Groups file documents in support of medical marijuana

CIVIL society groups have filed an amicus brief – information offered by someone who is not party to a case – in favour of the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes, to support Reyndhart Siahaan, who was arrested for allegedly using marijuana as alternative medication.

The brief was drafted by the Institute for Criminal Justice Reform (ICJR), the Research and Advocacy

Institute of Court Independence (LeIP), the Indonesian Judicial Research Society (IJRS) and the Community Legal Aid Institute (LBH Masyarakat).

It was submitted to the Kupang District Court in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), where Reyndhart is standing trial.

The 37-year-old man from East Jakarta was arrested in November last year for allegedly using marijuana at his rooming house in

Manggarai Barat regency.

He is accused of violating Article 127 of the 1999 Narcotics Law, which carries a maximum sentence of one-year imprisonment.

Reynhardt’s legal team claimed its client had used marijuana as alternative medication to treat spinal cord compression.

He reportedly found that drinking boiled cannabis water could help ease the pain.

In the amicus brief, the groups urged the court to consider Reyndhart’s medical history, saying that the use of marijuana to ease recurring pain should not be criminalised.

“Judges at the Kupang District Court should not merely be a mouthpiece for the law upon making a decision in this case, as judges are a reflection of justice,” the civil society groups wrote in a statement on Monday.