Public Health Minister Somsak Thepsutin says cannabis users in Thailand will be required to have medical certificates.
The medical certificate is to make sure that the plant is used for medical purposes only.
His announcement is the latest twist in a long and confusing journey towards regulating cannabis use since it was decriminalized nearly three years ago.
“I will improve regulations on cannabis use in Thailand. For example, cannabis smokers have to show medical certificates. Foreign and Thai cannabis users must have medical certificates,” Mr Somsak said at a press conference on Wednesday in Bangkok.
“We will order government organisations to keep enforcing the law and not to allow any problems to develop,” said the minister from the governing Pheu Thai Party.
The key change would require cannabis users to have a medical certificate, with prescriptions issued by licensed medical professionals, including both traditional Thai medicine practitioners and general physicians.
Mr Somsak said he wanted to see the regulation issued by the Ministry of Public Health within 40 days.
Dr Somlerk Jeungsmarn, director-general of the Department of Thai Traditional and Alternative Medicine, told the press conference that regulations should make it clear that cannabis use is for medical treatment only.
“In the future, there may have to be medical certificates to prove that users suffer from diseases such as seizures, headache, pain and insomnia,” he said.
“There may be restrictions on its use, such as a permitted dosage for one month’s use. If the duration of use exceeds one month, that will not be considered for medical purposes and there will be prosecution. As for punishment, I will discuss the possibility of imprisonment,” he said.
Source: Bangkok Post