Cholnan Srikaew, the minister of public health, stated his opposition to marijuana usage as a recreational activity on Tuesday and sought strict rules to restrict its use.
The previous administration decriminalized marijuana usage, but Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin has stated that his administration will ensure that it is only used for medical reasons.
Srettha stated last week, while in New York for a UN summit, that “the law [on cannabis] would need to be rewritten.”
On Tuesday, Cholnan told reporters that strict laws were needed to prevent harm to people’s health when cannabis was used for non-medical purposes. He claimed that cannabis contained higher levels of drugs than what the law allowed and was harmful to people’s health.
He said that the ministry’s “13 quick-win policies” did not contain any action to address the cannabis issue because doing so would take a lot of effort and cooperation from other agencies, notably the Ministry of Justice.
Setting up wellness communities, promoting health services, and enhancing the health system in border areas are a few of the 13 quick-win measures that are intended to provide tangible outcomes in less than 100 days.
Any action made in relation to cannabis, according to Cholnan, must be thorough because it can have the opposite effect of what is intended.
He stated legislation must be put in place to cope with the various cannabis outlets that have sprung up throughout the kingdom and added, “We are working to maximize benefits for all parties while maintaining the safety of [people’s] health.”
Cholnan stated that he will discuss the situation with the head of the marijuana-friendly Bhumjaithai Party, Anutin Charnvirakul, in the near future.
