Weed in Pekanbaru — a close look at law, use, enforcement and local impacts

Pekanbaru, the capital of Riau province on central-eastern Sumatra, is a bustling city framed by the Siak river, oil and palm-oil money, and a modernizing urban core along Jalan Sudirman. Like many Indonesian cities, it is also a front line in the country’s long, often punitive fight against illegal drugs — and cannabis (weed) is part of that story. This article maps the legal framework, the local situation in Pekanbaru and Riau, recent enforcement trends, public-health and social consequences, and what different stakeholders — from residents to policymakers — might consider going forward. Weed in Pekanbaru

Indonesia’s legal framework: strict rules and heavy penalties Weed in Pekanbaru

Indonesia treats narcotics very seriously under Law No. 35 of 2009 (the Narcotics Law). Cannabis is classified with other “Class I” narcotics when it appears as vegetation or processed forms such as hashish, and activities like cultivating, possessing, transporting, distributing or selling carry stiff penalties. Depending on the offense and the articles applied, penalties can include multi-year imprisonment and very large fines; in practice police sometimes charge dealers and large-scale traffickers under provisions that carry the longest sentences. At the national level the government has also applied the harshest penalties available for large trafficking cases, and drug trafficking has historically exposed defendants to sentences up to life imprisonment — and in the most extreme drug trafficking cases Indonesia has even sought the death penalty. (ijrs.or.id) Weed in Pekanbaru

Because of that legal environment, public discussion in Indonesia tends to frame drug supply and possession as criminal justice problems first, with health and rehabilitation as secondary concerns. That orientation shapes how local police, prosecutors and the National Narcotics Agency (BNN) allocate resources and run operations.

What the data and local reports show (Pekanbaru and Riau) Weed in Pekanbaru

Riau province — and by extension Pekanbaru — has been repeatedly flagged in government and media reporting as a place with substantial drug-use prevalence and active trafficking patterns. Provincial estimates and past reporting have suggested tens of thousands of people in Riau may be using illicit drugs, and law-enforcement statistics show substantial numbers of drug cases handled each year. In 2024 and 2025 provincial police and the BNN ran concentrated operations and anti-narcotics campaigns that resulted in hundreds or thousands of arrests across the province; Polda Riau reported large numbers of cases and seizures in annual summaries of their activity. Those operations have targeted everything from street-level distribution to international smuggling rings and even alleged campus-based storage or transit schemes. (ANTARA News)  (Republika Online)

Supply routes and local dynamics Weed in Pekanbaru

A few features shape how cannabis appears in Pekanbaru’s drug landscape:

• Geography and logistics: Riau’s river networks and road connections — and Pekanbaru’s role as a provincial hub — make the city a convenient transit point for goods and people. That can also be exploited by trafficking networks moving product between islands or hiding shipments among legitimate cargo.
• Variety of supply: Cannabis encountered in the region ranges from locally cultivated plants (small farms or concealed plots) to processed resin or imported product. Law-enforcement statements sometimes describe seizures of dried marijuana or packaged product intended for distribution. (Republika Online) Weed in Pekanbaru
• Intersections with other drugs and crime: Traffickers and criminal networks often traffic multiple substances; police operations that target meth labs or broader trafficking rings sometimes uncover cannabis as well. Larger international trafficking cases occasionally involve organized rings operating across provincial boundaries. (INP | Indonesian National Police)

Enforcement patterns: raids, campaigns, and their effects

Local police and BNN province offices in Riau (with activity centered in Pekanbaru) run recurring “Operasi Antik” and similar crackdowns — short, intensive law-enforcement campaigns aimed at disrupting distribution and arresting suspects. These operations produce high numbers of arrests, publicized seizures and temporary disruption to local networks. They also create strong incentives for suppliers to change routes, concealment methods or modes of supply. (Tribrata News)

