Medan, Indonesia – When Pika Sasi Kirana was born, there was no signal that something was unsuitable.
Pika, a bouncy child weighing 7.5 kilos (three.four kg), quickly turned an energetic little one and by the point she reached kindergarten, she was identical to every other little one in her class. An avid singer, she additionally liked to bounce and trip her bike within the evenings, which made her mom Santi Warastuti and her father Sunarta proud to see her solely little one prosper.
However when Pika was round 5 years outdated, her well being abruptly took a flip for the more severe. The woman started vomiting repeatedly in school and fainting. When Warastuti, now 43, took her daughter to a health care provider in Denpasar, on the Indonesian island of Bali, Pika was prescribed epilepsy treatment.
His situation didn’t enhance.
“Nobody ever mentioned the phrases ‘cerebral palsy,’” Warastuti, who labored as a dressmaker, informed Al Jazeera. “She simply confirmed up sooner or later in her physician’s notes.”
After the written prognosis, Pika’s well being deteriorated quickly, and medical doctors had been apparently unable to gradual the progress of the illness or supply options to make Pika extra snug.
“Each time I visited a health care provider, they’d change the dosages or the sorts of treatment,” Warastuti mentioned. “Nothing labored.”
Warastuti started in search of different methods to ease the struggling of her daughter, who may do nothing for herself and now wanted 24-hour care. Lastly, she got here up with an unlikely resolution in a rustic identified for its strict drug legal guidelines: medical marijuana.
Warastuti first heard about medical marijuana whereas working in Denpasar and was informed by her European employer how the drug was utilized in Europe and different international locations to alleviate a wide range of illnesses.
Returning to her hometown of Yogyakarta within the hope of discovering a more practical remedy for Pika, Warastuti met Dwi Pratiwi, one other mom and plaintiff in a Constitutional Court docket case, who had introduced her son Musa to Australia for remedy with medical marijuana.
Musa, who additionally had cerebral palsy, has since died. Nevertheless, assembly him, Warastuti was capable of see firsthand how medical marijuana may assist individuals with the dysfunction, which impacts the power to maneuver and keep stability, by serving to to alleviate muscle atrophy and permit for extra snug sleep.
ordered investigation
When Pratiwi recommended that the moms take authorized motion, Warastuti didn’t hesitate.
Nevertheless, their quest to legalize the drug in Indonesia for medical functions has met with sturdy opposition, and on July 20, the Indonesian Constitutional Court docket rejected a movement filed by Warastuti, Pratiwi and one other mom whose son has cerebral palsy for a assessment. of the Indonesian Narcotics Legislation. of 2009 that prohibits the usage of marijuana for any motive.
In keeping with Claudia Stoicescu, an affiliate professor of public well being at Monash College in Indonesia, the nation contrasts sharply with its neighbors in relation to its authorized place on marijuana.
“Thailand legalized hashish use in June this 12 months and in Malaysia the usage of hashish for medical functions has been legally regulated since final 12 months,” he informed Al Jazeera.
“In Indonesia, possession of hashish carries extreme penalties, together with appreciable jail time, typically in overcrowded and inhumane circumstances. These legal justice system punishments towards hashish customers are much more detrimental to the person’s well being, well-being and high quality of life than hashish use itself.”
Warastuti says he isn’t shocked that the Constitutional Court docket rejected the moms’ proposal to legalize marijuana for medical functions, however he’s happy that the decide has ordered the Indonesian authorities to conduct extra scientific research on the medical makes use of of marijuana.
“I knew the authorized problem was going to be thrown out, however the ruling has additionally fueled medical marijuana analysis that we must always cherish. In Indonesia it’s troublesome for individuals to just accept the legalization of medical marijuana as a result of they suppose hashish solely will get you excessive, however there are good and unhealthy methods to make use of it.”
“It is like a knife that ought to be used to chop issues, but it surely may also be used to stab somebody and kill them. Nevertheless, you possibly can nonetheless purchase knives all over the place,” he mentioned.
Indonesia classifies hashish as a Schedule 1 substance, following the 1961 United Nations Single Conference on Narcotic Medicine, which means it’s labeled as a drug with a excessive potential for abuse, with no accepted medical use, and no protected degree of use. beneath medical supervision.
Nevertheless, medical researcher Stoicescu says the nation ought to reschedule hashish, one thing the World Well being Group has really helpful since 2019.
“Most researchers agree that occasional hashish use doesn’t result in well being issues for the overwhelming majority of people that use it. The Indonesian authorities, nevertheless, typically claims that hashish performs the function of a so-called “gateway drug” that may result in involvement in different unlawful substances. Researchers disagree with this assertion, and a causal relationship between hashish use and use of different substances has not been discovered,” he mentioned.
in search of dedication
In keeping with Eka Prahadian Abdurahman, department supervisor of the Group Habit Restoration Affiliation in Medan, North Sumatra, those that oppose legalization typically argue that the drug could possibly be used for leisure functions.
“The federal government continues to be unwilling to put money into hashish analysis as a medical drug,” he mentioned, “whereas many research overseas which were scientifically confirmed are additionally underutilized by the federal government in favor of medication created from pure elements apart from marijuana. .”
Abdurahman, whose affiliation helps legalization, provides that rewriting the legislation to permit marijuana use in medical conditions will not be straightforward.
It is unclear how lengthy it should take for the Indonesian authorities to analyze the potential advantages of medical marijuana, and within the meantime, Warastuti says he is eager about potential compromises.
Whereas he has but to think about extra authorized choices, he wish to foyer sooner or later for the federal government to assist fund medical marijuana therapy in different international locations like Australia for Indonesian residents who want to journey there.
She would additionally like the federal government to think about permitting individuals to purchase medical marijuana from different international locations to make use of in Indonesia with out worry of prosecution if large-scale legalization will not be allowed within the nation.
Again in Yogyakarta, Warastuti says the Constitutional Court docket resolution will not be the top of the street for her and Pika, now 14 years outdated.
“I must attempt every little thing to assist my daughter and we are going to proceed to struggle and by no means quit,” she mentioned.
“It will not be my future to be the one to acquire medical marijuana for my daughter, however I hope that we now have began one thing, and sooner or later others will be capable to entry this medication for his or her kids on account of my actions.”
