Thailand’s health ministry plans to remove pot from list

BANGKOK (Bangkok Post) — The Department of Public Health yesterday proposed removing cannabis from the narcotics list altogether, paving the way for households to grow the plant legally.

Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said the ministry is taking another crucial step in decriminalizing the plant now that a subcommittee on narcotic substances has revised the list of narcotics on which cannabis does not appear. more like a category 5 narcotic substance.

The draft list was reviewed yesterday by the ministry’s narcotics control committee chaired by the permanent secretary for public health.

Once approved, it will be forwarded to the Narcotics Control Commission chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam for further approval. The revised list of narcotics will enter into force after its approval.

Mr Anutin said the Ministry of Public Health had done its part and the revised list was in line with the new Narcotics Code which came into force in December last year.

It is the ministry’s attempt to streamline and make the process easier for growers who will be required to notify authorities rather than seek approval for every cannabis plant they plan to grow for home use, a- he declared.

However, he said producers are still required to seek authorization if they manufacture cannabis products or manufacture cannabis extracts that must have
less than 0.2% tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) by weight.

Cannabis must also be grown locally.

“What we do is enable people to get the most out of cannabis, especially patients who are dependent on cannabis treatment,” he said.

Maria J. Book