Malaysian Court Sentences Man to Death for Distributing Free Cannabis Oil

A man in Malaysia was sentenced to death after giving medical marijuana to patients in need.

By Nick Lindsey

Martin Mehes/ Shutterstock

 

Malaysia remains a potentially dangerous place to engage in anything related to medical marijuana. And that includes distributing it free of charge to patients who could benefit from it. Just last week, a man was sentenced to death for giving medical grade cannabis oils to patients in need.

Death Sentence For Distributing Medical Marijuana

On August 30, a judge in Malaysia sentenced Muhammad Lukman Bin Mohamad to death. The sentence came after the judge found Lukman guilty of breaking the country’s notoriously strict anti-cannabis laws.

According to local news sources in Malaysia, Lukman was arrested when authorities discovered just over three liters of cannabis oil. Additionally, he was found in possession of 279 grams of compressed cannabis.

All of this occurred in December 2015. Now, nearly three years after being arrested, Lukman received his sentence. Specifically, he was found guilty of breaking Malaysia’s Dangerous Drugs Act of 1952.

This law states: “No person shall, on his own behalf or on behalf of any other person . . . traffic in a dangerous drug.” Further, the law stipulates: “Any person . . . guilty of an offence against this Act shall be punished on conviction with death.”

Given that cannabis remains an illegal substance in Malaysia, the judge ruled that this law applied to Lukman’s case. Lukman is now being held in Kajang Prison. At this time, sources indicate that he plans to appeal the decision in the country’s Court of Appeal.

Guilty for Giving Medical Marijuana to Patients

Throughout Lukman’s case, his defense argued that his acts did not constitute drug trafficking. In particular, they focused on the fact that he was not distributing recreational drugs. Instead, defense lawyers argued, Lukman was distributing medicine to patients who might not otherwise be able to get it.

Further, the defense pointed out that Lukman was not making a profit. Lukman was in fact working in cooperation with an organization that educates the public on issues related to medical marijuana.

Lukman was not profiting from his distribution, either, since patients who could not afford the product were given it for free. In addition to all this, Lukman and his defense team pointed to the growing body of scientific evidence supporting the medical use of cannabis.

Despite all this, the prosecutors maintained that Lukman still broke the country’s laws prohibiting all forms of marijuana. They also claimed that although marijuana is increasingly accepted throughout the world, there is nothing in Malyasian law that allows for the medical use of cannabis.

One Of The World’s Worst Anti-Cannabis Countries

Malaysia has long had some of the world’s most heavy handed anti-cannabis laws. Most obviously, this reputation comes from the fact that a person can still be sentenced to death for breaking certain drug laws.

But Malaysia isn’t the only country where a person can be sentenced to death for possessing, distributing, or consuming cannabis. In fact, there are still a surprisingly large number of countries throughout the world with these types of laws in the books.

Along with Malaysia, this list includes countries like China, Egypt, Singapore, Myanmar, Philippines, Nigeria, and several others. 

Cannabis Compound May Help Reduce Symptoms of Psychosis

Experts say cannabidiol may be able to help “reset” the brains of people who have conditions such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

Chronic marijuana use has been linked to increased risk of psychiatric problems. There’s even a name for the condition — cannabis-induced psychosis (CIP).

A new study, however, shows that a nonpsychoactive compound found in cannabis seems to reduce abnormal brain functions associated with psychosis, which includes diseases such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

Researchers at King’s College London report in the journal JAMA Psychiatry that a single dose of cannabidiol (CBD) could someday be an effective alternative to the antipsychotic drugs in use since the 1950s.

These include Thorazine and Haldol, which have limited effectiveness and can cause serious side effects.

“It’s clear that the existing drugs have provided a lot of patients with schizophrenia the ability to function in society, but they’re not a cure,” Dr. Igor Grant, chair of the department of psychiatry at the University of California at San Diego School of Medicine and director of the school’s Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research, told Healthline.

“Our results have started unraveling the brain mechanisms of a new drug that works in a completely different way to traditional antipsychotics,” said lead researcher Dr. Sagnik Bhattacharyya, a reader in translational neuroscience and psychiatry at the King’s College London and the study’s lead researcher.

Grant said the study “adds to the growing hunch that CBD may be a useful alternative or adjunct to treating a very difficult to treat condition.”

A 2017 King’s College London study found participants treated with CBD had fewer psychiatric symptoms than those who received a placebo.

The research also indicated they were more likely to be evaluated as having improved conditions by their treating physician.

Grant says CBD was first revealed as a possible antipsychotic treatment by German researchers about a decade ago.

The mechanism by which it works is unclear, he says, although it’s possible CBD may inhibit an enzyme that clears anandamide. This is a natural antidepressant regulated by the brain’s cannabinoid system.

