Pro-govt Islamist writer wants cannabis legalized as treatment against COVID-19

Duvar English

Turkish pro-government columnist Abdurrahman Dilipak, who writes for the Islamist Yeni Akit newspaper, has written a column on how he maintains his health amid the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Listing a series of food and nutrition tips, Dilipak expressed regret that Turkey has not yet legalized cannabis consumption.

“Unfortunately due to legal restrictions, we are away from cannabis which we need the most at a time like this,” Dilipak wrote in his column on Dec. 3.

Dilipak also shared a tweet with regards to his column saying that cannabis is “more important” than the COVID-19 vaccine for the health of people, animals and plants.

In his tweet, Dilipak also recalled that the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) took a number of decisions on Dec. 2, leading to changes in the way cannabis is internationally regulated, including its reclassification out of the most dangerous category of drugs. 

The UN commission's move follows the recommendation by the World Health Organization (WHO) that research into its medical use is made easier.

Cannabis has a bad reputation in Turkey, and recreational cannabis use is highly illegal. However, the production of cannabis is legal in the country for medicinal and scientific purposes, but only in 19 provinces.

Since COVID-19 outbreak first started to make the news, cannabis consumers have been wondering whether its usage will hurt or help with the virus.

The research points in both directions - indicating that cannabis might have both help and harm in cases of COVID-19 infections.

According to experts, both lines of research might be saying the truth - with cannabis impacting patients differently, and this depends on how it’s used and the severity of COVID-19 infection.

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