Health Minister Dr S Subramaniam has said selling of drugs listed as controlled or banned under the Poisons Act 1952 is against the laws of the country and medical ethics.

“All medicines in the list need a prescription by qualified medical personnel before they can be given to the patient.

“For example, morphine, which is a banned substance. However, we (ministry) use it in hospitals for medical purposes.

“It is for pain relief in some cases, particularly in critical cases or after major surgery,” he told reporters after chairing a meeting of MIC’s Central Working Committee at the party’s headquarters here yesterday.

The MIC president was commenting on the arrest of an individual nicknamed “Dr Ganja” for selling cakes, milk, chocolate and honey laced with drugs for “medical purpose” via Facebook, WeChat and WhatsApp.

At a press conference here yesterday, federal police narcotics investigation department deputy director Kang Chez Chiang said the suspect and two other individuals who had been carrying out similar sales on social media, the last five or six months, were caught in Klang on Friday.

He said police seized 18 marijuana trees, four kilos of compressed marijuana (ganja), and the said items containing ganja and a car, altogether valued at RM21,000, when making the arrests.