Image copyright Reuters Image caption Campaigners had held protests demanding medicinal cannabis be allowed

Thailand's parliament has voted to approve cannabis for medical use, with a key lawmaker calling it a "New Year's gift" to the Thai people.

Recreational use will remain illegal.

Marijuana was used in Thailand as a traditional medicine, until it was banned in the 1930s.

South East Asia has some of the world's toughest penalties for drug usage or possession, and Thailand is the first in the region to allow medicinal marijuana.

Thailand's junta-appointed parliament voted to amend the Narcotic Act of 1979 on Tuesday.

It happened after an extra parliamentary session was arranged to push bills through before the New Year's holidays, according to Reuters news agency.

The amendment will become law when it is published in the government gazette, The Bangkok Post reported.

"This is a New Year's gift from the National Legislative Assembly to the government and the Thai people," said Somchai Sawangkarn, chairman of the drafting committee, during the televised session.

What will be allowed?

Consumers will be able to carry specified amounts necessary for medicinal purposes, if they have a prescription or recognised certificate, the Bangkok Post said.

Licences for production and sale of the product will be strictly controlled.

The paper said the law also applies to kratom, a South East Asian plant that acts as a stimulant.

Worldwide changes

Across the world, countries have been revisiting their marijuana laws.

Canada and Uruguay are among those to have legalised it, including for recreational use. However South East Asia is known for having very harsh punishments for drugs-related charges.

Earlier this year, a man in Malaysia was given a death sentence for selling cannabis oil.

Meanwhile, on the Indonesian island of Bali, a British man is facing up to 15 years in prison after being found with cannabis oil which he says he needed for medical reasons.

The 45-year-old Pip Holmes, from Cornwall, says he asked a friend to send it to him while he was living in Bali to help his arthritis.

Image copyright Getty Images

Medical cannabis - what the research says

Conclusive or substantial evidence that it helps:

as treatment for chronic pain in adults

as treatment for chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting

for improving patient-reported multiple sclerosis spasticity symptoms

Moderate evidence that it helps:

improving sleep in individuals with specific conditions including fibromyalgia and obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome

Epilepsy

Recent studies have found that cannabidiol (CBD - an active ingredient in cannabis) reduced seizures in individuals with rare childhood epilepsy disorders - Lennox-Gastaut syndrome and Dravet syndrome

Sources: US National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine; New England Journal of Medicine; NHS</s>Thailand approved marijuana for medical use and research on Tuesday, the first legalization of the drug in a region with some of the world's strictest drug laws.

The junta-appointed parliament in Thailand, a country which until the 1930s had a tradition of using marijuana to relieve pain and fatigue, voted to amend the Narcotic Act of 1979 in an extra parliamentary session handling a rush of bills before the New Year's holidays.

"This is a New Year's gift from the National Legislative Assembly to the government and the Thai people," said Somchai Sawangkarn, chairman of the drafting committee, in a televised parliamentary session.

While countries from Colombia to Canada have legalized marijuana for medical or even recreational use, the drug remains illegal and taboo across much of Southeast Asia, which has some of the world's harshest punishments for drug law violations.

Marijuana traffickers can be subject to the death penalty in Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia.

But in Thailand, the main controversy with legalization involved patent requests by foreign firms that could allow them to dominate the market, making it harder for Thai patients to access medicines and for Thai researchers to access marijuana extracts.

"We're going to demand that the government revoke all these requests before the law takes effect," said Panthep Puapongpan, Dean of the Rangsit Institute of Integrative Medicine and Anti-Aging.

Some Thai advocates hope that Tuesday's approval will pave the way for legalization for recreational use.

"This is the first baby step forward," said Chokwan Chopaka, an activist with Highland Network, a cannabis legalization advocacy group in Thailand.</s>In a regional first, Thailand’s junta-appointed parliament voted Tuesday to approve marijuana for medical use. A top lawmaker described the vote as a holiday gift to the country.

“This is a New Year’s gift from the National Legislative Assembly to the government and the Thai people,” said Somchai Sawangkarn, chairman of the drafting committee, according to Reuters.

Lawmakers voted to amend the Narcotic Act of 1979 to legalize the production, import, export, possession and use of cannabis for medical and research purposes, Bangkok Post reported. Recreational marijuana remains illegal in the country.