What the study revealed

The latest research compared participants receiving CBD to a placebo group as well as to a control group.

Study participants weren’t diagnosed with psychosis, but they were experiencing psychotic symptoms.

Treating people at such an early stage, before symptoms become chronic, is the best opportunity to successfully intervene with diseases like schizophrenia, Grant notes.

Researchers assigned the participants to perform a memory task involving three sections of the brain known to be associated with psychosis.

MRI scans revealed that abnormal brain activity was lower among the CBD group than among participants who received a placebo.

The findings suggest that “cannabidiol can help re-adjust brain activity to normal levels,” according to a King’s College London press statement.

“This was not a treatment trial, but it does show that CBD changes certain brain structures in a direction that indicates improvement,” Grant said.

Helping the brain ‘reset’

While big gaps remain in knowledge of the brain mechanisms involved in diseases such as schizophrenia, Grant says the King’s College London study suggests that the cannabinoid “may normalize the connectors or ‘cross talk’ in regions of the brain associated with schizophrenia.”

CBD seems to have somewhat of an opposite effect to tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive ingredient in cannabis. That substance is suspected of triggering psychosis in some cases.

“Although it is still unclear exactly how CBD works, it acts in a different way to antipsychotic medication, and thus could represent a new class of treatment,” said Philip McGuire, PhD, a King’s College London professor and lead author of the 2017 study.

“Moreover, CBD was not associated with significant side effects. This is also potentially important, as patients may be reluctant to take antipsychotic medication because of concerns about side effects,” he said.

A possible preventive tool

Bhattacharyya and his colleagues are currently undertaking a large-scale study to determine whether CBD can be used to prevent young people at risk of psychosis from developing mental health disorders.

“There is an urgent need for a safe treatment for young people at risk of psychosis,” Bhattacharyya said. “One of the main advantages of cannabidiol is that it is safe and seems to be very well-tolerated, making it in some ways an ideal treatment. If successful, this trial will provide definitive proof of cannabidiol’s role as an antipsychotic treatment and pave the way for use in the clinic.”

In the United States, 31 states and the District of Columbia — but not the federal government — have decriminalized or legalized marijuana for medical use.

Smoking or ingesting marijuana delivers a dose of both CBD and THC.

However, compounds containing only CBD are also offered for sale in many states where medical marijuana use has been legalized.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has also approved two cannabis-derived medications for sale and use, including a CBD-based liquid medication called Epidiolex that’s used to treat two types of childhood epilepsy.

Other cannabinoids, such as dronabinol and nabilone, have been approved to treat cancer-related side effects such as nausea.

Cannabis contains more than 150 cannabinoids. Many may have potential for therapeutic use, says Grant.

“It’s not the case that CBD is good and THC is bad,” Grant noted. “It really depends on what you’retrying to do.”

Ministry of Internal Affairs Releases Planned Marijuana Use Regulations

By Samantha Guthrie

The Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) released a statement yesterday outlining a draft law on the use of marijuana, to be introduced to Parliament at the next session.

On July 30, the Constitutional Court of Georgia declared that administrative punishment for use of the drug marijuana was unconstitutional when consumption does not create any threat to third parties - effectively legalizing the consumption of marijuana.

“By this decision the Constitutional Court has created a completely new legal reality,” reads the MIA statement. The Court determined that marijuana use may be prohibited in certain contexts. The MIA is tasked with enforcing the law and protecting public safety. Their statement says that “the absence of the relevant legislative framework hinders the effective struggle against illegal circulation of drugs and promotes its use.”

The draft law prohibits the use of marijuana in any place of public gathering, on all public transport, in the presence of a minor, in or around educational institutions, their buildings and other facilities for people under the age of 18, at or near public meetings intended for minors, and for certain people performing official duties (for example, teachers, doctors, public servants). Driving a car under the influence of marijuana also remains prohibited. “Popularization or advertising of any drugs is an administrative offense and will lead to the appropriate response” reminds the MIA statement.

The draft law aims “to protect juveniles from the harmful effects of marijuana” and uphold public safety.

Marijuana use among U.S. college students at highest level in three decades: study

