CLINICAL studies on cannabis for medical use in Malaysia are still at the preliminary stage and are not as advanced as in foreign countries that have used cannabis for the treatment of chronic diseases, Deputy Health Minister Dr Noor Azmi Ghazali said.

“Cannabis has been placed under the Poisons Act 1952, so to legitimise its use, a host of laws would have to be resolved.

“It cannot be arbitrarily released because there are concerns over the abuse of it and early-stage side effects,” he told the media after officiating the Clinical Research Day organised by Clinical Research Malaysia (CRM) here today.

Meanwhile, CRM chief executive officer Dr Akhmal Yusof said Malaysia now has two ‘first in human’ (FIH) facilities that have been accredited by the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA) – the Sarawak General Hospital, which began operations a year ago, and Ampang Hospital.

He said FIH was important for the approval of medicines and functions as centres for clinical studies that can attract investment from major companies to undertake clinical studies and at the same time be able to produce medicines at low prices if produced locally. – Bernama, May 19, 2022.