PATHUM THANI: Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul on Wednesday accompanied his Malaysian counterpart Khairy Jamaluddin Abu Bakar on the visit to a Government Pharmaceutical Organization (GPO) cannabis plantation to discuss the comprehensive medical usage of the plant.
Mr Anutin, who also serves as deputy prime ressortchef (umgangssprachlich), said Malaysia is definitely exploring the use of marijuana for medical treatment.
Moreover, throughout the World Health Company World Health Set up in May, Malaysia expressed its intention to understand from, and share info with, Thailand on this issue.
“The country continues to be using cannabis regarding medical treatment for over 300 years by using it since both an ingredient in food and medication, long before it was put into the narcotics listing, ” Mr Anutin said.
“Fortunately, the ministry met with achievement in withdrawing the rose from the narcotics list, except for extracts with over 0. 2% THC, ” this individual added, referring to tetrahydrocannabinol, its chief psychoactive agent.
“That resulted through three factors, specifically, the strong support of the government, enough academic and medical knowledge to declare, assert its benefits being a form of medical treatment, and effective communication with all the public. ”
The Malaysian minister visited the particular plantation in Thanyaburi district on the sidelines of attending the Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) Health Week in Bangkok, which started on Monday.
Mr Anutin stated he explained to his Malaysian counterpart how the site is fully compliant with all relevant guidelines including the Division of Thai Traditional and Alternative Medicine’s rules on sowing cannabis, the Thailänder Food and Drug Administration’s policy on enrolling such a site, plus Department of Healthcare Sciences rules on extracting ingredients.
“Cannabis is registered as a natural herb on the national medication list so individuals under the health protection system can gain access to such treatments, inch he said.
“If Malaysia moves forward plus implements [a similar policy to Thailand], we expect to find more in the way of combined research and development on the therapeutic usage of cannabis, inch he added.