Thailand’s recent prime minister, Srettha Thavisin, has announced her intention to enhance the country’s marijuana policy, with plans to limit its use to medical purposes only inside the following six months.
Last 12 months, Thailand made history by becoming the primary country in Asia to remove narcotic cannabis from cannabis, resulting in the emergence of cannabis cafes and dispensaries in popular tourist destinations comparable to Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Pattaya .
However, the failure to approve a law regulating using cannabis has created a legal loophole within the country. Public Health Minister Cholnan Srikaew’s idea to amend the Cannabis Act previously recommend by his predecessor, Anutin Charnvirakul, was rejected by the House of Representatives.
Before the bill might be referred to the House of Representatives for discussion, the minister issued an order removing cannabis and hemp from the list of Schedule 5 drugs under the Drugs Act.
Prime Minister Srettha, who leads the Pheu Thai Party and is forming a coalition government with 10 other parties, campaigned heavily on anti-drug issues before the election. In an interview with Bloomberg Television in New York, where she was attending the UN General Assembly, Srettha said the law needed to be reviewed.
According to Thanet Supornsahasrungsi, who serves as executive director of Sunshine Hotels and Resorts Group in Pattaya, a lot of the marijuana shops which have opened to date seem like geared more towards recreational use and there have been reports of marijuana overdoses. He said this in an interview with the Bangkok Post.
Thanet said if they’re going to think about using marijuana for medical purposes, law enforcement must be strengthened in order that they can provide protected treatment to those that need it.
On one other occasion, in keeping with the Bangkok Post, Rasmon Kalayasiri, director of the Center for Addiction Research, supported a ban on recreational use of cannabis and suggested reclassifying parts of the plant with high THC content as drugs.
Dr. Rasmon also supports amending the law to limit using cannabis and hemp to medical and health purposes only, while prohibiting their recreational use. The bill also includes restrictions on growing 15 cannabis plants per household and classifying flowering parts with high THC levels as drugs.
According to him, doctors haven’t any problem using cannabis for medical purposes. However, they note that recreational cannabis use, especially amongst children, is more common and causes health problems.
Dr. Rasmon believes that laws are needed that more stringently regulate using cannabis and marijuana and completely prohibit their use for recreational purposes. It also suggests that high-THC parts of cannabis must be classified as drugs as a start.
In the present legal context, people over the age of 20 who aren’t pregnant or breastfeeding can legally use cannabis of their homes, and edibles containing cannabis extracts will be consumed in licensed restaurants.
Please note that in lots of Asian countries, the use and possession of cannabis can lead to severe penalties and even imprisonment, with Singapore being one in all the countries that imposes the death penalty for crimes.