Source: Xinhua

CHICAGO, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- College students' use of marijuana was at the highest levels seen  in the past three decades in 2016, and the trend remained true in 2017, according to the annual  national Monitoring the Future Panel study. In 2017, 38 percent of full-time college students aged 19-22 reported using marijuana at least  once in the prior 12 months, and 21 percent reported using at least once in the prior 30 days.  Both the prevalence levels peaked in 2016, the highest found since 1987, and did not change  significantly in 2017. The 2017 prevalence levels represent gradual increases since 2006 when  they were 30 percent and 17 percent, respectively. Daily or near daily use of marijuana, defined as having used on 20 or more occasions in the  prior 30 days, was at 4.4 percent in 2017 for college students. This has remained steady for  the past three years, down from a peak of 5.9 percent in 2014. A study of the University of Michigan (UM) further found that heavy marijuana use among  youth not in college is also on the rise. Marijuana use among same-age high school graduates who are not full-time college students  tends to be higher: the annual prevalence was 41 percent and 30-day prevalence was 28  percent in 2017, remaining at the highest levels since the 1980s. Daily marijuana use among same-age non-college youth reached its highest level of 13.2  percent in 2017, doubling over the past decade and up from 6.7 percent in 2006. The gap between college and non-college youth has widened in the past three years, with  daily marijuana use being three times as high among non-college youth as among college  students, the study shows. The study found that there are multiple reasons for the continuing increase in marijuana use  among college students and non-college youth. One likely reason is the ongoing decline in  perceptions of risk of harm from regular marijuana use. In 2017, 27 percent of those aged  19-22 perceived regular use of marijuana as carrying great risk of harm, the lowest level since  1980. "The continued increase of daily marijuana use among non-college youth is especially  worrisome," said John Schulenberg, principal investigator of the Monitoring the Future  Panel Study. "The brain is still growing in the early 20s, and the scientific evidence indicates  that heavy marijuana use can be detrimental to cognitive functioning and mental health."

Niagara might not be ready for legal pot

Region’s health committee says there’s too many unanswered questions

 by Allan Benner

Members of Niagara’s public health committee are concerned about the pending legalization of marijuana. - rgbspace/photo

With a little more than a month before marijuana can be legally purchased, there are still too many unanswered questions about the pending sale of the drug.

And west Niagara mayors in particular are concerned that upper-tier governments are moving ahead with the legalization of the drug much too quickly.

"We're going way too fast," West Lincoln Mayor Doug Joyner told members of Niagara's public health committee, Tuesday.

Joyner said he attended a recent meeting in Hamilton to discuss the pending cannabis legalization hoping to learn more about the plans. But there were still far more questions than answers — despite online sale of cannabis beginning on Oct. 17, and storefront sales as of next April 1.

"There's no way we're ready for this at all," Joyner said.

Grimsby Mayor Bob Bentley, too, is concerned about "the speed at which this is being rolled out."

For instance, although municipalities will be given the option of allowing storefront cannabis sales, Bentley said he remains concerned about a lack of information about zoning restrictions allowing municipalities to control where cannabis dispensaries are to be located.

"It's a public safety issue as well. You look at current dispensaries, although they're illegal right now, and the activities that happen around them, they're not the type of activities that you want to have in a commercial area, and definitely not in a sensitive area," he said.

Niagara's acting medical officer of health, Dr. Mustafa Hirji, said health department staff "certainly share your frustration about how slow details are coming out, and how quickly now we have to respond at our level to this."

Meanwhile, as Niagara's committee develops strategies to safeguard the health of residents from the use of cannabis — similar to its efforts to control the use of tobacco — Joyner suggested a "balanced approach."
 "If we want to be totally 100 per cent restrictive, we're just going to drive this industry underground and we're going to be nowhere," Joyner said.

For instance, he said, even the price of buying legal marijuana could be enough to allow the black-market to continue.

"If they're $1.30 or $2.20 more than what they can buy it on the street, they're not buying it from the government," Joyner said.

Health committee members approved a motion directing Regional Chair Alan Caslin to ask the provincial government for dedicated funding to address public health considerations, while also asking the province to allow Niagara Region to oversee licensing, enforcement and inspection of the dispensaries, and limitations on the sale of marijuana.

Although the motion also called for a report on the Region's response to the sale of marijuana by the second quarter of 2019, Joyner said that report needs to be provided long before then.

"That's way too late. That has to be the absolute very first thing that the new regional government deals with," he said, adding he'd like to see a report by December.

Hirji said as details about cannabis legalization become available "we are very happy to bring a report forward."

He said the second quarter of 2019 "would be last resort."

Canadian Cannabis Corp Makes Historic Investment in Jamaica

Sara Brittany Somerset 

An ital ganja plant grows in Bally Mony, Saint Ann, Jamaica, circa 2007.©Sara Brittany Somerset

The Jamaica Medical Cannabis Corporation Ltd. (JMCC), a Canadian-Jamaican medical cannabis exporter, signed an agreement to invest $2 million USD over ten years to identify analyze, and preserve Jamaica's indigenous cannabis strains. 

JMCC signed an official Memorandum of Agreement with the National Foundation for the Development of Science and Technology (NFDST) on Monday, June 25th, to undertake the project, titled “Identification, Isolation and Conservation of Local Strains of Cannabis for Medicinal Use.”

The project is funded through the JMCC’s charitable foundation, 10².

