," she said.
Indonesia was not ready, Mandagi said, adding European countries that
had allowed public use of cannabis had revoked the policy because of its
negative impact.
Aceh, the only province in Indonesia that enforces strict Islamic Sharia
law, is the country's biggest source of the drug.
Acehnese traditionally use cannabis leaves and seeds in cooking,
although the drug is often distributed illegally to Indonesia's other
provinces.
Prior to Indonesia's tough drug laws, many Acehnese used to grow the
plant in their front yards - a crime that could now hand them a 10-year
prison term.
Despite the risks since the laws were passed, cannabis is still sold
illegally in Aceh by the kilogram.
The National Narcotics Agency said more than 3.2 million people in
Indonesia were drug users, and 70 per cent of those were also addicts.
In 2005, Australian Schapelle Corby was sentenced to 20 years
imprisonment in Bali for importing 4.2kg of cannabis in her boogie board
bag.
http://www.theage.com.au/news/World/Cannabis-debate-angers-some-Indonesians/2007/07/02/1183351108436.html
Source:
http://www.ukcia.org/news/shownewsarticle.php?articleid=12660
Author:
The Age via UKCIA
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