Council seeks poppy ban

Council seeks poppy ban

PEKANBARU, Riau: The Ulema Council plans to issue a fatwa
(religious instruction) calling on farmers in the northern
Sumatra province of Aceh to stop planting poppy, from which
marijuana is extracted.

Chief of the Islam information section at the Aceh office of
the Ministry of Religious Affairs Zainuddin Saman said most Aceh
farmers cultivate the plant out of tradition, not knowing that
their crops are being widely abused.

The local people use the marijuana leaf for medicine and as a
meat tenderizer, he said. (par)