Why her daughter badly wants marijuana despite Indonesian government's ban on it

Medan, Indonesia: Marijuana, says Santi Warastuti, the Indonesian mother whose 14-year-old daughter is badly in need of the drug to fight a cerebral palsy, is like a knife which is meant to cut things but can also be used to stab and kill someone.

Pika Sasi Kirana was alright until she was a five-year-old being a lively kid who loved singing, when things began changing as she suffered fainting spells and vomiting, Ajazeera reported.

As her condition deteriorated, Warastuti took her to a doctor who prescribed a drug for epilepsy.

Warastuti, who worked as a fashion designer, told Al Jazeera that nobody back then used the words like 'cerebral palsy'.

Despite medication, Pika's condition would not improve and the girl was unable to do anything by herself, requiring 24-hour care.

It was then Warastuti heard about the unlikely solution for her daughter condition: medical marijuana.

Her European employer told Warastuti about the efficacy of the drug saying how the drug was used in Europe and other countries to ease many diseases.

Indonesia classifies cannabis as a Schedule 1 substance, following the UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961, which means that it is classified as a drug with high potential for abuse, no accepted medical use and no safe level of use under medical supervision, the report said.

As Warastuti moved to her hometown of Yogyakarta, she met Dwi Pratiwi, another mother and plaintiff in a Constitutional Court case, who had taken her son Musa to Australia for medical marijuana therapy.

Musa was suffering from cerebral palsy. Warastuti saw how medical marijuana could help those with the condition, easing muscular atrophy and enabling sleep.

Warastuti did not hesitate to take legal action when Pratiwi suggested the idea.

However, on July 20, Indonesia's Constitutional Court rejected a motion filed by Warastuti, Pratiwi and another mother with a child having cerebral pals, seeking a judicial review of Indonesia's Narcotics Law of 2009, which bans the use of marijuana for any reason.

However, the judge ordered the Indonesian government to conduct further scientific studies into the medical uses of marijuana, according to the report.

As it is not clear how long it will take before the nation finally lifts the ban on the drug, Warastuti would like to lobby for the government to help fund Indonesian citizens seeking medical marijuana treatment in other countries like Australia.

She wants the government to allow individuals to buy medical marijuana from other countries for use in Indonesia.

Warastuti believes that the court's decision is not end of the read for her daughter Pika and others who are badly in need of the medicine.