Last updated on July 16th, 2022 at 05:01 am
We recently added the HE Clinic in Thong Lor to our list of medical cannabis clinics. We also had the opportunity to ask Dr. Chayut some questions about this foreigner-friendly clinic to help further educate people on obtaining legal medical cannabis in Thailand.
It’s certainly good to see more foreigner-friendly clinics opening up in Thailand and the clinics coming forward and helping demystify the medical cannabis industry.
1. Can you give some information about the clinic, like how long has it been around, what kinds of patients do you normally treat, etc?
The HE Clinic has been open for 4 years. We are a unique clinic for men located on Thonglor, Bangkok. Most of our clients are ex-pats from the age of 40 up. We have many customers from around the world who come to us for treatment. Our most popular treatments are to do with Erectile dysfunction, Testosterone treatment and Anti-aging treatments such as stem cell therapy.
We also do other treatments such as vasectomy and FUE hair replacement. We are a fully licenced medical clinic.
2. What is the process someone needs to go through to receive cannabis treatment at your clinic? Do you take walk-ins? Should they make an appointment? What documents should they bring with them?
There are strict guidelines laid down by the GPO which means every bottle that we receive from the GPO must be tracked. Patients do need to make an appointment and they need to bring their passport with them.
At the clinic they will be required to fill in a medical questionnaire and sign a disclaimer. They will then see the doctor for a consultation. They should bring any supporting medical documents they have. The doctor may require additional blood tests (but this is not often the case) If the doctor deems the patient fulfils the guidelines for treatment, he will prescribe the cannabis product which he feels is suitable for the patient.
We supply the product at the clinic. If the patient is deemed to need treatment, they will also be issued a medical certificate and put on an online register, as required by the Ministry of Health.
3. What types of cannabis products do you prescribe? Is it mainly the GPO CBD and THC products?
There are 3 products currently available from the GPO, THC in 5ml bottles, CBD in 5ml bottles, THC and CBD mix 1:1 in 5ml bottles and CBD in 30ml bottles.
4. Do you provide a medical certificate for patients so they can possess cannabis legally in Thailand? Have any of your patients ever had to use the medical certificate with Thai police?
We do provide a medical certificate for patients and this can used when travelling. I am not aware of any patient yet having had cause to use their certificate.
5. It seems like most clinics that treat foreigners are not very aggressive in seeking new patients. There seems to be no advertising or online marketing campaigns aimed at foreigners. Is there a reason for that? I’m familiar with the laws surrounding cannabis itself, but I’m not as knowledgeable about medical advertising laws in Thailand and it is a question that keeps coming up with foreigners.
The promotion of Cannabis is not permitted on Facebook or Google ads. It’s strictly forbidden, so even some websites we contacted were reluctant to promote the product for fear they may get blocked from Facebook or Google themselves. Also, if you read below you will see there is currently an issue with supply.
Some additional points:
People should understand that under Thai law they can only safely obtain the ‘Government Pharmaceutical Products’. People may be able to obtain ‘under the counter’ CBD that someone has managed to get into Thailand, but these products are illegal. It’s illegal to sell them and it’s illegal to possess them.
The problem is the GPO has very limited supply. For example, we have been told that there is no CBD available until June this year. So, if you are in need of CBD it’s just not available at the moment. We do have THC.
Due to the short supply issues, we waitlist our patients so they will receive their supply once it is released to us from the GPO. So, patients are dealt with on a first-come-first-served basis.
Another questions people ask us is about the quality. There are very high-quality products available in the USA and Canada and these can be of high potency with the taste being masked by flavours. In the GPO products, the potency is the same but the taste is not disguised and that can be unpleasant to some people.
We have found, through our own research, that the Thai products do work well and are highly effective, especially for pain relief, anxiety and insomnia.
