Last updated on September 26th, 2023 at 08:35 am
According to Dr Somsak Akhasilp, director-general of the Department of Medical Services at the Ministry of Public Health, doctors are currently being trained on prescribing cannabis-based medicine and may start issuing prescriptions as early as June of this year.
Training workshops held by the ministry are said to attract as many as 250 doctors, dentists and pharmacists per session with multiple sessions already held or scheduled.
However, Dr Somsak cautioned that cannabis-based medicines are not a cure-all and stressed that cannabis was only authorized to treat certain types of ailments. Currently, medical marijuana and other cannabis-based therapies are only approved for treating epilepsy, multiple sclerosis and nerve pain, and cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy.
Regardless, the broad interest from medical practitioners is encouraging to cannabis proponents who claim that medical marijuana and other cannabis-based treatments are more effective and-or cause less severe side-effects than current pharmaceutical products being prescribed to patients today.
Thailand hopes to become one of a growing list of countries that allow cannabis-based products for the treatment of medical conditions.
While the list of countries that have partially or fully legalized cannabis products is still relatively small, proponents are hopeful that trends like that in the United States where individual states are legalizing medicinal and recreational use will boost more widespread legalization.
Thailand walks a fine line on the cannabis issue, being one of the first countries in Asia to legalize cannabis for specific medicinal purposes while also maintaining harsh penalties for all other possession, use, or sale.
Many proponents of legalization in Thailand hope to see medicinal use go smoothly opening up the possibility of adding additional ailments that can be treated with cannabis-based products, potentially boosting medical tourism to Thailand.
Other factions in the cannabis movement hope to eventually see cannabis available for recreational purposes and see medicinal approvals as a way to show that much of the feared harm of cannabis-based products is unwarranted.
