News
Big crime crackdown before Songkran

Police Region 8 held a press conference yesterday (April 11) revealing a number of drugs and gun crackdowns during the lead up to this year’s Songkran.
The targeted crimes including illegal ownership of guns, drugs, gambling, prostitution and the following up on the outstanding arrest warrant list.
The Police region 8 revealed that among the police in provinces in region 8 including Surat Thani, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Chumporn, Ranong, Krabi, Phang Nga and Phuket, there is a list of current arrests including.
1. 209 cases of illegal gun possession with 213 people and 167 guns (25 9mm guns, 19 .38 gun, one .357 gun, 28 .22 gun, 35 short barrel shotguns, 37 Thai Pradit guns, three .45 guns, four .32 guns, 10 gas airsoft rifles, 14 shotguns, and other 11 types of gun and a M61 bomb (which has been destroyed already).
2. 1,266 cases drug cases with 1,316 people and many kinds of drugs including 683,361 amphetamine pills, 1,779 grams of methamphetamine, 56.8 kilograms of marijuana and 686 kilograms of Kratom leaves.
3. 34 follow-up cases have now been closed.
“Police Region 8 will continue to dedicate its efforts to maintain the security for citizens, tourists and expats, especially during this Songkran Festival following the policy of the Royal Thai Police and the Government,” said the Commander of Police Region 8, Pol Lt Gen Sorasak Yenprem.
“This large amount of drugs and weapons seized comes mostly from the reports of local people. I would invite people in each area to keep monitoring any illegal activity and if you find anything suspicious, please contact the local police.”
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Drugs
Police seize 920 kilograms of cannabis smuggled across the Mekong River

In a major bust on the Mekong River, notorious for drug smuggling, border patrol police seized 920 kilograms of dried, compacted cannabis from a boat along the Nakhon Pathom riverbank, bordering Laos.
Police were tipped off about a large shipment of drugs being trafficked across the Thai-Laos border. Police spotted a boat around 4am yesterday. When police moved in, men onboard the boat jumped onto a smaller boat and sped off. Police found 23 sacks filled with 1-kilogram packages of compressed cannabis.

PHOTO: MGR Online
In the recent months, police have seized more than 5 tonnes of cannabis. While the Thai government has been loosening measures on cannabis, allowing parts of the plant with low traces of the psychoactive component tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, to be used in food and medicinal products, trafficking cannabis is still illegal. Cannabis with high amounts of THC is still classified as a Category 5 narcotic.
SOURCE:Bangkok Post
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Thailand
Thai FDA expedites the process to list cannabis as an “essential medicine”

Cannabis could soon become an “essential medicine” in Thailand. While the plant’s euphoria-inducing buds are still illegal and classified as a narcotic, other parts of the plant that do not cause a “high,” like the leaves, are being pushed into the food and medicine industry.
The Thai Food and Drug Administration is even trying to speed up the process to include cannabis on the National List of Essential Medicines and to also allow it to be used in food, according to the FDA secretary general Supattra Boonserm. Yesterday, the FDA committee approved a draft ordinance to allow the once-criminalised plant to be on the essential medicines list as well as to be an ingredient in food.
“Users can put oil extracts from cannabis in breakfast cereals, bakery products, beverages, snacks or butter as well as in food supplements.”
There are 2 main components in cannabis: tetrahydrocannabinol, known as THC, and cannabidiol, known as CBD. THC is the psychoactive component which causes the “happy-hungry high” while CBD is understood to have health benefits and has been used to treat anxiety and insomnia. THC is still illegal in Thailand.
Since the Public Health Ministry approved the use of cannabis and hemp for medical and research purposes, more than 50,000 patients in Thailand have been prescribed cannabis-based treatments, according to Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul.
Anutin says the FDA’s move to expedite the process of listing cannabis as an essential medicine is intended to make sure there is a sustainable supply of cannabis and the products are available to those who need it.
“The efficacy and safety of medical cannabis will continue to be reviewed, and the findings will be used to support further changes to medical cannabis laws.”
The health minister spoke at the official opening of the Ministry’s Institute of Medical Cannabis, which will be the coordinating agency to make sure cannabis-based products are in line with government policies.
“The institute will also provide accurate information about the plants and their use, as public interest in the plants have grown.”
More than 300 community enterprises have joined with the ministry to grow cannabis for medical and research purposes, Anutin said. He adds that households with permission from a local hospital can grow up to 6 cannabis plants on the property.
SOURCE: Bangkok Post
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Cannabis
Thai government hopes cannabis will be a primary cash crop for farmers

While marijuana traffickers are still getting busted by police, many smuggling the plant across the Mekong River, the Thai government is encouraging local farmers to grow cannabis, as long as they partner with a provincial hospital to use the plant for medicinal purposes. A deputy government spokesperson told Reuters the government hopes that cannabis and hemp will be a “primary cash crop for farmers.”
Late last year, Thailand removed certain parts of cannabis off the narcotics list. Parts of the plant with high amounts of the psychoactive component tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, are still classified as a Category 5 narcotic.
So far, 2,500 households in Thailand and 251 provincial hospitals have legally grown 15,000 cannabis plants, according to deputy government spokesperson Traisulee Traisoranakul. She says those interested in growing cannabis have to seek approval from authorities. Universities, community enterprises and those in the medical industry can obtain licenses to grow cannabis.
“Everybody has the right to grow marijuana by partnering up with provincial hospitals for medical use.”
With the declassification of certain cannabis parts, the plant can be used in food and beverages at restaurants. Over the past few months, some cafes and restaurants have started to offer dishes made with cannabis leaves. Traisulee says cannabis used in food ends to come from an approved producer. She says the Medical Marijuana Institute will hold information sessions next month.
SOURCE: Reuters
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