Regardless of whether the government permits medical cannabis, the drug’s status as a category 2 drug would not be changed, the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) said on Saturday after a petition calling for medicinal cannabis to be allowed gained more signatures.
A proposal on the National Development Council’s Public Policy Network Participation Platform has collected more than 5,000 signatures, exceeding the threshold needed for the proposal to be considered by the government.
The public must understand that the only difference between narcotics and drugs is whether they are used in a legal manner, the ministry said.
Using morphine, a category 1 narcotic, as an anesthetic is legal, and methadone, a category 2 narcotic, can be used to treat opioid dependence, it said.
Item 4, Article 2 of the Narcotics Hazard Prevention Act (毒品危害防治條例) states: “[Drug] needs for medication or scientific use can be otherwise designated by law,” which allows for narcotics to be designated as medicinal drugs, it said.
However, no individual or company in Taiwan is importing cannabis medication, either because there are substitutes already in place, or its market would be too small, the ministry said.
Cannabis is a substance that is addictive and could be abused if used recreationally, causing harm to the public, as well as being dangerous to the physical and mental state of the user, it said.
In meetings with representatives from the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the Taipei Medical University, the pharmaceutical industry and medical experts, the attendees have been unanimously against the legalization of cannabis for recreational use, the justice ministry said.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare on Thursday said that cannabis, which contains cannabinoids such as cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), is a restricted category 2 narcotic, as is THC.
As CBD has possible medicinal properties, it is not listed under restricted drugs, it said.
As there are as yet no approved medicines containing CBD, individuals with doctor’s prescriptions for such drugs should apply to import it according to the Regulations on Management of Medicament Samples and Gifts (藥物樣品贈品管理辦法), the health ministry added.
The use of cannabis can increase the possibility of lung or myocardial infarctions as well as addiction, so the public needs to be cautious about pressing for legalization, it said.
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck off the coast of Hualien County in eastern Taiwan at 7pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter of the temblor was at sea, about 69.9km south of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 30.9km, it said. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake’s intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County’s Changbin Township (長濱), where it measured 5 on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 4 in Hualien, Nantou, Chiayi, Yunlin, Changhua and Miaoli counties, as well as
Taiwan is to have nine extended holidays next year, led by a nine-day Lunar New Year break, the Cabinet announced yesterday. The nine-day Lunar New Year holiday next year matches the length of this year’s holiday, which featured six extended holidays. The increase in extended holidays is due to the Act on the Implementation of Commemorative and Festival Holidays (紀念日及節日實施條例), which was passed early last month with support from the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party. Under the new act, the day before Lunar New Year’s Eve is also a national holiday, and Labor Day would no longer be limited
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The first tropical storm of the year in the western North Pacific, Wutip (蝴蝶), has formed over the South China Sea and is expected to move toward Hainan Island off southern China, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said today. The agency said a tropical depression over waters near the Paracel and Zhongsha islands strengthened into a tropical storm this morning. The storm had maximum sustained winds near its center of 64.8kph, with peak gusts reaching 90kph, it said. Winds at Beaufort scale level 7 — ranging from 50kph to 61.5kph — extended up to 80km from the center, it added. Forecaster Kuan Hsin-ping
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