Sawangkarn noted that the amendment will come into effect once it’s published in the Government Gazette, the country’s public journal.

Thailand is the first country in Southeast Asia to legalize medical marijuana. The region has some of the world’s toughest penalties for drug law violations, with marijuana traffickers potentially facing the death penalty in nearby countries like Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia.

In an apparent response to news of Thailand’s impending medical marijuana vote, Singapore’s government issued a stern warning earlier this year that it would duly punish any citizen or permanent resident found to have consumed marijuana abroad. Singapore’s Central Narcotics Bureau reminded people that it conducts enforcement checks at immigration checkpoints and that “any Singapore Citizen or Permanent Resident found to have abused controlled drugs overseas will be treated as if [they] had abused drugs in Singapore.”

Thailand has a long tradition of marijuana use for medical relief. As Reuters noted, the drug was traditionally used to relieve pain and fatigue until the 1930s when it was banned.</s>Thailand’s interim parliament voted to approve marijuana for medical use and research, one of the senators who worked on the bill told CNN on Tuesday. Recreational use of the drug remains illegal.

Lawmaker Somchai Sawangkarn said the passing of an amendment to allow medical marijuana in the country “could be considered as a New Year gift to Thais.”

“The amendment (on the Narcotics Bill) was passed the second and third readings today. And will become effective once it is published on the Royal Gazette,” he said.”

The National Legislative Assembly’s 166 members voted in favour of the change and there were no votes objecting to the motion. There were 13 members who abstained from the vote, CNN reported.

This makes Thailand the first country in Southeast Asia to allow the use of medical marijuana. The region is notorious for its hardline approach to drugs and strict penalties for drug-related crimes.

The British government approved medical marijuana earlier this year, and it became available on November 1 from the National Health System to patients with a prescription.

Medications derived from cannabis became legal in Germany last year. Medical marijuana is also legal in Australia and Ireland.

In the US, medical marijuana is legal in 30 states, though the laws governing what’s permitted vary from state to state, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.</s>Thailand approved marijuana for medical use and research on Tuesday, the first legalisation of the drug in a region with some of the world's strictest drug laws.

The junta-appointed parliament in Thailand, a country which until the 1930s had a tradition of using marijuana to relieve pain and fatigue, voted to amend the Narcotic Act of 1979 in an extra parliamentary session handling a rush of bills before the New Year's holidays.

"This is a New Year's gift from the National Legislative Assembly to the government and the Thai people," said Somchai Sawangkarn, chairman of the drafting committee, in a televised parliamentary session.

While countries from Colombia to Canada have legalised marijuana for medical or even recreational use, the drug remains illegal and taboo across much of Southeast Asia, which has some of the world's harshest punishments for drug law violations.

Marijuana traffickers can be subject to the death penalty in Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia.</s>(BANGKOK) — Thailand’s legislature on Tuesday agreed to amend the country’s drug law to allow the licensed medical use of marijuana, as well as kratom, a locally grown plant traditionally used as a stimulant and painkiller.

Thailand is the first country in Southeast Asia to take such action, which is also under consideration in neighboring Malaysia. New Zealand’s government earlier this month enacted a law liberalizing the medical use of marijuana, which had previously been tightly restricted.

The Thai legislation passed its final reading at the National Legislative Assembly by a vote of 166-0 with 13 abstentions.

The changes, which become law when published in the Royal Gazette, legalize the production, import, export, possession and use of marijuana and kratom products for medical purposes.

Purveyors, producers and researchers will need licenses to handle the drugs, while end-users will need prescriptions.

Recreational use of the drugs remains illegal and subject to prison terms and fines commensurate with the quantities involved.

The bill introducing the legislative changes had noted that recent studies have shown that marijuana extract has medicinal benefits, which has prompted “many countries around the world to ease their laws by enacting legal amendments to allow their citizens to legally use kratom and marijuana for medicinal or recreational purposes.”

It added that despite being classified as an illegal drug, many patients have used marijuana to treat their diseases.</s>Bangkok: Thailand's legislature has agreed to amend the country's drug law to allow the licensed medical use of marijuana, as well as the kratom, a locally grown plant traditionally used as a stimulant and painkiller.

