SISTEMA DE TRANSMISIÓN DE DATOS HACIA INTERNET

Norsafiah Adira Mohd Zain, Nor Alif Mohd Zin, Noor Fadhleen Mahmud, Nadrawina Isnin and Norhayati Mohd Zain

Universiti Teknologi MARA, Sarawak, Malaysia

Abstract

Marijuana is a drug that derived from dried leaves, stems, and flowers of cannabis plant. It is also known as weed, herb, ganja, and cannabis. The latter species that can withstand in any weather are Cannabis Sativa and Cannabis Indica. Marijuana is the most popular drugs used in the world. The discussion regarding the usage of marijuana for medical purposes has again entered into a debate situation both in public and health care arena. Medical marijuana has been legalized and permitted in some country like Netherlands, Belgium, Portugal, Switzerland, and Canada. As in Malaysia, marijuana is totally illegal. According to Malaysian Law Dangerous Drug Act 1952, cannabis is included as the mandatory crime. On a worldwide scale, there are several countries where marijuana is slowly gaining acceptance. In countries such as Argentina, Cambodia, and Colorado, possession of weed for personal and recreational use is somewhat legal unless it is exceed the limit allowed under the law or trying to sell, cultivate or transport them. While in this situation, marijuana for medical use is strictly regulated. This study analyses the roles play by Malaysian NGO‘s in educating Malaysian from the perspective of medication. Three NGOS which are TARGAS, MCARE, and GRASSROOT MALAYSIA were selected to be the main units to be interviewed.

Keywords: Marijuana, medical, NGO‘s

Introduction

The first impression of people when they heard the words of marijuana, cannabis and weed, the first thing that will come on their mind is a dangerous drugs, addicted, harmful and also may cause fatality. In this situation, there are a various perceptions towards marijuana. Some might be positive and the other hand might be negative. For those who already know the benefits of using marijuana will take it as a grant. But for those who did not know that marijuana can be beneficial to them, they will discriminate it.

There are different perspectives of public‘s opinions towards marijuana. The physician perspectives on medical marijuana also have its pros and cons. According to Joycelyn Elders (2006), the former US surgeon, commented that marijuana is less toxic than many of the drugs that drugs that physicians prescribe daily. This shows that Elders is agreed to medical marijuana. However, on the negative side, marijuana is a dangerous drug and that there are less dangerous medicines offering the same relief from pain and other medical symptoms (Bill Frist, 2003).

Health risk on smoking marijuana provides different perceptions. Among those were opinions from Lester Grinspoon and the British Lung Foundation. As argued by (Grinspoon, 2006), he noted that although cannabis has been smoked widely in Western

145 countries for more than four decades, there have been no reported cases of lung cancer or emphysema attributed to marijuana. Infections of the lung are due to a combination of smoking-related damage to the cells lining the bronchial passage and impairment of the principal immune cells in the small air sacs caused by cannabis (British Lung Foundation, 2002).

In Malaysia, legalization of marijuana is impossible because of the Drug Act 1952 that possessed marijuana as a mandatory crime. Malaysia has been urged to consider the decriminalization of drugs as a new policy to better deal with the country‘s perennial drug problem. Several experts voiced support for this radical view and said more countries around the world are beginning to accept that drug addiction is a disease which can be treated. ―Decriminalizing‖ means that a person possessing small amounts of drugs for personal use does not constitute a crime. Drug trafficking is still considered a serious crime.

Malaysian AIDS Council (MAC) president Zaman Khan states that he fully supports the decriminalization of drugs for personal use in this country too (Seshata, 2014). However, public acceptance was important, and a crucial a paradigm shift in perception must occur for the anything to work. Meanwhile, addiction therapist and substance abuse counselor Chris Sekar said decriminalization was the right direction for Malaysia to go. (Sensi Seeds, 2014)

Internationally, policymakers and experts have taken note of Portugal, which in 2001 decriminalized all drugs including cocaine and heroin. Those found with 10 days‘ worth of drugs would not be arrested, but sent to a Dissuasion Commission which assesses the person‘s needs and tailors an optional programmed for them. The Portugal case has been repeatedly referred to and touted as a resounding success, with impressive results. It has reduced addiction, HIV infections, drug-related crimes and drug-related deaths; and more addicts are seeking treatment. It has also freed Portugal police to concentrate on big-time dealers. Thus, is Malaysia ready to decriminalize marijuana?

Marijuana Medication

Marijuana has potential to be medical purposes in term of health, behavioral action, and also toward individual attitude. According to Richard H. S. et al. (2001) in their research paper which ‗A Survey of Teenagers and Their Parents‘, by setting numbers of questionnaires that consists of multiple choice, written survey and it also was design following a survey format. Besides, they also carried out two form of survey which one focusing on teenagers and another just focusing on parents only. However, both forms of questionnaires are similar and it will answer different answered by based on their respondent roles. The group of researchers designs the question involving several issues such as discussion about medical marijuana, legalization of drug and lifetimes use of marijuana by the teenage and parent. Prior to that, a pilot study was tested in Vienna, Virginia which located in urban area Washington.

