Barkar Nash (Page 892)

New act to stymie recreational use

The Public Health Ministry has completed the first draft of the Cannabis-Hemp Act and said it will not reclassify cannabis as a narcotic, Public Health Minister Cholnan Srikaew said yesterday.

He said the new law is based on amendments to the first draft, which has 94 sections.

The new version has about 70 sections. It has been updated to address various public concerns or loopholes that allow people to use cannabis for recreational purposes, he added.

The core of the law still defines cannabis as a controlled herb, while any extract that contains more than 0.2% tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) remains listed as a narcotic.

“The minister still supports the use of cannabis for medicinal purposes but not for recreational use, so those who grow cannabis — even for personal use — must have permission under the new law,” Mr Cholnan said.

The first version of the Cannabis and Hemp Law allowed a household to grow up to 15 plants for personal use, such as for treating some sickness. They merely needed to inform local authorities, but under the new law, they must seek permission first.

Cannabis shops that already have a licence can continue their business, but they need to comply with the new law, for example, by prohibiting the smoking of cannabis on their premises and not selling dried cannabis buds.

The law will also clarify which venues cannot sell or allow cannabis on their premises.

“We will not shut down all cannabis shops, but they need to comply with the law. The new law will not allow them to sell cannabis buds for people to smoke or even have equipment for customers to smoke inside their shops. In the past, we could not control the usage, but with the new law, using cannabis for recreational purposes will be prohibited,” he said.

When asked if smoking cannabis at home will be illegal, he said that remains a grey area pending more public feedback.

When asked if cannabis and hemp should have separate laws, he said this issue has been raised. However, according to the current law, hemp is considered a kind of cannabis, just one with low levels of THC, he noted.

He said the ministry will create a window for the public to read the law and provide feedback by mid-December. People will have two weeks to offer their opinions, and the minister will analyse whether the law should be updated before submitting it to the cabinet.

CHIANG RAI: A military commander in Tachileik, in Myanmar, has informed Thailand that the questioning of the 41 Thais rescued from illicit businesses in Laukkaing township has concluded, and their repatriation is expected to be approved within the next few days, according to the Thai army.

The army reported on a meeting between Col Nathee Thomsen, commander of the Thap Chao Tak Taskforce of the Pha Muang Force, and Col Thura Zaw Lwin Soe, tactical operation commander of Tachileik, at the customs checkpoint in Tachileik yesterday.

The Thai side wanted to discuss the reasons behind the delay in repatriating the 41 Thais and find ways to facilitate the process.

During the meeting, Col Nathee was informed that Myanmar authorities would likely approve their repatriation within the next few days.

After this is done, the 41 Thais would be immediately transported to the Tactical Operation Command in Tachileik, a border town across from Mae Sai district in Chiang Rai province. There, the group would be received by Col Nathee. Earlier yesterday, Col Nathee said the Thai side is ready to fully cooperate with Myanmar to ensure their safe repatriation.

He said the 41 Thais had travelled from Laukkaing towards the Thai border in Chiang Rai province. They were being held in Kengtung in Shan state, a four-hour drive from Tachileik. The group arrived in Kengtung late on Wednesday night.

Col Nathee said the Thais were receiving good care from the Myanmar military. However, Myanmar authorities sought to question them regarding their entry into Laukkaing, which borders China and is known for illicit activities.

The colonel quoted Myanmar officials as earlier saying that upon completion of this process, Thai officials could drive into Tachileik to pick them up.

The 41 Thais, 23 men and 18 women, were among 162 Thais rescued from Laukkaing in the self-administered Kokang zone of Shan state.

The Move Forward Party (MFP) yesterday proposed a change in the criteria for a charter referendum, saying the current requirement allowed those who disagreed with the proposed rewrite to thwart its adoption easily.

MFP MP Parit Wacharasindhu said the existing requirement he termed “double majority” would mean that those who disagreed with charter amendments would simply stay home rather than take part in a referendum to vote against it.

He was referring to Section 13 of the Referendum Act, which requires that two specific conditions be met before the result of a referendum result can be considered binding. First, more than 50% of eligible voters must have participated in the vote, and the majority of those who cast votes must approve it.

“If people disagree with the questions [posed in the referendum], instead of voting against them, they can choose to stay home. If the participation requirement fails, the referendum is rejected,” he said.

