As more and more countries look into legalising cannabis and its use, whether recreationally or medically, the question is now on whether or not Malaysia will follow suit.
It appears we are heading that way as the Health Ministry has announced that they will soon announce a framework to enable specific cannabidiol (CBD) products to be registered by next year.
According to NST, Health minister Khairy Jamaluddin said the framework would be released “sometime this year”, adding that the ministry would be inviting proposal submissions of CBD products that should be registered.
“The ministry is committed towards evidence and science, so what it means is that if the science points us in a particular direction, then we can’t avoid it.”
“The science (of CBD products) to me … I’m convinced. I’m working internally to ensure everyone in the Health Ministry is behind this,” he added.
Khairy added that the CBD products should not be for self-medicating purposes and that they would not be available over-the-counter and could only be prescribed by a healthcare professional.
Furthermore, training and education of medical officers would be required to ensure they understood the circumstances which allowed the prescription of CBD products.
The National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA) would also study the proposals on the products, including evaluating their authenticity and the data on the safety and efficacy of the products for specific illnesses.
“For now, these CBD (products) will only be given under prescription, not for self-use or self-medication and especially not for the recreational use of cannabis. It will be limited to cannabidiol products only.”
“I think we are ready. The debate has been useful. Next year is a good target,” he added that it was important for the ministry to undertake a cautious approach and look into international practices and scientific data on the use of CBD products.
However, this would not include the cultivation of cannabis.
“Many have sent proposals to open cannabis fields, and we are not there yet. We have to first register a few products and look at the acceptance of doctors and patients, and after that, if the acceptance level is high, safe, and effective, then we can think about cultivation,” said Khairy.
He said that the CBD products that would be registered must also undergo human trials and clinical tests, which local universities would conduct.
“When there is more evidence in clinical tests for certain medical conditions, it would widen the usage of CBD that our medical officers can prescribe.”
Do you think that this will be a good move?
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