The government has proposed to criminalize cannabis again from the previous law on legalizing cannabis. This new legal proposal includes the reclassification of the weed plant as a narcotic category 5 again since the cannabis plant was legalized in 2022 due to the political campaign for the election.
The prime minister stated that he is concerned about the social ramifications of drug problems, including drug traffickers, seizure of drug-related assets, and rehabilitation since the drug suppression is regarded as a national priority. On the other hand, the Ministry of Public Health is preparing a draft of the new bill in order to put the cannabis into category 5 narcotics again and to ensure that it shall be used only for medical purposes. And according to the National Narcotics Control Board, the Board has already approved this matter.
Previously, the cannabis was legalized in 2019 as a result of one of the political parties’ campaigns for the election. The plant was removed from the list of category 5 narcotics under the Narcotics Act, except extracts containing more than 0.2 percent of THC. Also, people are allowed to cultivate the plants as a household herb for medical purposes. The current laws and regulations on cannabis include no smoking in the public spaces and no sales of cannabis to minors who are under 20 years old of age. To ensure the safety of the consumers, a seller or a store must obtain the license. According to the data, after the legalization of weed, the numbers of weed smokers and cannabis consumers have been increasing at the rate of ten to fifteen percent.
Nonetheless, the cannabis laws in 2019 have been allowing people to use or consume the cannabis or weed freely and some people use it without the medical or consumer guidance. Therefore, the government is attempting to criminalize cannabis again to prevent further crimes and young smokers.