PHITSANULOK, Sept 23 (TNA) – The Public Health Ministry is imposing its regulations to control cannabis use pending the passage of a cannabis bill and there should not be any concern about its abuse, said Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul.
In a regional academic conference of his ministry on the medical use of cannabis, Mr Anutin who is also the leader of the Bhumjaithai Party said that his policy to decriminalize cannabis for medical and health promotion purposes could be implemented without any negative impacts from its abuse although a cannabis bill had not been passed.
“We are using the regulations of the Public Health Ministry pending the bill which may be passed in the next or following parliamentary session. There is not any concern that people’s rights will be limited because other laws can be imposed instead,” Mr Anutin said.
The regional conference on the medical use of cannabis was organized in Phitsanulok for officials to report results from the nationwide use of cannabis for its medical merits.
Since cannabis and hemp were excluded from the country’s list of narcotics on June 9, there have been attempts to promote their use for product development which have generated economic value worth over 7 billion baht. The use was free of any recreational purpose. (TNA)
