Anutin rejects calls for its suspension system
Public Wellness Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has refused in order to back down from the move to decriminalise cannabis regardless of mounting calls for the particular policy to be immediately suspended.
Mr Anutin, who seem to also serves as the deputy prime minister, said on Wednesday that a House committee scrutinising the bill on cannabis and hemp is anticipated to finish work on the bill by the end of next month before showcasing it for acceptance by parliament and royal endorsement.
Mr Anutin said Prime Ressortchef (umgangssprachlich) Prayut Chan-o-cha has promised to drive the bill through during the current parliamentary session.
“We cannot take a step back and make cannabis an illegal medication again. The plant is useful as a form of medical treatment and will benefit the economy. We have come too far [to turn back now], ” said Mr Anutin, who also prospects the Bhumjaithai Party.
This individual tried to allay the particular concerns of those phoning for the policy’s suspension, saying regulations are usually in place to control the usage of cannabis and that the abuse by children is also illegal.
Pushing through the decrimi- nalisation of cannabis was among Bhumjaithai’s flagship policies ahead of the 2019 election.
More than 850 doctors and staff at Ramathibodi Hospital are calling to reverse your decision, pending the execution of adequate settings to prevent the misuse of cannabis simply by youths.
This latest salvo was announced from the president of the Forensic Physicians Association of Thailand, Smith Srisont, in a Facebook blog post on Monday.
Dr Jones said 851 physicians, lecturers as well as alumni of Ramathibodi Medical center under Mahidol College are calling for that policy’s immediate suspension because decriminalisation with no adequate controls to avoid cannabis use outside of medicinal purposes might have a negative impact on youthful people’s physical and mental development.
In response, Bhumjaithai Party MP Supachai Jaisamut, who chairs the panel overseeing cannabis- and hemp-related laws, said there are rules in place that are meant to prevent marijuana abuse, especially by individuals under 20 years of age.
Addressing the doctors’ concerns, he said the government is “doing its best to develop more effective rules in order to seal off any kind of remaining legal loopholes in our medical marijuana regulations”.
Supat Champathong, long term secretary for the Education Ministry, on Tuesday voiced support for that call, saying some announcements issued with the Public Health Ministry to regulate the use of marijuana were still not clear.
“One regulation bans the intake of cannabis in public places, however, not in private locations or at home, inch Mr Supat mentioned.
“There was a news document about a school where students took marijuana in a closed-door class room, but police could not take any activity because they interpreted the particular action as having taken place in a private space, ” he said.
“But this was clearly illegal because the college is a public location and people under 20 are banned by using cannabis. ”
He said the liberalisation of cannabis should be suspended pending the achievement of clear lawful controls.