Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia's Ministry of Health: medical marijuana products are allowed to be submitted for registration, provided that they strictly comply with the existing legal framework.

The Malaysian Ministry of Health recently made clear in a written reply to Parliament that it allows organizations or individuals with sufficient scientific evidence to submit applications for the registration of medical cannabis products, but emphasized that the relevant applications must comply with the country's existing laws on the strict regulation of dangerous drugs and poisons.

Application Thresholds and Legal Limitations

In its March 3 Congressional Response document, the Department of Health states that any application for registration of a cannabis-based medical product is subject to two core conditions:
Provide peer-reviewed clinical research data demonstrating the product's safety and medical value;
Strictly comply with the full regulatory requirements of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 (DDA) and the Poisons Act 1952 (PDA) for the classification of the drug, its manufacture and distribution.
Current legal classification
As a dangerous drug, its possession and sale require a special license;
As a drug, its importation and use are subject to approval through the Ministry of Health.
Cannabis and its derivatives (including cannabidiol CBD, etc.) are currently dually classified: the existing legal system covers the control of pharmaceuticals, psychoactive substances and dangerous drugs, and clearly regulates the importation, sale, supply and possession of medical cannabis products.
Policy Interpretation and Industry Impact

Cautious open attitude: Malaysia's statement released a limited open medical marijuana research and application of the signal, but did not break the existing legal framework. This move may be in response to the outcry from the medical community, while avoiding triggering drug abuse controversies.
Comparison with neighboring countries in Southeast Asia: Compared with Thailand (legalization of medical marijuana in 2018) and Indonesia (legislative discussions to start in 2022), Malaysia's policy is more conservative, highlighting the balance between public health and drug law enforcement.
Corporate Opportunities and Challenges: If drug companies or research organizations can provide strong clinical data, they may be able to drive product approvals, but will need to deal with complex legal approval processes and social perception resistance.
2019, 2023 Successive Malaysian governments have explored the legalization of medical marijuana, but no clear legislation has . In fact, each new government team has taken steps forward with the support of existing medical data and evidence-based medicine, observing what potholes neighboring Thailand has stepped into on the one hand, and drafting regulatory frameworks internally on the other, all of which are well documented.
This time, the Ministry of Health made it clear that those who have sufficient scientific evidence supporting the use of cannabis-based products for medical treatment can come forward to submit their product registration. submit their product registration, perhaps the legal framework is ready for public consultation, by an eye-watering push for the orderly legalization of medical cannabis (mainly CBD drugs).
As this Malaysian doctor urges: only be open to experimenting with how effective medical marijuana can be for patients, otherwise you'll never know.