Thailand is the first country in Southeast Asia to take such action, which is also under consideration in neighbouring Malaysia.

The legislation passed its final reading on Tuesday at the National Legislative Assembly by a vote of 166-0 with 13 abstentions.

The changes, which become law when published in the Royal Gazette, legalise the production, import, export, possession and use of marijuana and kratom products for medical purposes.

Recreational use of the drugs remains illegal and subject to prison terms and fines commensurate with the quantities involved.</s>On Tuesday, the interim Thai parliament voted to allow the use of medical cannabis — as well as kratom, a locally grown plant traditionally used as a stimulant and painkiller — in the country. Despite the passing of this bill, one of the senators who worked on it confirms that the use of marijuana for recreational purposes still remains illegal.

As reported by CNN, the amendment to the current Narcotics Bill was passed after both the second and third readings on Christmas Day. It will become effective as soon as it has been published on the Royal Gazette. Once published, the production, import, export, possession, and use of marijuana and kratom for medical purposes become fully legal.

Purveyors, producers, and researchers dealing with the drugs will have to obtain licenses in order to do so legally, and users will have to obtain a medical prescription from a licensed doctor in order to be allowed to make use of them.

Lawmaker Somchai Sawangkarn had hailed the passing of this particular amendment, and said that to allow the use of medical marijuana in the country “could be considered as a New Year gift to Thais.” Public polls taken before the official vote showed a majority of Thai citizens were in favor of the motion.

Tuesday saw the National Legislative Assembly’s 166 members vote in favor of the change. None voted against the amendment, but there were 13 members of parliament who decided to abstain from voting.

The decision means that Thailand becomes the first country in Southeast Asia to allow the use of the drug in any form, in a region that is notoriously strict on drug use, and carries extremely harsh penalties for those found to be in violation of the law.

Other countries in the region are considering passing similar motions, including neighboring Malaysia. Earlier in December, New Zealand enacted a law liberalizing the use of medical cannabis, which was previously tightly restricted, according to Global News.

This year has seen the British government also approve the use of marijuana for medical purposes, and just last month it became available on the NHS for those with medical prescriptions. In 2017, medications derived from cannabis became legal in Germany, while medical marijuna itself is also legal in Australia, Ireland, and South Africa.

It is currently only legal for medicinal use in 30 states in the U.S., and the laws pertaining to its uses for medical purposes still vary greatly from state to state.</s>BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand's legislature has agreed to amend the country's drug law to allow the licensed medical use of marijuana, as well as the kratom, a locally grown plant traditionally used as a stimulant and painkiller.</s>The new year could bring a new medical marijuana market in an unlikely place: Southeast Asia.

Thailand's military-appointed National Legislative Assembly on Tuesday unanimously passed a resolution in an extra-parliamentary session to amend the Narcotics Act of 1979 to legalize marijuana for medicinal and research purposes, according to Reuters.

Under the earlier Act, marijuana was used only to relieve pain and fatigue. The resolution was adopted by a 166-0 vote, with 13 members abstaining. The country also legalized kratom, a tropical evergreen tree belonging to the coffee family long used in traditional medicines.

The measure requires approval by Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn, according to The New York Times.

The year saw several groundbreaking developments globally on the legalization front, with Canada approving the use of recreational marijuana.

Cannabis investors can't miss the Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference, the No. 1 networking event for institutional capital and the leading cannabis companies. Secure your tickets here before they run out.

Thailand's move is the first among nations in Southeast Asia, which tends to have the harshest punishments for drug violations. In some nations such as Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia, drug offenses carry the death penalty, according to Reuters.

Malaysia is also exploring the possibility of legalizing medical marijuana.

Thailand now has to resolve issues surrounding patent requests from multinational firms that could lead to them dominating the market and make access to marijuana extracts by domestic patients and researchers tough, Reuters said.

Recreational marijuana continues to be illegal in Thailand, and possession of 10 kilograms or less of the drug is punishable by five years in prison.

FDA Warms To Considering Legal Cannabis Ingredients In Food
Thailand approves marijuana for medical use and research. The country voted to amend the Narcotic Act of 1979 prior to the New Year’s holiday.