PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Bar has welcomed the government’s decision to decriminalise drugs as the amendments are seen as necessary for a holistic drug policy.
Its president Abdul Fareed Abdul Gafoor said as members of the legal profession, the effectiveness of the hardline prohibitionist approach was questionable.
“The incarceration of persons with addiction to illicit drugs – often in detention centres that are overcrowded and in deplorable condition – does little to help them ‘get clean’ but often exposes them and their families to additional risks of harm,“ he said in a statement today.
He added they had seen and felt the consequences of addicts caught in Malaysia’s criminal justice system and subsequently incarcerated by a punitive policy of drug prohibition.
“We bear witness to the legal and personal consequences that they and their families face, especially so in the case of persons with addiction,“ he said.
Based on research findings in other jurisdictions, he said the council viewed the drug law reform in the form of decriminalisation of illicit drug use, in favour of a more progressive harm reduction approach, was a prudent and progressive step for the government to take in its drug policy.
“The decriminalisation of illicit drug use has the potential to reduce levels of drug-related harm, increase the number of drug-dependent users seeking treatment, and enable the implementation of effective demand reduction strategies.
“Treatment of addiction can be made more accessible, less harmful patterns of use can be encouraged, the risk of mortality can be alleviated, incidents of drug-related crime can be reduced, stigma and discrimination can be eased, total social costs to society can be lowered, and the activities of drug-related criminal networks can be disincentivised,“ he said.
In June, Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad said the government is moving towards removal of penalties against drug possession for personal use and addicts should be seen as a patient for treatment and rehabilitation and not as a criminal who must be punished.
Then on June 27, Dzulkefly announced that the government has plans to work towards removing criminal penalties for the personal possession and use of drugs.
Calling the move a “significant game changer policy (sic)”, he emphasised that the decriminalisation of drug addicts and addiction was not to be mistaken for legalising drugs.
Muhyiddin had also previously said that the decriminalisation would include a treatment programme which would boost the roles of family members and the community.
