Cannabis policy 'won't be axed'

Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul attends an exhibition at the Public Health Ministry on May 27, 2022, to promote the use of marijuana and hemp for the economy. (Photo: Pattarapong Chatpattarasill)
Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul attends an exhibition at the Public Health Ministry on May 27, 2022, to promote the use of marijuana and hemp for the economy. (Photo: Pattarapong Chatpattarasill)

Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has refused to back down from the move to decriminalise cannabis despite mounting calls for the policy to be immediately suspended.

Mr Anutin said on Tuesday that a House committee scrutinising the bill on cannabis and hemp is expected to finish work on the bill by the end of next month before presenting it for approval by parliament and royal endorsement.

Mr Anutin said Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has promised to push the bill through during the current parliamentary session.

"We cannot step back and make cannabis an illegal drug 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 leads the Bhumjaithai Party.

He said regulations are in place to control the use of cannabis and that its abuse by children is also illegal.

Pushing through the decriminalisation of cannabis was among Bhumjaithai's flagship policies ahead of the 2019 election.

Over 850 doctors and staff at Ramathibodi Hospital are calling for the policy to be immediately suspended.

Addressing the doctors' concerns, a Bhumjaithai Party MP said the government is "doing its best to come up with more effective rules to seal off any remaining legal loopholes in our medical cannabis regulations".

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Vocabulary

  • abuse: the use of something in a bad, dishonest, or harmful way - การใช้ในทางที่ผิด
  • approval: official permission - การอนุมัต
  • bill: a proposal for a law - ร่างกฎหมาย
  • decriminalisation: making it not a crime or less of a crime, often to end a waste of resources consumed by putting large numbers of people in jail -
  • economy: the relationship between production, trade and the supply of money in a particular country or region - เศรษฐกิจ
  • endorsement: official approval - การรับรอง การลงนามในเอกสาร
  • flagship: the most important product, service, building, etc. that an organisation owns or produces - ผลิตภัณฑ์หรือบริการหลัก
  • hemp (n): the cannabis plant, especially when grown for fibre -
  • loophole: a small mistake in an agreement or law which gives someone the chance to avoid having to do something - ช่องโหว่ในกฎหมาย, จุดอ่อน, ข้อบกพร่อง
  • parliament: the group of people who are elected to make and change the laws of a country; the building where members of parliament meet. - รัฐสภา
  • policy (noun): a set of plans or action agreed on by a government, political party, business, or other group - นโยบาย
  • regulations: official rules that control the way things are done - ระเบียบ ข้อบังคับ
  • scrutinise: to look at or examine somebody/something carefully - พินิจพิเคราะห์, พิจารณา, ตรวจสอบ
  • seal off: to prevent people from entering an area or a building - ปิดกั้น
  • session: a formal meeting - การชุมนุม ประชุม
  • suspend: to stop something for a short time - หยุดชั่วคราว
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