This pilot test was carried out on a small group of youth. As a result, an actual survey involving almost 393 numbers of youth-parent pairs is collected. The group of researchers succeeded in gathering a total of 203 respondents as male and the rest (190) were female. Based on age ranking, the researcher also divided their respondents based on three

146 groupings that is, from 13 to 15 years old, 16 to 17 years old, and 18 to 19 years old. This refers to a cluster survey method which was employed in this study. Moreover, the findings of the survey stated that, 10% of the teens smoked marijuana at least once and 6% smoked it in the previous 30 days. Apart from that, none of the parents admitted to current use of marijuana. Most of the teens believed that regular marijuana use causes harm to many or most use.

The survey also found 99% of parents and 87% of teens responders agreed that medical marijuana and legalization of drug of abuse should be an open discussion by parents and teens. Since the survey are conducted when the uses of marijuana is legalize in Washington, so that, 28% of the parents group and 55% of youth agree that passage of state laws for medical marijuana would make it easier for teens to smoke marijuana for medical purposes. According to Grinspoon (2001) marijuana has been used for more than a millennium for medical purposes. This is because marijuana are mostly as an infusion or solution for a certain illness that suffered by individual. Based on the Thomas C.(2001) if marijuana is reclassified by the FDA for medical use, marijuana would be the first approved medicine to be administered primarily by smoking a drug.

Marijuana is typically smoked as a cigarette called a ‗joint‘. It also maybe smoked in a pipe or a bong, brewed in tea, or mixed in food. National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) (1998b) presented a lengthy explanation on this matter. According to NIDA, stated that for instant, marijuana has appeared in cigars. Besides that, since the marijuana is easily to get, so that it mostly use illicit drug among teens. According to Ann D. Stoltz (1998) stated that may cause a short-term bad effect it may include problem with memory and learning including difficulty thinking. In term of social life among teen, they might tend to make more mistake in school and with friends either male or female. The researcher also found that, the effect of marijuana are long-term and the effect of long-term marijuana usage are more uncertain, while delta9- tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is more active in our body since it may contribute to an increased risk for cancer and lung disease, as well as immune system and reproductive system dysfunction (NIDA, 1998b). Marijuana contains a main active chemical inside which namely delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), it having almost 4,000 other chemicals.

It is interesting to note that marijuana in Australia has slowly becoming an important medication after the politicians in Australian Capital Territory voted to allow doctors to determine when marijuana is appropriate for their patients. In May 2003, the former Premier of New South Wales, Mr Bob Carr, promised the patients for a 4-year trial into the usage of medical marijuana but then there is still no action taken as yet. However, a media report on 16 May 2013 stated that a New South Wales parliamentary committee has recommended the use of medically-prescribed cannabis for terminally ill patients and has supported the legalization of marijuana-based pharmaceuticals on such grounds. As part of the recommendation, the committee has called upon the cooperation of the federal Australian government for a scheme that would allow the patients to possess up to 15 grams of marijuana. Meanwhile, both the patients and their carers would be required to obtain a certificate from a specialist, and also a registration with the Department of Health and given a photo Identification card. Due to that, on the 17th of October 2015, the Federal Government announced that it would legalise the growing of cannabis for medicinal and scientific purposes.

147 However, there are several countries that have legalized the usage of marijuana since it was proven to be beneficial in medication. Columbia, Chile, Amsterdam and African countries are examples of countries that resulted in using marijuana to its advantages. It is however different for Malaysia. In Malaysia, there are organizations fighting for legalization of marijuana in this country. The organizations are registered a legal license in order to operate in Malaysia. The organizations are TARGAS, MCARE, and GRASSROOT MALAYSIA. These three organizations are under Non-Government Organization (NGOs) with an objective to educate public about cannabis and with the intention to legalize the usage of marijuana.

According to Khatapoush and Hallfors (2004) stated that California is one of the states in America that has legalized the usage of marijuana. Based on their research titled, ‗Did Medical Marijuana Legalization In California Change Attitude About And Use Of Marijuana‘ , they found that the perception from the public in order to harm the marijuana use have decreased over time, while marijuana and other drug use has remained stable. Besides, they also found that recently, the support of medical use and general legalization of marijuana has increased over time in other states. Moreover, they suggested that recent policy changes have had little impact on marijuana-related behavior.

Marijuana is a mind-altering drug derived from the hemp plant. Marijuana also namely as pot, herb, grass, boom and Mary Jane. Five marijuana joints smoke in a one week period may contain as many cancer-causing chemicals as 20 cigarettes (one full pack) smoked in a day (NIDA, 1998b).

In addition, there have several effects in term of the ability of learning and memory. This effect is including in the short-term effect. Student athletes might experience a decrease in performance level due to THC. Besides, short-term effect is including the anxiety and increase in heart rate.

According to Johnson, Golub and Dunlap (2007) stated that New York City have come out with several alternatives on current marijuana arrest and detention policy. In New York City, under the New York City Police Department (NYPD) carried out the potential alternatives, such as arrest and issuing of a desk appearance ticket (DAT), issuing of a non- criminal citation, street warnings, and toleration of public marijuana smoking.

