KUALA LUMPUR, July 28 — The movement to legalise the medical use of marijuana here has found another supporter, this time in the form of Pahang's Tengku Chanela Jamidah.
The daughter of the state’s late Tengku Arif Bendahara, the mother of two became an active advocate through her capacity as the patron of the Malaysia Society of Awareness (MASA).
MASA is a non-profit organisation working on destigmatising, decriminalising and legalising medical marijuana production and usage in Malaysia.
Recently it released a manifesto detailing the economic, medical and social benefits of decriminalising cannabis usage in Malaysia
“What is challenging, as with any other non-profit, is to get the team mobilised, especially with the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
“On the upside, our mission is clearer than ever and the manifesto reflects this,” Tengku Chanela said during an interview with the South China Morning Post in the United States, where she is a permanent resident and spends time between the cities of Los Angeles and Las Vegas.
She said she began to use cannabidiol oil for anxiety, insomnia and chronic pain in 2018, the effects of which she described as “mind-blowing”.
“The diverse use of this plant, coupled with how transformational it was in improving my quality of life, encouraged me to share about it with others,” Tengku Chanela said.
Despite the growing use of marijauna for medicinal purposes globally, the substance remains an illegal narcotic in Malaysia under the Dangerous Drugs Act that provides for the death penalty in trafficking cases.
The movement to legalise marijuana in Malaysia for medical purposes received a boost last year when the director-general of the National Anti-Drug Agency (AADK) suggested that it was possible to apply for a medical exemption from the Health Ministry.