“JMCC is fully committed to supporting the Jamaican medical cannabis industry every way we can and ensuring there are lasting benefits for the country and its people,” said Diane Scott, JMCC's Chief Executive Officer. "As Jamaican medical cannabis grows in popularity, there is a real threat that the country’s unique strains will be lost or irrevocably contaminated by hybridization, and it was important for us to be able to help to preserve what we believe are some of the best medical cannabis strains in the world.”


According to the Jamaica Observer, in 2013, security forces in Jamaica eradicated 247 hectares of marijuana fields, destroyed 1.9 million cannabis seedlings, and seized 285 kilograms of seeds. Back in 2012, 711 hectares were eradicated, 2.5 million seedlings were destroyed and 785 kilograms of seeds were destroyed.

The about-face the Jamaican government is doing to protect foreign investment is remarkable. New cannabis companies such as Cannalabs have former law enforcement officers on their board of directors.

Jamaicans, particularly Rastafarians (or "Rastas," for short), believed in preserving the healing power of  "d herb" as it is referred to colloquially in Patois, since their inception. Rastas exposed themselves to derision and persecution from the Jamaican government over their beliefs, which include growing and smoking herb to use as a religious sacrament, deep meditation and to "hold conscious reasonings," i.e., enlightened, meaningful conversations.

Rastafarians are mainly naturalists who believe that Emperor Haile Selassi of Ethiopia (b. Tafari Makonnen in 1891), a descendant of King Solomon, was the incarnation of God on Earth, or Jah.

One of Ras Tafari’s most internationally recognized followers, Jamaican reggae singer Bob Marley spearheaded the cultural, religious movement of Rastafari and brought it, along with smoking herb, into the mainstream consciousness and lexicon decades ago.

While Rastas have and continue to defiantly control sun-grown cannabis on their land in accordance with their faith, Scott insists her company's Jamaican-grown cannabis export is strictly intended for the Canadian medical, not meditative, marijuana market. 

Jamaican ganja farmers do not normally irradiate their cannabis crop. Canada's strict microbial and pathogen requirements along with the fact that the use of pesticides in pot are banned, opened the door for irradiation to become one of the few ways to kill off crop contaminants and organisms.

While the JMCC has not yet addressed the issue of crop irradiation in their farm-to-pharmacy approach, Scott points out that Jamaica's ideal climate for cultivation will prevent mold issues. The same climate may also cause cross-pollination in outdoor, cannabis crop cultivation. This issue is one reason why the JMCC are eager to promote their efforts to catalog an encyclopedia of Jamaican cannabis strains.

"We shall be using a nutraceutical affirmation of the claims for health benefits and we shall be archiving these claims for posterity, so that we can assure a hundred years from now that Strain X shall be Strain X and not hybridized out or cross-fertilized in any way,” explained Professor Errol Morrison, the Director General of the National Commission on Science and Technology.

The NCST is a Jamaican charitable organization established to promote improved utilization of science and technology in the country. The organization will receive, manage and disburse funds to a research consortium that will execute the project.

Scott disclosed that "The farmers will not be compensated for providing their heritage strains," to the cataloging effort and are expected to "share," them with the NCST, for posterity.

Meanwhile, local Jamaican ganja farmers will most likely continue to preserve their proprietary strains by passing them down through familial generations. Ideally, they will also apply for seed patents before they share their heritage strains with Canadian preservationists.
 

‘Humongous Drop’ in Marijuana Arrests Predicted by NYPD Chief After Policy Change

Keith Mansur

NYPD announced began enforcing their new policy for arresting people that are caught smoking marijuana in public. Beginning September 1, 2018, the nations largest police force will stop automatically arresting people and instead let individual officers make decisions using their own discretion.

“Our new policy, we’re going to see a humongous drop in people in communities of color being arrested for marijuana,” NYPD Chief of Patrol Rodney Harrison said during a press conference announcing the change. “And that was one of the whole goals of this whole new policy.”

The department originally announced the coming change on June 19, 2018, citing that it would reduce drug arrests by up to 10,000 people and that it has no bearing on public safety in most cases.

“Today is a day where we take a step into the future,” Mayor Bill de Blasio announced at the time.

“When it comes to marijuana we always need to ensure that our enforcement is consistent with the values of fairness that are at the root of our neighborhood policing philosophy,” New York Police Commissioner James O’Neill said at the conference. “The bottom line is, and I’ve said this probably many times before, the NYPD has no interest in arresting people for marijuana offenses.”

A NYPD task force, at the request of Mayor de Blasio, did a review of their marijuana policies earlier in 2018 where they collaborated with cannabis advocates and criminal justice experts to determine what policy changes could be enacted. NYC has had a long history of disproportionately arresting people of color for marijuana use and possession.

Arrests for marijuana use will still be made in some cases. Anyone caught driving, anyone who refuses to show an ID, or anyone with an outstanding warrant will still be arrested according to the department.