Tengku Chanela Jamidah Tengku Ibrahim of the Pahang royal family has teamed up with a drag queen and American cannabis rights activists to call for the freedom of Amiruddin @ Nadarajan Abdullah aka Dr Ganja, or Dr G after he was arrested back in 2017 for the sales of hemp seed oil products in Malaysia.
Based on a report by Berita Harian, the 62-year-old Malaysian army retiree and cancer survivor faced 36 drug-related charges, including 14 charges for trafficking and 14 counts of distributing cannabis with an estimated gross weight of 97,995 grams.
Accused under Section 39B (1) (a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, he is currently awaiting a possible death sentence.
Dr G, who is not an actual doctor, had apparently invited those with cancer and other sicknesses to his home in Klang, to share his hemp oil medicine after he had experienced the benefits of medicinal marijuana during his recovery from cancer.
He also sold chocolate bars and brownies made with hemp seed oil.
As shared by Forbes, Tengku Chanela Jamidah has since been working with the Last Prisoner Project, alongside their ambassador, Jay Jackson, also known as Laganja Estranja from RuPaul’s Drag Race, to help appeal for Dr G’s release.
“According to the 1952 Dangerous Drug Act (DDA), there is a provision that allows for the importation, possession and exportation of cannabis as long as it is authorised by the Malaysian health minister. In that sense, there already exists within the DDA acceptance for the government to recognise cannabis as medicine,”
“What is needed now is for a new bill to be passed in parliament to amend the DDA and remove cannabis as a dangerous drug. The right strategy would be to engage with the government by providing them with enough facts, data and information so they are persuaded that it is necessary to amend the DDA as it benefits the Malaysian society and its people,” Tengku Chanela Jamidah told Forbes.
While many are questioning if an appeal will work for Dr G’s case, just last February, 31-year-old Muhammad Lukman Mohamad was freed of a death sentence following an appeal to set aside the conviction on two charges of drug trafficking.
Tengku Chanela Jamidah also shared that Dr G’s daughter, Siti, is collecting donations through a crowdfunding campaign in order to help with her father’s case.
“I have a vision that the people of Malaysia will accept cannabis as their inherent human right. The decision is as simple as access to healthcare.”
“Not only can we create jobs, free our prisoners and use this as a road map for economic recovery, but we also have the opportunity to actually save lives. That is the greatest gift of humanity and I have faith in my Malaysia,” Tengku Chanela Jamidah added.
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Also read: United Nations Commission Removes Marijuana From List Of Risky Narcotics
