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The lack of regulation and infrastructure for the distribution of cannabis to medical marijuana patients is bad. As of January 2020, 442 licenses for medicinal cannabis have been issued, 400 of which have been used for distribution, but supply remains an important challenge that needs to be addressed by domestic production.
Legalization has allowed patients with different health conditions to have easy access to medical marijuana and cannabis clinics. Despite the increasing number of clinics, however, it remains unclear how many patients have access to medical cannabis without a review and delivery of medical services. In terms of the number of patients with three of the most serious diseases medical cannabis therapy is allowed for chemotherapy-related side effects, epilepsy and multiple sclerosis.
In Thailand the medical needs of patients and the potential health benefits of cannabis seem to be second to the potential economic returns of a growing market. As a result, thousands of Thai patients are waiting to be treated with marijuana for common and serious diseases, but there are not enough medicinal-quality cannabis to grow and process.
The public interest in cannabis products is increasing, accelerating legalization for medical and recreational use in many countries. Since the early 1930s, cannabis has been classified as controlled in Thailand. Although Thailand was the first Southeast Asian country to legalize medical marijuana, cannabis has not been legalized due to harsh penalties for recreational use. The government removed cannabis extracts from its drug list and opened medical marijuana clinics.
In 2019, legislators passed an amendment to Thai narcotics law to become the first Southeast Asian country to allow medical and scientific use but with many restrictions. It should be noted that conservative South Korea legalized medical marijuana and other CBD products this year but in this case, the drug was dispensed in currently regulated facility only.
Thailand was the first Southeast Asian country to legalize medical cannabis in 2019, making it the Government’s top priority. In recent years the movement for the legalisation of cannabis in Thailand has accelerated.
The latest plan is to lift the country’s restrictions in 2018 and become the first country in Southeast Asia to legalize the herb’s medical use. The New York Times reported that the Thai military government has approved the use of medical marijuana, making it the first country in the region to legalize the use of cannabis in any form. In December 2018 the Thai National Assembly voted to amend the national law in favour of medical cannabis.
Cannabis oil products manufactured in Thailand will be on display at the opening of the first official medical cannabis clinic, which will treat the first group of patients participating in a monitoring and research program free of charge on 6 January 2020 in Bangkok. The government and pharmaceutical organizations delivered their first batch of cannabis oil last week to the Ministry of Public Health, eight months after Thailand became the first country to legalize medical cannabis for medicinal purposes in Southeast Asia, a region better known for its strict anti-drug laws. The opening of Thailand’s first two full-time clinics to administer cannabis oil for medical treatment reflects the country’s intention to promote the licensed use of marijuana products to improve the symptoms of a wide variety of ailments.
Within six months, the Health Minister plans to distribute 1,000,000 bottles of medical cannabis to patients. Somsak Akkslip, head of the Department of Medical Services at the Ministry of Health, told VOA that 12 hospitals across the country will supply the first 4,000 registered patients with doses and enroll at the end of the week to prescribe the drug.
If all goes as planned, Thai citizens suffering from cancer and a handful of other diseases and disorders could take the first legal doses of medical cannabis today. The Thai Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul earlier this month told reporters that expanding the production of medical marijuana and proposed laws will help Thailand become a leading producer of the drug. Hopes that Thailand will follow the example of Canada and some other countries that have legalized cannabis for recreational use are premature at this stage, government officials and industry observers say.
Cannabis tourism in several countries and places that have legalized recreational marijuana use is on the rise, but experts are skeptical that Thailand is going down this path. The tourism minister plans to integrate cannabis into a new tourism strategy.
While the country maintains an uncompromising stance against recreational marijuana use, the legalization of medical marijuana has helped change the story around cannabis in Thailand. The Thai newspaper Bangkok Post headlined a “green rush” describing foreign interest in Thailand’s changed stance on cannabis, although the official position is that Thailand will be the first. Countries in the region such as Singapore, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Malaysia have expressed interest in importing high-quality medical cannabis from Thailand and exporting their products to Thailand.
An FDA Drug Enforcement Administration official said: “Medical marijuana is allowed in Thailand in its current form, which has been approved by the Department of Health as an edible flower or oil. They issue certificates for patients who are allowed to use cannabis for medicinal purposes.
In March 2021, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Health Anutin Charnvirakul announced that households can grow up to six cannabis plants. The new Medical Marijuana law is written as an addition to the previous law that patients may grow their medical marijuana up to six plants per household. The government passed the law in the hope that they could make a profit by exporting cannabis.
By allowing patients to grow and sell to the Thai government at home and at home, the government hopes to increase supply in the country and make it available to those who need it. Legalization will also allow the government to have a wellness center for harvesting and processing marijuana. There are three categories of cannabis-based products that have been legalized for medicinal purposes in Thailand.
Chad Tribble, one of the co-founders of Mountain High Suckers who visited Thailand to speak and to participate at Elevate Cannabis Expo 2019 told the Bangkok Post that there is a wide variety of uses for products derived from cannabis.
Sources:
- https://www.forbes.com/sites/andrebourque/2018/12/28/thailands-legalization-of-medical-cannabis-proves-one-very-important-thing/
- https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3045360/thai-medical-marijuana-craze-people-rush-grow-drug-now
- https://www.khaosodenglish.com/news/2019/03/01/how-to-possess-marijuana-legally-in-thailand-right-now/
- https://www.vice.com/en/article/ep4ken/thailand-hopes-medical-marijuana-will-boost-its-lagging-economy-but-not-everyones-convinced
- https://journals.lww.com/pain/Fulltext/2021/07001/Medicinal_cannabis_in_Thailand__1_year_experience.9.aspx
- https://www.reuters.com/article/us-thailand-cannabis/thailand-plans-to-widen-medical-marijuana-production-idUSKCN2501EG
- https://www.cannabiscatalysts.com/medical-cannabis-legalization-in-thailand/
- https://cannabisforthailand.com/marijuana-cannabis-clinics-in-thailand/
- https://www.mountainhighsuckers.com/2020/01/29/medical-marijuana-in-thailand-cannabis-clinic-opens-in-bangkok/
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- https://www.chiangraitimes.com/lifestyles/the-legalization-of-cannabis-for-medicinal-use-in-thailand/
- https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/1965759/thailand-touted-as-medical-marijuana-tourist-destination.
- https://www.eastasiaforum.org/2021/05/13/can-medical-cannabis-in-thailand-balance-profits-and-patients/
- https://asiatimes.com/2021/01/strange-brew-medical-weed-cooking-in-thailand/
- https://mugglehead.com/medical-cannabis-is-legal-in-thailand-or-just-about/
