The Development Trend of Medical Cannabis in Thailand
On June 10, 2022, according to the Financial Associated Press, citing BBC, CNN and other foreign media reports, Thailand officially announced the legalization of cannabis cultivation and smoking. Thailand has since become the first country in Asia to legalize cannabis.
The bill legalizing cannabis went into effect on June 9. As a result, growing and trading cannabis in Thailand is no longer a crime, and cafes and restaurants can offer cannabis-infused diets as long as the THC content in the product is less than 0.2%.
Thailand - the first country in Southeast Asia to legalize medical use and research medicinal cannabis
The announcement signed by Thailand this time is far from the legalization of drugs in de jure, or the legalization of recreational cannabis use. It's not even as good as the 1996 California bill passed in the US.
Anutdin is the leader of the Thailand Pride Party, the main cooperative party of the coalition government in Thailand, and in the 2019 general election, he promised to legalize cannabis production to help farmers, and has been actively promoting the legalization of cannabis as a cash crop. Anuddin has been claiming in recent years that the goal of the Thai Ministry of Health is to promote all parties to make full use of cannabis to create value, including medical applications, research and development, and the development of the cannabis industry, so as to create employment opportunities and income for the people.
Cannabis has high economic and medicinal value, and it is allowed to grow and use under certain conditions.
My country is the country with the largest industrial hemp planting area in the world, accounting for about half of the world's total, providing a lot of foreign exchange and employment opportunities for several legally cultivated provinces such as Yunnan. The so-called industrial hemp has a common definition, that is, the content of tetrahydrocannabinoid (THC) in the cannabis plant. Studies have shown that human intake of cannabis with a THC content of less than 0.3% does not show psychoactive properties, while ingestion of cannabis with a THC content of more than 0.3% has a certain medicinal or abuse tendency. According to this, European and American countries divide cannabis into medicinal (cannabis hemp or medicinal hemp, THC greater than 0.5%), intermediate (intermediatehemp, THC greater than 0.3% but less than 0.5%) and fiber type (THC less than 0.3%) according to the THC content.
This time, the standards implemented in Thailand are more stringent. It follows the standards of the World Health Organization (WHO). In March 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) submitted a proposal to the United Nations International Narcotics Control Board to remove pure CBD preparations from the list of narcotics, and suggested that they should be marked with no more than 0.2% THC and mainly cannabidiol (CBD). ) preparations will not be regulated by international conventions. This WHO recommendation is based on a large number of clinical experiments. Many literatures and clinical experiments have proved that CBD in cannabis can relieve insomnia, relieve chronic pain, anti-anxiety, anti-depression, anti-inflammatory, anti-psychotic, antibacterial, and relieve chemotherapy. It has high medical value in nausea and vomiting, anti-diabetic, and improvement of fibromyalgia.
A few years ago, there was a case claiming that the combined use of fenbendazole and CBD to cure patients with advanced cancer, which made the medical value of cannabis more concerned. Therefore, in nature, the release of this announcement officially makes Thailand the first country in Southeast Asia to legally use and research medicinal cannabis.
At the beginning of the new year, the Ministry of Health of Thailand signed an announcement to remove cannabis from the drug list. There are two considerations: First, Thailand is suitable for growing cannabis, and can make money and generate income by growing cannabis. It should be noted that although the hemp it grows has a great overlap with China's industrial hemp, there are also differentiated operations. The cultivation of cannabis developed in Thailand is more inclined to its medicinal properties.
Second, attract tourists to develop the economy. Thailand’s GDP contracted by 6.1% in 2020. Tourism revenue in many parts of Thailand has fallen for the second year in a row due to the decline in Chinese tourists due to the new crown epidemic. Tourism industry is the pillar industry of Thailand. Removing cannabis from the drug list could attract many Western tourists.
Legalizing cannabis has both advantages and disadvantages for Thailand.
Drug control in Southeast Asia has always been difficult. While opening up the legalization of industrial hemp, I hope that the Thai government can strengthen control and not allow lawbreakers to take advantage of the market and disrupt the market.
As mentioned above, the medicinal value and economic value of industrial hemp itself are relatively high. Promoting the legalization of industrial hemp is conducive to promoting the economic growth of Thailand and increasing the economic income of the people.
Future trends
If the control is in place, medical cannabis cultivation may become an important part of Thailand's economy, bringing considerable benefits to Thailand, and at the same time promoting the legalization of medical cannabis in Southeast Asia and the world.
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Vivian chan
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