The Institute of Thai Traditional Medicine has urged the government to allow for the use of different cannabis extracts in traditional treatments of patients.
The call comes ahead of a Food and Drug Administration narcotic control committee meeting next Friday to "level up" the use of marijuana, currently categorised as a narcotic, for medical purposes.
However, the institute is concerned that if only oil extracted from marijuana is permitted for medical purposes, traditional medicine will not benefit from the plant's properties. This is because traditional medicine uses many non-oil extracts in making medicinal products, institute chief Kwanchai Wisitthanon said on Thursday.
Traditional practitioners rely on various types of plant extracts in medicine formulas. A certain type of extract gained from boiling marijuana will be used to make a potion, while another type derived from the plant being distilled in alcohol will become a medicinal tincture.
The institute has already sent a request for a wider definition of extracts to the FDA and expects to receive a reply after the committee meeting.
FDA secretary-general Tares Krassanairawiwong said on Thursday he is aware of the institute's concerns over the impact on uses of different marijuana extracts in traditional Thai medicine.
The FDA is considering whether other extract formulae require leaves and flowers of the plants because they are illegal.
The FDA's move to reclassify marijuana is being pushed ahead in parallel with the National Legislative Assembly's consideration of amendments to the 1979 Narcotics Act.
Dr Tares said the reclassification -- a change of marijuana's status from a Type 5 to Type 2 narcotic, which will allow the use of its oil for medical and academic purposes -- will be in line with the new law.
If the panel gives the green light, a ministerial announcement on the wider use of marijuana will be drafted and forwarded for approval by the public health minister.