A proposal will be made by the Ministry of Public Health to remove cannabis from Thailand’s list of narcotics, which will allow households to legally grow the plant if the change is approved.
According to Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, a narcotics subcommittee has made adjustments to the narcotics list, which will no longer include cannabis as a Category 5 narcotic substance. The draft list will be considered on Wednesday (19 Jan) by the ministry’s narcotic drugs control committee, which is overseen by the permanent secretary of public health. If the adjustment is endorsed, it will then be evaluated by the Narcotics Control Board, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam. The new list will then go into effect following the board’s approval.
Minister Anutin said the ministry has revised the list to correspond with the new Narcotics Code that went into effect in December 2021. The ministry is trying to streamline and simplify the process for growers who are required to inform authorities, rather than have people seek approval for every cannabis plant they intend to grow for personal use. He warned that farmers must still seek approval if they make cannabis products or cannabis extracts containing less than 0.2 percent tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) by weight.
Dr Withit Saritdeechaikul, deputy secretary-general of The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), said all components of the cannabis plant have been removed from the Category 5 narcotics list, following approval by a committee led by FDA Secretary-General Paisal Dankhum.
The panel agreed that only cannabis and hemp extracts would be classified as Category 5 narcotic substances with two exceptions. According to Dr Withit, the exceptions apply to extracts from all components of cannabis and hemp grown in local permitted farms that contain less than 0.2 percent THC by weight, as well as extracts from locally produced cannabis and hemp seeds. The restrictions are meant to prevent a flood of imported cannabis and hemp extracts while protecting domestic producers who have been granted permits to cultivate the plant.
Dr Withit warned that while cannabis extracts having less than 0.2 percent THC by weight are not drugs, the plants must be grown on licensed local farms or else they will be considered illegal under the law. (NNT)
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