The House of Representatives voted 119:0 with 31 abstentions today (Wednesday) to delete the Section 3 of the Cannabis Bill in its entirety.
In essence, Section 3 of the Cannabis Bill stipulated that cannabis is not a narcotic drug.
Suphachai Jaisamut, party-list MP from the Bhumjaithai Party and chairman of the House committee scrutinising the Cannabis Bill, had said previously that the deletion of Section 3 from the bill will not make cannabis a narcotic drug, because an edict from the Ministry of Public Health, issued in June, has already removed cannabis from the Category 5 drugs list and designated it as a controlled herb.
Dr. Paisarn Dunkum, secretary-general of the Thai Food and Drug Administration (TFDA), disclosed that they have already accepted registration of about 2,200 food supplements, cosmetics and herbal medicines containing cannabis.
The deletion of Section 3 will pave the way for the passage of the bill to decriminalise cannabis and hemp.
The battle is, however, not over yet, as opponents of the decriminalisation of cannabis have turned to the Administrative Court, asking it to invalidate the Public Health Ministry’s edict removing cannabis from the Category 5 drugs list.
Decriminalisation of cannabis is the flagship policy of the Bhumjaithai Party, which has won widespread support from small and medium-sized entrepreneurs, herbal medicine advocacy groups and the general public, who see cannabis as a business opportunity and an alternative herbal medicine to treat some illnesses. About one million people have applied to cultivate cannabis.
