Leading academics & doctors in Thailand demand govt to pause cannabis bill

Some 851 doctors and alumni of the Faculty of Medicine Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University, launched a campaign to get the Thai government to pause its cannabis decriminalisation bill for the safety of its children.

Yesterday, the President of the Forensic Physician Association of Thailand, Smith Srisont, posted a document with a list of requests to the government demanding a “cannabis vacuum.”

The doctor also attached a list of 851 doctors and alumni from the Faculty of Medicine Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University, who agreed to the pause.

The group wants the government to stop the decriminalisation processes and be open to opinions from different public and private sectors to debate the policy and its restrictions on cannabis use in Thailand.

The group has seen increasing use of cannabis abuse outside of its original intended medical purposes, especially among children and teenagers.

The group’s spokesperson said…

“Cannabis was removed from the Public Health Ministry’s Narcotic list on June 9, but no policies have been launched to control the use of cannabis for personal pleasure. This lack of law direction makes cannabis more accessible for children and teenagers.”

The document maps out that studies show that cannabis could affect the health of children and teenagers and the growth of their brains. The document added that the situation now threatens the healthcare system and Thai people’s health both in the short and long term.

The group invited doctors or alumni who agreed to sign their names and announced that they also had a campaign on Change.org for the public to vote. The target of the campaign was set at 15,000 names, and now the campaign got more than 10,800 people.

At the end of the document, the group said…

“The government and related departments should stop threatening people’s health as soon as possible. The use of cannabis for medical purposes should be under control for the best benefits and safety as the government claimed from the first place.”

SOURCE: Smith Fa Srisont | Bangkokbiznews