Roles of Malaysian NGOs in educate Malaysian public about Marijuana Medication

TARGAS

TARGAS was founded on October 15, 2014. It is considered a campaign in supporting the causes of ‗End the Drugs War‘. By having a cooperation with Malaysian Aids Council (MAC), this organization has already involved in international conference of The International Network of People who Use Drugs (INPUD) during the conference of harm reduction few years ago. In addition, TARGAS‘s role is more about the drug policy/farmer which means they fight for the amendment of Malaysia Drug Act 1952. As for Malaysia‘s restrict usage on marijuana, TARGAS defended those who use marijuana for medical purposes. Other than that, they also fight for the farmers who tend to plant cannabis in order to be extracted to get the cannabis oil for medical purposes.

Farther, in order to raise the awareness among Malaysian public about the benefits of medical marijuana, they organized some activities such as awareness campaign with tagline ―support don‘t punish‖ and ―stop the drug war‖. With the cooperation with Malaysian Aids Council, Support Don‘t Punish Campaign was organized on 26th June 2015

148 in Kuala Lumpur. This campaign is an effort to educate the public on the benefits of medical marijuana. As well as, they incline to inform the Malaysia government to re- examine the drugs policy. They aim to urge government to exclude marijuana from the group of dangerous drug in The Drug Act 1952.

By focusing on the fate and reputation of those who are involved in medical marijuana, TARGAS seems to be more concern to propose a petition to be signed by Malaysian public in order to urge Malaysia government to re-examine The Drug Act 1952.

MCARE

This organization or known as Malaysian Cannabis Awareness is an incorporated non- profit society dedicated to educate the public about cannabis. Moreover, they aim to raise people awareness and change the Malaysian people towards marijuana. Thus, it can be said that they play an important role in order to extent the truth behind marijuana in Malaysia. This organization aims in getting a grant for conducting a research about medical marijuana. As for that, they support those researchers who tend to conduct a research about medical marijuana in further. In this situation, they play a vital role in giving directions and help researchers by providing them with any information needed.

As we know that marijuana in Malaysia is illegal but at the same time, there are several countries that already legalized the medical marijuana. Those countries such as Alaska which removed state-level criminal penalties and cultivation of marijuana by patients who possess written documentation from their physician advising that they might get benefit from the medical marijuana. Thus, Malaysia should give an opportunity to the researchers to conduct a research about the effectiveness of marijuana in medical context.

GRASSROOT Malaysia

This organization was found in 2014. They trust that marijuana can be used as a medicine. Thus, they tend to promote and campaign for the marijuana to be accepted by the doctors from over the world especially in Malaysia to enhance the usage of marijuana for medical purposes. There are terms and conditions applied, but unlimited to the patients with HIV/AIDS, Cancer, PTSD and etc.

Grassroot Malaysia purpose is to campaign for adults to get the rights to buy 28 gram (1 ounce) marijuana. Other than that, they believe that an adult also get the rights to plant six cannabis plant in the confine space and far away from children.

In order to educate people and raise their awareness about the benefits of medical marijuana, Grassroot Malaysia focused on the dangerous effect from the restriction of marijuana usage for those who have the records of marijuana abused (AADK & PDRM). The record can affect their entire life by lowered their self-esteem. Meanwhile, they also will face a difficulty in searching for a job and also to enter to university. As far as they are concern, they tend to do a campaign that aims to abolish the record of marijuana users. Furthermore, Grassroot Malaysia believes that having a good networking between the political parties or the members of parliament will give a brighter hope in order to support their effort. This is because the members of parliament have the power to re-examine the policy about marijuana. As they play the vital role in this effort of fight for the legalization of marijuana and also their right especially to those who really need medical marijuana, it is very crucial for them to support those who able and interest in doing any research about benefits of marijuana especially in medical.

149 Conclusion

As a conclusion, these NGOs play a vivacious role in order to educate Malaysian public and also raise their awareness about the benefits of medical marijuana. This is because after a long time Malaysia had restricted anything about marijuana. This created a difficulty in giving the Malaysians about the truth on marijuana for medical purposes. When we talk about marijuana with the Malaysian public, one thing that will come across their mind about marijuana is, it a dangerous drug that can be addictive to users. As for that reason and situation, these NGOs feel responsible to take corrective action for Malaysians in order to give more education about the benefits of medical marijuana.

By looking at the countries (as mentioned in the discussion above) that legalized the usage of marijuana for medical purposes, Malaysia should understand the reason why marijuana could be used for medical purposes. Before they make it legal for the purpose of medical, there must be research done by experts in order to prove that marijuana is really effective in curing such diseases. As an example, African countries have used marijuana since the 15th century after being introduced by Arab traders. According to Zuardi (2006), marijuana has its advantages such as; it can be used for medicating of snake bites, to facilitate childbirth, malaria, fever, blood poisoning, anthrax, asthma, and dysentery. Though the African government tries to stop or limit the usage of marijuana, it is still being used especially in the religious ritual. This is evident that they knew the benefits of marijuana in medication. It is all about the perception and mindsets of the people towards marijuana itself. Once they believe, they will utilize it.

The roles of NGOs in Malaysia are important because they aim to educate the Malaysians