We may not agree with Singapore’s Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam on his thinking about cannabis regulation but we can’t deny that his is correct in his assertion that it is about big cannabis and profits as evidenced by our just published story via Stuff.co about price gouging in the NZ medical cannabis market.
Channel News Asia reports
SINGAPORE: The recent decision by the United Nations to remove cannabis from the most tightly controlled category of narcotic drugs is one that is driven by the “power of money”, said Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam on Saturday (Dec 5).
“I put this down to the power of money. Companies see a huge amount of profit and a very invidious idea that cannabis is not harmful is being pushed,”
said Mr Shanmugam.
He added….
Singapore’s Institute of Mental Health in 2015 reviewed “all the reputable literature on the subject” and presented it to the UN, he added.
“The evidence was quite clear. I said it to the United Nations at the UN. I said, look, if there is evidence that it is not harmful, we will change. But so far, what we have done has worked for us,” said the minister.
“It should be doctors and medical associations who should be telling us that they need this for medical purposes and if so, a framework can be worked out, to be given to patients who need it, with suitable safeguards,” he added.
“It should not be profit-driven companies which decide, which you buy over the counter, and say that it is for medical purposes.”
Full report at https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/shanmugam-cannabis-drugs-profit-companies-united-nations-13706110
