The government said it supports Chao Phraya Abhaibhubejhr Hospital in using cannabis to treat insomnia as it aims to tap the 2.4-trillion-baht global sleeping pill business.
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, Deputy Public Health Minister Sathit Pitutecha and Permanent Secretary for Public Health Kiattiphum Wongrajit visited an exhibition at Government House yesterday curated by the hospital to promote cannabis for medicinal use.
Gen Prayut said the government believes the decriminalisation of cannabis will do more good than harm.
"The use of cannabis can benefit the medical industry and stimulate the economy," he said.
He also encouraged organisations to provide the public with well-rounded information to ensure they use cannabis safely, especially adolescents.
Deputy government spokeswoman Traisulee Traisaranakul said the hospital, located in Prachin Buri's Muang district and known as a pioneer in promoting herbs and traditional remedies for curing sickness, is conducting research on cannabis extracts as a surrogate for sleeping pills.
Its cannabis oil is called "Ganja Thang Ha" and has been applied to patients with sleeping problems since 2020, she said, lauding the results as "impressive".
Government records show that over 19 million Thais have suffered from insomnia for at least some part of their life, or 30% of the population. Successful research in this area will not only make people less dependent on sleeping pills but also create opportunities for Thai companies to export medicine and capture a chunk of this huge global market, Ms Traisulee said.
The exhibition showed the hospital's experiments in cultivating cannabis and producing extracts and medicine. That knowledge is being shared with local agriculturalists and entrepreneurs and will be made available to the public later, she said.
Moreover, the hospital has developed an online database documenting its cannabis treatments.