New institute set up to provide correct info on medical marijuana in Thailand
The Public Health Ministry unveiled Thailand’s Medical Marijuana Institute on Monday. The institute’s focus will be to provide knowledge and correct information on marijuana and its medical uses to the public, Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said.
Now that cannabis has been removed from Thailand’s list of Category 5 narcotics, more than 50,000 patients have been prescribed medical marijuana.
Meanwhile, over 300 community groups are collaborating with the ministry to grow cannabis and produce cannabis oil and other traditional medicines to treat several diseases, including epilepsy, muscle spasms, cancer, insomnia, chronic pain, etc.
A system has also been set up to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of cannabis to create academic evidence supporting the use of marijuana for medical purposes.
Thailand’s Food and Drug Administration is also seeking to add cannabis to the national list of major drugs. This will not only create a sustainable demand, production system and research, but will also support the medicine, food, cosmetics, and herbal products industries, to name a few.