Indonesia's Aceh authorities to ban marijuana-laced traditional dishes in restaurant


Officials of the National Narcotics Agency's (BNN) regional office in Aceh check on urine samples gathered from civil servants of the West Aceh regency office of the Religious Affairs Ministry on May 14, 2024. - Antara - Jakarta Post/ANN

JAKARTA (Jakarta Post/ANN): The Aceh office of the National Narcotics Agency (BNN) is pushing the plan to prevent visitors and athletes coming to the province for the national sports competition unknowingly consuming marijuana as a result of eating Acehnese traditional dishes in restaurants.

Authorities in Aceh are planning to launch raids on restaurants in the province to seize food containing marijuana, as the conservative Muslim region is set to host the country’s largest sports event, the National Games (PON), in September.

The plan was announced recently by the Aceh office of the National Narcotics Agency (BNN) and the Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM).

“We need to make sure that people visiting the province during PON are comfortable eating our traditional food,” Aceh BNN head Brig. Gen. Marzuki Ali Basyah said on Tuesday, as reported by kompas.com.

“We want to erase the stigma that Aceh’s food is seasoned using marijuana,” he continued.

Marzuki said restaurants using marijuana as spices for their dishes would harm their customers who did not know that they were consuming an illegal substance.

He cited an example of a recent arrest made of a man after he tested positive for marijuana during a drug raid. Investigators later found that he had unknowingly consumed marijuana-laced food when dining in a traditional Aceh restaurant.

“We don’t want this to happen again. We also don’t want athletes participating in the upcoming PON to be tested positive for marijuana during their doping tests simply because they ate Aceh food,” Marzuki said.

Cannabis is strictly illegal in the country. The 2009 Narcotics Law, deemed one of the strictest drug laws in the world, lists cannabis as a type-1 narcotic alongside 65 other drugs, including opium, cocaine and methamphetamine.

The usage and production of type-1 narcotics, including for medicinal purposes, are forbidden, except for certain research purposes. Unauthorized marijuana possession, production and trading can result in up to 20 years in prison.

But Aceh historians have argued that people in the region have used marijuana as a herbal medicine and seasoning since at least since the 15th century, long before Indonesia declared its independence in 1945. At one point, the use of cannabis was so common in Aceh that locals grew it in their backyards to be publicly sold.

The government started cracking down on the practice during the 1970s amid its war against drugs.

Despite the ban, cannabis cultivation remains common in the province, resulting in authorities torching hectares of marijuana fields every year.

Aceh, the only Indonesian province to implement sharia, attempted in 2020 to legalize marijuana farming for medical purposes.

But the proposal faced strong resistance from local policymakers and the public. Indonesia’s westernmost province is set to jointly host its first PON with neighboring North Sumatra, slated for Sept. 8 to 20. -- The Jakarta Post/ANN

Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel for breaking news alerts and key updates!

Indonesia , Aceh , Cannabis , Ban , Traditional Dishes

   

Next In Aseanplus News

Asean News Headlines at 10pm on Wednesday (Nov 13, 2024)
Indonesia's Mount Lewotobi volcano eruption: 124 Malaysians report presence in Labuan Bajo
Indonesia to launch reconstruction effort following Mount Lewotobi eruptions
Rodrigo Duterte: I killed six or seven people in Davao, including erring cops
Lorry ploughs into goldsmiths shop in Camerons
China Rolls-Royce owner declines compensation from truck driver, upset by online fame claims
Mother of North Korean abductee Megumi Yokota calls for daughter’s return to Japan 47 years after abduction
More than 20% tax on those earning above RM100,000, says Amir Hamzah
Penang police detain driver for causing fatal accident with toppled container
Malaysians can now use Taiwan’s e-Gate for immigration clearance

Others Also Read