The government's approval of a minor regulation change in the anti-drugs law is a step in the right direction. Both the cabinet and the prime minister's Office of Narcotics Control Board announced last week they support the change, which will allow human testing of medical marijuana. Testing of possible positive use of cannabis has been under way for some time, but results are theoretical, based only on laboratory tests including on animals.
The new regulation will have no effect on enforcement of laws banning possession or sale of any type of cannabis, medical or recreational. Cannabis remains a Level 5 illegal drug under the Narcotics Control Act. But the change is a sign that Thailand is at least willing to discuss badly needed reform of the "war on drugs". This 50-year war was lost long ago. These last two years of talk about reform of the anti-drug protocols will be seen in the future as equally lost time.
The ultimate reason for the regulation change permitting expanding research is that initial testing has yielded positive results. Most of the national attention has been focused for the past year on Rangsit University just north of Bangkok. Researchers in the university have gone past testing done elsewhere in the world. Specifically, they think they may have come up with proof that cannabis is effective against a particular and painful form of cancer.
In 2017, Rangsit University established the Medical Cannabis Research Team, headed by three medical doctors from the school's faculty of pharmacy. In short order, the head of the team, Assistant Professor Surang Leelawat, began looking at using cannabis in the treatment of cholangiocarcinoma -- bile duct cancer. More than 70% of victims of this cancer die within five years, usually less.
Experimenting by use of computer models and animals, Dr Surang's team has developed strong evidence that cannabis extracts in an herbal compound slows the spreading of bile duct cancer. This is extremely important to victims. Cholangiocarcinoma spreads naturally, striking lymph nodes and then other parts of the body. In the latter case, the death rate within five years is 98% of sufferers. If Dr Surang's research pans out, it will extend lives dramatically.
This is just an example of the medical marijuana research team's efforts, although the most dramatic so far. The point is that without human testing, the results of such research remain theoretical. Of course the next step must be to approve legal use of marijuana for medical conditions. In many Western countries, this now is common. Use of marijuana is known to have positive, therapeutic results for pain and for eye ailments, particularly glaucoma.
Unfortunately for Thailand and the infirm, Thailand is woefully unprepared for any such changes in the punitive and mostly useless drug laws of the 1960s. It is impossible to sympathise with the drug peddlers and voluntary users who break apart families and communities with their addictions or uncaring habits. It is equally impossible, however, to countenance the state's "war on drugs" obsession that packs and then overfills every prison with small-time drug abusers and corner street peddlers.
Enabling the legal research of cannabis for medicinal purposes is a well-meant measure. It is positive because there are serious researchers already involved. But it is only a small step towards the much-needed journey of serious reform of drug laws and enforcement. The ONCB approval of this tiny relaxation of the punitive law on marijuana is a good sign. But it appears there is no follow-up planned.
This should not stand. Thailand's problems about illicit drugs are unique. The country is both a drug trafficker and a victim of traffickers. We have effectively eliminated drug-making laboratories, only to see Thais and others set up facilities right at the border in neighbouring countries. Laws, regulations and the public attitude all need reform, and the lack of leadership is notable.