Taipei, April 15 (CNA) The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) on Saturday reaffirmed the government’s strong opposition to legalizing cannabis, after activists took to the streets calling for the drug to be decriminalized.
Wave Green, a group pushing for the decriminalization of cannabis in Taiwan, staged a demonstration on Ketagalan Boulevard in front of the Presidential Office in downtown Taipei on Saturday, urging the MOJ to “stop the war against cannabis” and “clear the stigma” associated with the herb.
In response, the MOJ stressed that criminalizing marijuana is aimed at keeping people healthy and making society safe and stable.
It cited the World Drug Report 2021 filed by the United Nations as evidence in asserting that the long-term and regular use of cannabis hurts people’s health and causes other harm to them.
Since many countries in the world still maintain their ban on marijuana, Taiwan’s policy is in line with the global trend, the MOJ said.
The ministry said an expert panel of Taiwanese neurologists, pharmacologists and toxicologists who met to review the harm posed by the use of cannabis has concluded that the drug will make users addictive and damage their central nervous system.
It is based on this reason that Taiwan’s Narcotics Hazard Prevention Act includes marijuana on the list of Category II narcotics, along with opium poppy, coca, amphetamines, pethidine and pentazocine, according to the MOJ.
Those listed in Category I are heroin, morphine, opium, cocaine and their derivative products.
Under the Act, persons convicted of using marijuana shall be punished with a jail term of up to three years, while those who manufacture, transport or sell cannabis are punishable by up to life in prison, combined with a maximum fine of NT$15 million (US$491,803).
The Act also stipulates that people who are found guilty of possession with the intention to sell marijuana shall be punished with a jail term of five years or longer, and may also face a fine of up to NT$5 million.
The MOJ urged people not to violate the law as prosecutors and police have intensified their efforts to crack down against the crimes related to marijuana use and prevent the harm caused by the drug to spread.