This operational focus has two predictable effects. First, arrests and seizures create public signals that authorities are active — often welcomed by citizens worried about visibility of drug-related crime. Second, because the legal framework treats possession and cultivation severely, many low-level users and small-scale possessors are swept into the criminal system rather than diverted to treatment or rehabilitation. Human-rights and public-health advocates argue this criminalizing approach can increase long-term harms — for example, stigma, difficulties accessing employment after conviction, and overloading prisons. Several local NGOs and legal advocates in Indonesia recommend clearer pathways for diversion to treatment for users, and a separation between users and organized traffickers in legal practice. (Reprieve)

Public health, stigma, and social consequences

Beyond legal penalties, cannabis use in any community has public health considerations: dependence in a minority of users, risk of contaminated products, and potential overlap with other substance use issues. In Pekanbaru, as elsewhere in Indonesia, the dominant public response has historically emphasized law enforcement. This has consequences:

• Limited harm-reduction services: Compared with countries that prioritize public-health responses, Indonesia provides relatively few harm-reduction programs targeted at cannabis specifically. Where services exist (for opioid or methamphetamine users), they are often limited and unevenly distributed.
• Stigma and social costs: Criminalization fuels societal stigma toward users; arrests can damage futures by creating criminal records and social exclusion. Many families and employers react punitively rather than supporting rehabilitation.
• Potential for unsafe products: When supply is unregulated, users may encounter cannabis adulterated with other substances or stored/processed in unsanitary ways — an avoidable health risk.

Public-health experts and some civil society groups have therefore called for a recalibrated approach: maintain enforcement against traffickers and large-scale dealers, while expanding voluntary treatment options, education, and community-level prevention programs to reduce harm and recidivism.

Voices from the city — residents, students and families

Local reporting in Pekanbaru sometimes highlights the human stories behind statistics: students detained in raids, families coping with a relative’s arrest, or neighborhood residents supporting police sweeps of “kampung narkoba” (areas labeled by authorities as problem neighborhoods). These stories underscore the reality that drug-law enforcement touches ordinary lives daily — not only cartel figures. At the same time, community members often value safer neighborhoods and support visible police action against open dealing. Balancing safety, due process and rehabilitation is the core challenge.

Alternatives and policy debates

Across Indonesia there is an ongoing debate — legal, political and social — about whether current drug laws strike the right balance. Arguments in favor of reform include:

• More proportionate penalties: Distinguish clearly between users and traffickers so that people who use or possess small amounts can be diverted to treatment rather than long prison terms.
• Expanded rehabilitation and prevention: Invest in community prevention, school-based education, and accessible treatment programs so that use is tackled as a health issue when appropriate.
• Targeted enforcement: Focus scarce law-enforcement resources on dismantling trafficking networks rather than punishing low-level possession.

Opponents of loosening controls worry that any softening will increase rates of use and social harms; given Indonesia’s political and cultural climate, any large-scale liberalization of cannabis policy remains politically sensitive.

Practical steps for Pekanbaru stakeholders

For local policymakers, civil society and citizens in Pekanbaru who want to reduce harm while keeping communities safe, practical measures could include:

1. Strengthening community prevention programs in schools and youth centers to reduce uptake among young people.
2. Expanding voluntary rehabilitation services and creating clearer diversion pathways from arrest to treatment where appropriate.
3. Data and transparency: better, locally disaggregated data on drug use and treatment demand can help match services to need.
4. Proportionate enforcement strategy: prioritize investigation and prosecution of organized traffickers and supply chains, while treating low-level users with public-health interventions.
5. Community policing and trust building: involve neighborhood leaders, religious organizations and health workers to create non-punitive supports for recovery.

If implemented carefully, these steps can reduce recidivism and the social costs of criminal records while protecting public safety.

Conclusion — a pragmatic path forward

Weed in Pekanbaru is not a single issue but a web of law, enforcement practice, health needs and social values. The city faces the same broader national constraints that make Indonesian drug policy highly punitive, but it also shares the common opportunity to shape local implementation. Where law allows, greater emphasis on rehabilitation, prevention, and proportionate enforcement could reduce the human costs of criminalization without abandoning public safety. Policymakers in Pekanbaru and Riau already run substantial anti-narcotics operations; combining those efforts with stronger health and social services would address the problem more holistically and potentially yield longer-term gains for public safety and community wellbeing. (Tribrata News)