Mr Parit said the requirement of majority participation should be removed and noted that it did not apply in the previous charter referendums in 2007 and 2017.

However, if both participation and approval requirements are maintained, for a referendum to pass, the number of voters who participate and who vote in favour should exceed 25%.

He said if the government and the opposition co-proposed amendments to Section 13, it could be passed by parliament before the referendum study is completed.

Pheu Thai list-MP Chaturon Chaisang also expressed concern over the double majority requirement, posting on Facebook that if a bill was rejected in a referendum, it could lead to people concluding the public did not want any changes.

“We must cover all bases — how many rounds of votes are needed, how the questions are phrased and if the Referendum Act should be amended first,” he said, adding that he and other party MPs would submit a number of changes to the House of Representatives when parliament reopens.

Mr Chaturon, who recently oversaw a sub-committee tasked with gathering public opinion, also highlighted concerns raised during the session. For example, even if a bill received public endorsement, that did not guarantee its passage into Thai law.

The Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation (MHSRI) is proposing a new deal to help the relocation of the Rajamangala University of Technology Tawan-ok (RMUTTO) Uthenthawai campus from Chulalongkorn University (CU) land.

Minister Supamas Isarabhakdi told the media yesterday that a committee consisting of representatives of RMUTTO and CU was set up to resolve the relocation matter.

The committee has proposed two solutions, including for CU to give the land to the public so it can be turned into a public park or a museum for children.

“If RMUTTO learns that CU will not use the land for a commercial purpose but develop it for public benefits, such as building a park, museum or art space like the Bangkok Art & Cultural Centre of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, [it may agree to the deal],” Ms Supamas said. “We hope RMUTTO will agree to the new proposal.”

The RMUTTO campus occupies a 20-rai plot that was leased from CU in 1935 for 68 years. The lease expired in 2003.

CU has been negotiating for the return of the land since 1975 without success.

In 2002, the Treasury Department offered a 36-rai plot of land in Samut Prakan’s Bang Phli district for the relocation of RMUTTO’s campus, while the government also provided a 200-million-baht budget for its construction.

RMUTTO signed a contract with CU that it would move out from the site by Sept 30, 2005, and agreed to move to the land in Bang Phli in November of the same year. However, the relocation process was slow and opposed by students.

The Office of the Attorney-General set up a committee for dispute resolution in 2009. The committee ordered RMUTTO to return the land to CU as well as pay 1 million baht per year in compensation until relocation was complete.

The ruling prompted RMUTTO to appeal to the Supreme Administrative Court, which ruled in December last year that RMUTTO must move out of the CU campus within 60 days.

But students still opposed the relocation, and RMUTTO has not yet moved out.

Ms Supamas said the students just want a clear picture of what is going to happen to them.

“They just want to know their fate, the new place they are going to study in and who is going to take charge before their graduation,” said Ms Supamas.

“We do not want to set a deadline for the negotiation as it will end up increasing tensions,” she said.

Requirement for ‘double majority’ could torpedo any hope of amending constitution

The Move Forward Party (MFP) has proposed a change in the criteria for a referendum on the constitution, saying the current requirement allows those who disagree with a proposed rewrite to easily thwart its adoption.

Move Forward MP Parit Wacharasindhu said the existing “double majority” requirement would mean that those who disagreed with amending the charter drawn up by the prevous military regime would simply stay home, rather than taking part in a referendum to vote against it.

He was referring to Section 13 of the Referendum Act which requires two specific conditions be met before a referendum result can be considered binding. First, more than 50% of eligible voters must have participated in the vote, and then the majority of those who cast votes must approve it.

“If people disagree with the questions [posed in the referendum], instead of voting against them, they can choose to stay home. If the participation requirement fails, the referendum is rejected,” he said.

Mr Parit said the requirement for majority participation should be removed, noting that it did not apply in the previous charter referendums in 2007 and 2017.

However, if both participation and approval requirements are maintained, for a referendum to pass, the number of voters who participate in the referendum and who vote in favour should exceed 25%.

If the government and the opposition co-proposed amendments to Section 13, he said, they could be passed by parliament before the referendum study is completed.

Pheu Thai list-MP Chaturon Chaisang also expressed concern over the double majority requirement. If a bill was rejected in a referendum, it could lead to people concluding that the public did not want any changes, he wrote on Facebook.

