As a New Years gift, the Thai government approved medical marijuana, making it possible to be used for research and medicinal use. The country has had some of the strictest drug laws.
Till the 1930s, the drug was allowed to be used to relieve pain and fatigue. The people-appointed parliament in Thailand 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.
In Thailand, the main controversy with legalisation is patent requests by foreign firms, which could allow them to dominate the market and that could make it harder for Thai patients to access medicines and for Thai researchers to access marijuana extracts. Marijuana traffickers can be subject to the death penalty in Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia. 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.
Some Thai advocates hope that Tuesday's approval will pave the way for legalisation for recreational use."This is the first baby step forward," said Chokwan Chopaka, an activist with Highland Network, a cannabis legalisation advocacy group in Thailand.
