Thai government moves forward to use cannabis for medical purpose

BANGKOK, November 2 (TNA) - Thailand's Government Pharmaceutical Organization (GPO) is moving forward its plan on using cannabis for the medical purpose. GPO Board Chairman Dr. Sophon Mekthon, in his capacity as the head of a committee tasked with conducting the feasibility study of the plan, told journalists on Friday that GPO has sent samples of the drug seized by authorities to the Department of Medical Science, under the Thai Ministry of Public Health, to test whether such major substances as the THC and the CBD in the drug are suitable for being extracted to become cannabis oil to be used for the medical purpose, with the result expected within one month. "If the test shows that the substances in the seized cannabis have their standard safety qualification for patients, GPO will initially produce 4,000 units of cannabis oil by January 2019 and will then ask for more seized cannabis from the Office of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB) to produce more lots of cannabis oil during February-April 2019, 6,000 units monthly", Dr. Sophon said. "After that, GPO will inject more funds to build more facilities and import more machines to produce the cannabis medical oil later in 2019, targeted at 60,000 units monthly", added the GPO board chairman. Besides, a variety of cannabis plants with the quality THC and the CBD substances will be grown in a GPO vast plot of land of 1,500 rai (2.5 rai = 1 acre) in Nongyai area of Chon Buri Province in the Thai East to be used for the production of the cannabis medical oil to serve the domestic demand primarily. (TNA)