There is no evidence to support the medical use of cannabis oil, said Ministry of Health director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah (above).

As such, the use of cannabis oil in Malaysia would be restricted to qualified personnel for research purposes only, subject to the health minister’s approval.

“If you want to use it for therapeutic reasons, we must substantiate it with data that would have to come from research. At that point, we can actually go ahead with doing research work.

“But for therapeutic applications, none of my doctors are using it for treatment. It is not in our mainstream treatment to use cannabis […]

“Everything (the rules) is already in place so we will just follow what can be done and what can’t be done. Unless we want to review and amend the (Dangerous Drugs Act 1952), that’s a different story.

“If it can be proven to be a treatment for certain diseases and it is substantiated with data with the whole world supporting it, then we will have to (revisit the issue),” he told reporters at a press conference in Putrajaya today.

Earlier during the press conference, Health Minister Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad said the cabinet had discussed the death sentence on Muhammad Lukman for possession of cannabis oil and related substances and the issue of cannabis use.

He said no decision had been reached but the cabinet would likely revisit the issue of Lukman’s death sentence in the future.

As for the use of cannabis, he said the ministry’s position was to restrict it for research purposes only.

Calls to legalise

Lukman, 29, was arrested on December 2015 for possession of 3.1 litres of cannabis oil, 279 grams of compressed cannabis and 1.4 kilogrammes of substances containing tetrahydrocannabinol (THC, the active ingredient in cannabis).

His lawyer Farhan Maaruf reportedly said that Lukman had no intention to “push” the drug on the streets but merely wanted to assist patients whose ailments could be treated with THC.

He was sentenced to death by the Shah Alam High Court on Aug 30 under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 which stipulates that individuals caught with 200 grammes or more of cannabis would be charged with drug trafficking which carries the mandatory death penalty.

The case has sparked calls for Lukman’s release and renewed calls to legalise cannabis products for therapeutic use including from Permatang Pauh MP Nurul Izzah Anwar.

Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad had also said that the death sentence should be reviewed.