Thailand approves therapeutic use of cannabis, for medical purposes and for scientific research
Thailand approved the legalization of medical cannabis on Tuesday. This is the first legalization in this region of Asia, where the laws are among the strictest in the world ...
Thailand legalizes medical cannabis
Thailand, a country which, until the 1930s, used to consume cannabis for medical purposes, voted to amend the Narcotics Act of 1979 ... Banning its use and much more, this country enacted the strictest laws in the world against cannabis users ...
But this Tuesday, December 25, 2018, the National Legislative Assembly announced by television to the Thai people that it definitively legalized the therapeutic use of the cannabis plant, for medical use and scientific research.
“This is a New Year's gift from the National Legislature to the government and people of Thailand,” said Somchai Sawangkarn, chairman of the editorial board.
End of a taboo in Southeast Asia?
Despite the medical legalization of cannabis worldwide, the plant remains illegal and taboo across Southeast Asia. The laws against cannabis are the most severe in the world ... In Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore some of these laws can sentence cannabis traffickers to death ...
But in Thailand, the main controversy over legalization concerned patent applications from foreign companies. Which made access to medical cannabis more difficult for Thai patients. In addition, researchers will now benefit from cannabis extracts in their scientific advances.
"We are going to demand that the government revoke all of these requests before the law comes into force," said Panthep Puapongpan, dean of the Rangsit Institute of Integrative Medicine and Anti-Aging.
Some Thai advocates are hoping Tuesday's approval will pave the way for recreational use to be legalized. While waiting for the
Thailand sets an example to its neighboring countries, which will undoubtedly allow the end of these repressive and retrograde laws ...
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