“We must cover all bases — how many rounds of votes are needed, how the questions are phrased and if the Referendum Act should be amended first,” he wrote, adding that he and some party MPs would submit a number of proposed changes to the House of Representatives for deliberation when parliament reopens.

Mr Chaturon, who recently oversaw a sub-committee tasked with gathering public opinion, also highlighted a number of concerns raised during the session.

He said many of those questioned pointed out that even if a bill received public endorsement, that did not guarantee its passage into Thai law.

In order to rewrite the entire charter, Section 256 must first be amended and if that amendment is rejected by parliament, the whole process would stall indefinitely, he noted.

Chulalongkorn University seeking to reclaim site from technical college over objections of students

The Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation is proposing a new deal in hopes of ending a decades-long dispute between Chulalongkorn University (CU) and a technical college located on its land in central Bangkok.

The ultimate goal is to relocate the Rajamangala University of Technology Tawan-ok (RMUTTO) Uthenthawai campus from its current site, but the process has been fraught with difficulties.

Minister Supamas Isarabhakdi told reporters on Friday that a new committee consisting of representatives of the two schools has been set up to solve the relocation matter.

The committee has proposed two solutions, one of them being for CU to give the land to the public so that it can be turned into a public park or a museum for children.

“If RMUTTO learns that CU will not use the land for a commercial purpose, but develop it for public benefit, such as building a park, museum or art space like the Bangkok Art & Cultural Centre of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, [it may agree to the deal],” Ms Supamas said. “We hope RMUTTO will agree to the new proposal.”

Chulalongkorn University owns more than 1,000 rai of prime land in the centre of the capital, including most of Siam Square and other areas that have been leased out for commercial development.

The RMUTTO campus occupies a 20-rai plot that was leased from the university in 1935 for 68 years. The lease expired in 2003.

CU has been negotiating for the return of the land since 1975 without success.

In 2002, the Treasury Department offered a 36-rai plot of land in Bang Phli district of Samut Prakan for the relocation of the RMUTTO campus, while the government also provided a 200-million-baht budget for its construction.

RMUTTO signed an agreement with CU to move out by Sept 30, 2005, and agreed to move to Bang Phli site in November of the same year. However, the relocation process stalled and was opposed by students.

The Office of the Attorney-General set up a committee to resolve the dispute in 2009. It ordered RMUTTO to return the land to CU as well as pay 1 million baht per year in compensation until relocation was complete.

The technical school appealed the ruling to the Supreme Administrative Court, which ruled in December last year that it must vacate the CU campus within 60 days. But students continued to oppose the relocation and no move has taken place.

Ms Supamas said the students just want a clear picture of what is going to happen to them.

“They just want to know their fate, the new place they are going to study in and who is going to take charge before their graduation,” she said.

“We do not want to set a deadline for the negotiations as it will end up increasing animosity,” she added.

Scam centre bosses refusing to release some workers, says Foreign Ministry

The fate of up to 50 Thais still detained by scam gangs in Laukkaing amid battles between the Myanmar army and ethnic troops remains a big concern, while nearly 300 others have been saved, says the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Between 40 and 50 Thais are still at their workplaces in Laukkaing because their employers are refusing to release them, ministry spokeswoman Kanchana Patarachoke said on Friday.

“There are concerns about this group of 40 to 50 people. The embassy will keep trying to arrange for assistance,” she said.

Law enforcement depends on the laws of the respective countries, and governments will discuss ways to take legal action against the heads of criminal gangs, Ms Kanchana said.

China has been pressing Myanmar vigorously to crack down on the scam gangs, most of which prey on Chinese nationals, from their bases in lawless border areas of Shan state.

Apart from the 50 Thais still stranded, 41 others recently fled from Laukkaing to Kengtung. Myanmar authorities have been questioning them to get more information about illicit businesses and call scam gangs as part of their suppression effort, said Ms Kanchana.

Meanwhile, 254 other Thais have been moved from Laukkaing to safe areas. The Thai embassy in Yangon has already issued travel documents for them while they await repatriation transport, she said.

Pol Gen Surachate Hakparn, a deputy national police chief, said he would lead a delegation to Kunming, China on Saturday to receive some 200 Thais scheduled to arrive there the same day. They had been rescued from Laukkaing, he said.

Once they return home, he said, officials will review the information they have gathered and divide them into two groups: suspected scammers and victims who had been lured to work in Myanmar under false pretences.

