By APD writer Juicy Chan
BANGKOK, Nov 1 (APD) -- The National Legislative Assembly's (NLA) public health committee said on late Tuesday that it will pass proposed amendments to the Narcotics Act to legalise the growing of marijuana and Mitragyna speciosa for medical research purposes by year end.
We will accelerate the deliberation of these amendments so that we can complete them before the end of December. This will be a New Year's gift for all Thais, said Dr Jet Sirathraanon, chairman of the NLA's public health committee said.
Proposed by a group of 44 NLA members, the amendments that will change the classification of marijuana and Mitragyna speciose and allow their use for medical purposes has so far receive overwhelming support from the public.Somchai Sawaengkan, an NLA member said 16,431 people have responded to an official online survey, 16,288 (99.13%) of whom supported the proposed amendments.
Dr Jet said attempts to remove marijuana from the list of illegal drugs have been made for quite some time, but calls have recently grown for cultivating the plant to be legalised. He also said that if the proposed amendments are rejected this time, then Thailand will need to wait for the establishment of a new government before any new ones are resubmitted to parliament.
The Ministry of Public Health said marijuana extracts have been shown in studies to be effective in treating the symptoms of certain physical conditions including peripheral neuropathy, epilepsy and muscle stiffness. Peripheral neuropathy refers to the conditions that result when nerves that carry messages to and from the brain and to the rest of the body are damaged or diseased.
As for the treatment of cancer, he said, there have not been any study results to confirm marijuana's effectiveness in curing it, he said. Somchai also cautioned that the proposed amendments may contain unforeseen loopholes that need to be fixed to prevent transnational pharmaceutical companies from exploiting them to reap benefits from marijuana.
There is also potential for the use of marijuana for medical purposes in Thai traditional medicine, said Dr Marut Chirasetthasiri, director-general of the Department of Developmental Medicine and Alternative Medicine. In cancer patients suffering from nausea as a side effect of chemotherapy, marijuana has proven effective in relieving that symptom.
Niyom Termsrisuk, secretary-general of the Narcotics Control Board, said cannabis cultivation would be strictly controlled to prevent abuse and contamination with chemicals and pesticides. He said Thailand would not legalise the use of cannabis for recreational purposes. Authorities would carefully specify cultivation areas and enforce standards in its production for medical purposes.
(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)