Minister of Justice denied possibility of legalizing marijuana in foreseeable future 大麻合法化? 法務部長:現階段無政策考量

Ministry blocked the way of legalization as seizure of illegal marijuana reach historical high.

Legalizing marijuana is "impossible", at least for the foreseeable future, says Justice Minister Tsai Ching-hsiang as the Ministry has declared war on it and seized a record of over 9,000 plants in the first half of this year.

In April, the Ministry of Justice's Investigation Bureau uncovered the largest marijuana farm in Taiwan, where over 1,000 marijuana plants were being cultivated. Several days ago, the police discovered people selling cannabis oil for vaporizers. The Ministry of Justice says marijuana can seriously damage the health of people and at present, there are no plans to legalize marijuana.

Tsai Ching-hsiang, Justice Minister:” Right now, there is no chance of legalizing marijuana. The Ministry of Justice doesn't have any such policy. Our current circumstances do not allow us to legalize marijuana.”

Wu I-ming, Dep. Director, Dept. of Prev., Rehab. & Protection, MOJ:”There are some countries or states where marijuana is legal, so there are some people here who are using misleading ways to encourage others to call for the legalization of marijuana. They are really misleading the public with falsehoods.” 

In the first half of this year, over 9,000 marijuana plants were seized, a new record. The Ministry of Justice has declared war on marijuana and included it as one of the targets in the anti-drug campaign. Ministry of Justice Department of Prevention, Rehabilitation and Protection Deputy Director Wu I-ming said marijuana is not a natural substance, and growing, using, or selling it is illegal. Meanwhile, there are doctors calling for the legalization of medical marijuana.

Lai Yen-he, Doctor:”Marijuana is not the thing that harms the body the most. If you compare it with tobacco and alcohol, which are legal, the addictiveness and harmfulness of marijuana are actually less.” 

Doctors say that although some marijuana reagents can be used for medical treatment, no company has gotten the permit to import them. They urge the government to relax restrictions on the medical use of marijuana and to educate the public on recognizing and appropriately using marijuana to improve medical treatment efficacy. They say more discussion is needed regarding the recreational use.

見時機成熟，上前包夾，展開緝毒行動，法務部調查局今年4月，破獲國內最大宗大麻養殖場，一舉查獲上千株大麻植株。日前，警方更發現，有業者販賣摻有大麻物質的電子菸菸油。對此，法務部說重話，強調大麻嚴重影響民眾健康，現階段不可能合法化。

法務部長 蔡清祥：「大麻合法化在目前是不可能的，我們法務部也沒有這樣的一個政策，到目前為止我們的國情不容許大麻合法化。」

法務部保護司副司長 吳怡明：「部分的國人因為在一些國家或是州，他認為大麻合法化，用這種混淆方式，來宣導國人說要鼓勵大麻合法化，其實這個部分，真的是有混淆視聽。」

光是今年上半年，查扣到的大麻植株就超過9千株，創下歷年最多，法務部向大麻宣戰，列為反毒首要目標之一，要民眾不要心存僥倖，施用大麻。而保護司副司長吳怡明則表示，大麻並非天然物品，我國無論栽種、施用、販賣等行為都是違法。不過，卻有醫師準備發起，"醫用"大麻合法化的訴求。

支持醫用大麻合法化醫師 賴彥合：「大麻它都不是危害(人體)程度最高，甚至相比目前已經合法的菸和酒這一塊，它(大麻)的各種成癮性、危害性，都還是相對比較低的。」

醫師表示，雖然國內開放部分大麻試劑，做為醫療使用，但並無廠商取得藥證引進，呼籲政府放寬"醫用大麻"管制標準，並再教育國人對於大麻的認識，適量使用，有效提升醫療療效。至於，娛樂用大麻合法化聲浪，醫師保守回應，仍有待討論。