Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has reaffirmed that cannabis legalization is expressly for medical purposes and not recreational use.
The minister defended the policy on the first day of the no-confidence debate, after the opposition party claimed that the decision to remove the plant from the Type 5 narcotics list violated several international treaties and Thailand’s constitution.
During the debate, deputy Pheu Thai leader and chief opposition whip Sutin Klungsang said the cannabis policy violates the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime’s Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961. He also said it goes against Section 66 of the constitution, which requires Thailand to cooperate with international organizations and protect the public interest. He said the government must think about the benefits and drawbacks of this policy as the plant remains illegal in other countries with strict regulations on imports.
In response to these allegations, Minister Anutin said the plant’s legalization was always intended for medical purposes and was never decriminalized for recreational use, which does not violate any international treaties or regulations that the country has ratified. He reminded all parties that the policy was always part of the government policy statement delivered in the House of Representatives and had passed the approval of numerous committees before being approved for removal from the narcotics list. (NNT)
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