TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Civic group Green Wave (綠色浪潮) on Sunday morning (April 17) held a press conference outside of Taiwan’s Ministry of Justice (MOJ) to urge the country to decriminalize marijuana.

Activity organizer Chung Ho-yun (鍾和耘) pointed out a policy inconsistency when he said the MOJ had pledged to declare war on marijuana, denied that it has therapeutic value, and claimed that it is one of the most serious narcotics, CNA reported. However, the country’s Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) has announced that cannabidiol (CBD), a chemical in the marijuana plant, is a drug that can be legally imported into Taiwan, he said, urging the MOJ to legalize marijuana.

Chung put forward three requests at the press conference, including an increase to the permitted tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) — the psychoactive substance that produces the “high” associated with smoking marijuana — content to 0.3% in CBD products, controlling marijuana based on international drug control treaties, and removing marijuana from anti-drug propaganda, according to the CNA report.

Lawyer Lee Ching-chi (李菁琪) pointed out that the MOJ’s declaration of war on marijuana is barking up the wrong tree, and it should target amphetamines, which are the most abused drug in the country, instead of the less harmful marijuana, which should be decriminalized.