House votes down bill on cannabis and hemp

Ganja expenses withdrawn, legalisation rolled back

Deputy Prime Minister and Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul samples cannabis tea at an exhibition at the Public Health Ministry in Nonthaburi province in May 2022. Mr Anutin is also the leader of the Bhumjaithai Party. (Photo: Pattarapong Chatpattarasill)
Deputy Primary Minister and Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul samples cannabis tea at an exhibition at the Public Wellness Ministry in Nonthaburi province in May 2022. Mr Anutin is also the leader of the Bhumjaithai Party. (Photo: Pattarapong Chatpattarasill)

The House of Associates on Wednesday resolved to withdraw the particular Cannabis and Hemp Bill from its plan by 198 ballots to 136, with 12 abstentions, pending revision of its content material which lawmakers seen as loose and possibly exposing youth to health risks.

The decision to withdraw the bill had been opposed by the Bhumjaithai Party which sponsored the legislation.  

When the bill was withdrawn, there might not be enough time to push this through during this current parliament which ends in March next year, mentioned Chada Thaiset, the Bhumjaithai MP pertaining to Uthai Thani.

Before the House meeting commenced, the particular Democrat Party mentioned it wanted the particular bill withdrawn plus was threatening to vote against it if the House proceeds with it.

The party furthermore wanted the Ministry of Public Health to review its statement removing cannabis from the narcotics list plus reinstate it as a narcotic, a group of Democrat MPs announced.

The MPs, led by Satit Wongnongtaey, Pimrapee Panwichatkul, Issara Seriwattanakul plus Sakhon Kiewkhong, had been speaking after a conference of party MPs on the Cannabis plus Hemp Bill, which is sponsored by the Bhumjaithai Party and is becoming deliberated in the House associated with Representatives.

Mr Satit said that the bill had been discussed widely on the meeting. Some MPs expressed deep worries about cannabis having been removed from the drugs list. They said that since the announcement there were reports of people who also used cannabis becoming mentally ill plus violent, he added.

He said the Democrat Party had hoped the Ministry of Public Health stomach up with effective measures to ensure cannabis is truly used for medical reasons.

Yet on going through the bill’s contents, Democrat MPs found that there had been still some loopholes, including a provision which allows the general populace to register to grow marijuana plants. This could result in the use of cannabis meant for recreation and have an adverse impact on society, he said.

Mr Satit stated the Democrat Celebration wanted the Ministry of Public Wellness to review the announcement and reinstate marijuana as a narcotic.

“We would like the committee vetting the bill in order to withdraw it pertaining to review, so that it could be amended in line with an altered version of the Ministry of Community Health’s announcement.

“If the home insists in ongoing with the deliberation of the bill, the Liberal Party would vote against it, inch Mr Satit stated.

Microsoft Pimrapee, a Democrat MP for Krabi, said that in visits to her constituency the girl found drug use was rampant. Even though these cases failed to directly involve cannabis, it was of severe concern that a beneficial attitude toward usage of drugs, especially cannabis, which had been incorrectly instilled in people, could have a negative impact on the younger generation, she said.

The Democrat Party’s announcement drew a strong reaction from Bhumjaithai.

Party spokesman Paradorn Prisnananthakul said the announcement to remove cannabis from the narcotics checklist had been passed by a majority in parliament, including the Democrat Celebration.

When it comes to Cannabis and Hemp Bill, it had been vetted by a House panel and was about to become forwarded to the Home for consideration in the second reading.

Concerns that cannabis could be as well freely available, further than control, Mr Paradorn said the bill, in fact , had been made to define how cannabis could be used safely, particularly for healthcare purposes.

“The bill being deliberated is intended to supply clear guidelines for the use of cannabis. If this legislation were dropped, there is a vacuum regarding the usage of cannabis, ” Mr Paradorn said.

Mr Paradorn said members associated with parliament could still raise objections as the bill was being debated in the second reading. If any imperfections or shortcomings had been found, corrections could still be made to it, he said.