Pol Gen Surachate said that based on his past experiences with scam centres in neighbouring countries, a minority of Thais working in them were lured or forced to go there.

In any case, he Pol Gen Surachate said that officials would do their best to rescue all Thai people from Laukkaing.

Most damage minor, but services suspended at two sites pending further investigations

Fourteen Thai hospitals — 13 in the North and one in the Northeast — have been damaged by the 6.4 magnitude earthquake that occurred in neighbouring Myanmar on Friday morning, with services at two hospitals partially suspended, Public Health Minister Cholnan Srikaew said.

According to reports sent to the ministry, affected were 11 hospitals in Chiang Rai and two in Chiang Mai in the North, and one hospital in Sakon Nakhon province in the Northeast.

In Chiang Rai, the hospitals affected were Chiangrai Prachanukroh Hospital in Muang district, Mae Lao Hospital, Somdej Phra Yayasangwon Hospital in Wiang Chai, Mae Chan Hospital, Phan Hospital, Chiang Khong Crown Prince Hospital, Chiang Saen Hospital, Phaya Mengrai Hospital, Doi Luang Hospital, Mae Fa Luang Hospital and Mae Sai Hospital.

Cracks were found in hospital buildings but their main structures were not affected by the quake, which was felt in many locations in the North and Northeast.

Staff and patients at Maharaj Nakorn Chiang Mai Hospital reported feeling the tremor for about five seconds.

At Chiangrai Prachanukroh Hospital, medical services at the paediatrics building were suspended and the patients transferred to another building. A thorough examination of the hospital for potential damage was being conducted.

In Chiang Mai, cracks were found on buildings of San Sai Hospital in San Sai district and Chiang Dao Hospital in Chiang Dao district.

In the northeastern province of Sakon Nakhon, cracks were found on the ninth floor of the emergency ward. The entire building was sealed off for examination and services for outpatients suspended.

In San Sai district of Chiang Mai, a building at Ban Pa Kang School in tambon San Pa Pao that had been temporarily closed following an earlier earthquake on Nov 9 was found to have sustained further damage.

The release of the 25 Thai workers held hostage by Hamas in the Gaza Strip depends on ongoing talks between Israel and Hamas for a ceasefire, Foreign Affairs Ministry spokeswoman Kanchana Patarachoke said on Friday.

Ms Kanchana said Israel and Hamas still lock horns over the conditions for a ceasefire and the release of hostages. While Hamas insists on a ceasefire first, Israel demands the unconditional release of hostages agreeing to a temporary cease in fighting. Moreover, there are still exchanges of fire between Hezbollah and Israel, she said.

On Thursday, a team of Thai negotiators who returned from Iran said that Hamas would release the Thai hostages if Israel accepts its call for a 72-hour ceasefire.

Ms Kanchana said the number of Thai workers killed since Hamas launched its large-scale attack on Oct 7 is 39, and their bodies have all been returned to Thailand.

Three injured workers are still receiving treatment in the hospital, with the Thai embassy in Tel Aviv ensuring they receive their rights and benefits under Israeli labour law, she added.

She said Vipawadee Wannachai, alias Phi Jaem, a Thai woman in Israel who had helped transport Thai workers out of the battle zone near the Gaza Strip to safety, had received an honorary pin from the Department of Consular Affairs.

About 20,000 Thai workers have decided to stay in Israel, with most working in agricultural farms in the Arava desert, which is considered safe from rocket fire, the spokeswoman said.

About 390 of them are still working near the Gaza Strip, as they have confidence in their employees. The Thai embassy has kept them under watch. If they change their minds and want to return home they can contact the embassy right away, Ms Kanchana said.

According to Ms Kanchana, the deputy foreign minister of Iran for political affairs is scheduled to visit Thailand on Nov 22-23, during which he would have an audience with Parliament president Wan Muhamad Nor Matha and Sihasak Phuangketkeow, a vice minister for foreign affairs.

She said Thailand is confident the visit by the Iranian diplomat would not affect the Thai-Isareli relations, saying that Thailand and Iran have had a good relation for over 400 years.

During the visit, the two sides are expected to raise for discussion the Israel-Hamas situation and the release of the Thai hostages, Ms Kanchana said.

On Friday, the National Human Rights Commission of Thailand (NHRCT) issued a statement, urging an immediate ceasefire and unobstructed entry of humanitarian aid in Gaza.