Experts testifying for the Government virtually at the judicial review hearing of Law No. 35 of 2009 on Narcotics, Thursday (1/20/2022). Photo by Humas MK/BPE.
Thursday, January 20, 2022 | 18:56 WIB
JAKARTA, Public Relations—The material judicial review of Law No. 35 of 2009 on Narcotics continued in the Constitutional Court (MK). The ninth hearing for case No. 106/PUU-XVIII/2020 took place on Thursday, January 20, 2022 virtually from the Constitutional Court. At the hearing chaired by Chief Justice Anwar Usman, the Government presented three experts—Rianto Setiabudy, Aris Catur Bintoro, and Uni Gamayani—on their views on medical uses of cannabis.
Rianto Setiabudy, a pharmacology professor at the University of Indonesia, explained scientific the principles behind the acceptance of the use of medicine for certain indications before a marketing permit is issued. He said the good and correct use of a medicine must be based on scientific evidence that shows that the benefits exceed or are at least balanced with the risks. Next, justified use of a medicine by the state must be based on sufficient scientific evidence that the drug is safe, effective, and of good quality.
He believes good and correct use of a medicine must be supported by research data on both animals and humans, which follow a methodology that meets scientific principles. Approval of the use of a drug or substance may vary between countries because there are differences in society in terms of education level, community compliance with law, culture, religion, etc.
The interests and safety of the community are prioritized than individual interests, which are not disregarded. Rianto said, in assessing the feasibility of a drug or a treatment, first research is done, then its use is allowed when the feasibility is proven, not vice versa.
“We are not in a hurry to state that cannabis can be used for medical purposes because we are dealing with [something] that potentially causes big social problems, especially regarding the quality of our young generation. In addition, there are many choices of drugs available in the national formulary and the national list of essential drugs for the purposes of the indicated indications for cannabis,” he said.
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Meanwhile, neurologist Aris Catur Bintoro said the epilepsy treatment strategy rests on establishing a diagnosis, selecting drugs, and improving several other factors that can be used to treat seizures. He believes anti-epileptic drugs in Indonesia has been evenly distributed and the management of epilepsy is sufficient.
Aris said that the use of cannabis as one of the anti-epileptic drugs in Indonesia is currently unnecessary considering the lack of research and guidelines for the management of epilepsy. Moreover, there are side effects in long-term use, and other therapeutic options such as the ketogenic diet can still be utilized.
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Neurologist Uni Gamayani also emphasized that the administration of cannabinoid drugs in pediatric epilepsy patients is not necessary at this time, given that the available drugs are adequate. There is insufficient research to assess the effectiveness and safety of cannabinoid drugs.
She also believes cannabinoids as a treatment for spasticity in cerebral palsy patients is currently unnecessary, considering the results of research are still inconsistent.
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The case No. 106/PUU-XVIII/2020 was filed by Dwi Pertiwi, Santi Warastuti, Nafiah Murhayanti, Perkumpulan Rumah Cemara, the Institute for Criminal Justice Reform (ICJR), and the Community Legal Aid Institute (LBHM) (Petitioners I-VI). They requested the material judicial review of the elucidation to Article 6 paragraph (1) letter a and Article 8 paragraph (1) of the Narcotics Law, which prohibits cannabis use for medical purposes. They believe this has harmed their constitutional rights as it kept the Petitioners’ children from receiving treatment that can improve their health and quality of life.
At the preliminary hearing on Wednesday, December 16, 2020, the Petitioners stated that three of them are mothers of cerebral palsy patients. Dwi Pertiwi have given her child cannabis oil in a therapy in Victoria, Australia in 2016. She couldn’t continue with the therapy in Indonesia due to threat of criminal sanctions by the a quo norm. This was also true of the other two petitioners.
Meanwhile, Perkumpulan Rumah Cemara, ICJR, and LBHM are nonprofit organizations formed to give society access to healthcare. The Petitioners argue that the elucidation to the a quo norm has led to the loss of the Petitioners’ right to health services as regulated in Article 28H paragraph (1) of the 1945 Constitution. Such a right has been adopted in Article 4 letter a of the Narcotics Law, which states that the law serves to guarantee the availability of narcotics for the interest of health services and/or development of science and technology. Meanwhile, Article 7 regulates the sole legal use of narcotics for health services and/or development of science and technology. This means narcotics use can be legal and is inseparable from the right to health services guaranteed by the Constitution.
Writer : Utami Argawati
Editor : Nur R.
PR : Muhammad Halim
Translator : Yuniar Widiastuti (NL)
Translation uploaded on 01/21/2022 09:39 WIB
Disclaimer: The original version of the news is in Indonesian. In case of any differences between the English and the Indonesian versions, the Indonesian version will prevail.
Thursday, January 20, 2022 | 18:56 WIB 298