Ongoing Debate Continues Over Draft Thai Cannabis Bill Banning Recreational Use, Prescription Certificates Proposed

[webfact]

On January 15th, 2024, Dr. Cholnan Srikaew, the Thai Minister of Public Health, publicly revealed an issue with Mr. Prasitchai Noonuan, a member of the Thai cannabis network, who mentioned the Cannabis and Hemp draft bill was different from the previously proposed changes formed by a coalition of cannabis and health advocates.

Dr. Cholnan stated that previously Prasitchai and other members of the Thai cannabis network were invited to political discussions regarding cannabis and hemp, emphasizing medical and health uses.

The use of cannabis other than for medical and health purposes was considered to violate the law, however, current cannabis shops were not canceled, instead, they must operate under the new regulations, remarked Dr. Cholnan.

 

“Users, sellers, shops, service times, and selling platforms of the cannabis must be supervised as the basis of marijuana including the root, stem, leaves, and petals, was not classified as an illicit substance. However, they contain an amount of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and Cannabidiol (CBD), therefore, the use of these items must be under Public Health regulations and supervision,” said Dr. Cholnan.

 

During the discussion, all parties were invited to express their opinion regarding the Cannabis and Hemp bill, however, risks to the health of humankind must be taken into account, remarked Dr. Cholnan.

According to the previous bill from the Bhumjaithai Party, cannabis could be used in private spaces, but not in public areas, especially smoking.

 

By Kittisak Phalaharn

 

Full story: The Thaiger 2024-01-16

 

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[Peabody]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

instead, they must operate under the new regulations, remarked Dr. Cholnan.

Which new regulations??

 

[ChipButty]

Let people get on with it, they can smoke and drink alcohol until it come out of their ears, if they choose to smoke dope so be it, nope I don't touch the stuff,

[Thingamabob]

There is no sense in allowing the widespread drinking of alcohol and smoking cigarettes, but not allowing the use of cannabis for recreational purposes.

[hotchilli]

18 hours ago, webfact said:

The use of cannabis other than for medical and health purposes was considered to violate the law, however, current cannabis shops were not canceled, instead, they must operate under the new regulations, remarked Dr. Cholnan.

 

[nobodysfriend]

Cannabis consumption was , is , and always will be , here in Thailand .

Leagalize it , why complicate things ...?

[Jumbo1968]

Put it back on the banned list for the time being and start again regulating what’s legal and not legal instead of going round in circles trying to pick the bits out already in place which isn’t 100% legal or otherwise.

[bamnutsak]

Well, that certainly clears everything up.

 

 

Seems like they are leaning toward liberal interpretations of valid medical conditions.

 

 

Some medical-only States in the U.S. have limited qualifying medical conditions. In Florida, for example:

 

Qualifying Medical Conditions:

Cancer
Epilepsy
Glaucoma
HIV/AIDS
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)
Crohn’s disease
Parkinson’s disease
Multiple sclerosis (MS)
Medical conditions of the same kind or class as or comparable to the others listed.
A terminal condition diagnosed by a physician other than the qualified physician issuing the physician certification.
Chronic nonmalignant pain caused by a qualifying medical condition or that originates from a qualifying medical condition and persists beyond the usual course of that qualifying medical condition.

 

 

 

Currently, in Thailand the following are qualifying medical conditions for medical cannabis:

 

Medical cannabis benefits for six conditions include: neuropathic pain, chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting, intractable epilepsy, spasticity from multiple sclerosis, AIDS-related cachexia, and palliative care conditions
 

[biggles45]

Medical certificate from a Thai doctor.... what a joke. I needed one for my license renewal, never saw him, the receptionist gave it to me. 

[Davedub]

This will obviously create a flourishing new market for doctors to write prescriptions, nothing more. Cannabis consumption with neither rise nor fall. There will just be paperwork to get first.

 

Gotta love Thailand and its never ending need for piles of paperwork - the oh-so-important signature, stamp and fee seems required for anything and everything. It would be hilarous if it were not such a waste of time and money.

 

Do the powers that be really think creating bureacratic hurdles will benefit anyone except the people who will be paid to create yet more piles of pointless paper?

 

I have a theory - perhaps all this pointless paper we are all forced to endlessly generate ends up going to the power stations where it is burned to produce electricity? It's way cheaper than coal or oil, burns cleaner and they have an endless supply of the stuff! Perhaps this is the real reason why the regulations and their enforcement is in a constant state of flux - they're just managing the supply of fuel...

[retarius]

13 minutes ago, Davedub said:

This will obviously create a flourishing new market for doctors to write prescriptions, nothing more. Cannabis consumption with neither rise nor fall. There will just be paperwork to get first.

 

Gotta love Thailand and its never ending need for piles of paperwork - the oh-so-important signature, stamp and fee seems required for anything and everything. It would be hilarous if it were not such a waste of time and money.

 

Do the powers that be really think creating bureacratic hurdles will benefit anyone except the people who will be paid to create yet more piles of pointless paper?

 

I have a theory - perhaps all this pointless paper we are all forced to endlessly generate ends up going to the power stations where it is burned to produce electricity? It's way cheaper than coal or oil, burns cleaner and they have an endless supply of the stuff! Perhaps this is the real reason why the regulations and their enforcement is in a constant state of flux - they're just managing the supply of fuel...

There is an inverse relationship between how advanced a country is and its need for piles of paper. 

[Davedub]

7 minutes ago, retarius said:

There is an inverse relationship between how advanced a country is and its need for piles of paper. 

 

For sure. The irony is that Thailand would be so much more advanced if they didn't waste so much time and energy on pointless bureacracy and instead employed people to do something that was actually useful and of benefit to the Thai people.

[fondue zoo]

The prescription path is going to create more paperwork at the sales point, dollars for donuts they will want a copy of the prescription, a copy of your ID, a photo of you holding the prescription, ID and bong.

[jacko45k]

On 1/17/2024 at 6:06 AM, Thingamabob said:

There is no sense in allowing the widespread drinking of alcohol and smoking cigarettes, but not allowing the use of cannabis for recreational purposes.

Sure there is..... been going on for decades.