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Malaysia eyes Thailand’s medical cannabis policy, as Kuala Lumpur contemplates its own marijuana strategy
- Thailand’s health minister said that he would organise a tour for his Malaysian counterpart to study how cannabis can be used for medical purposes
- Currently under Malaysian law, possession of cannabis is an offence punishable with a jail term of up to five years or a fine of almost US$4,500
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Thailand’s health minister has said Malaysia is considering studying its laws to legalise cannabis for medical use as Kuala Lumpur plans to roll-out a similar measure.
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Anutin Charnvirakul said on Monday he shared knowledge about the herb with his Malaysian counterpart Khairy Jamaluddin during the 75th World Health Assembly in May. The two ministers hope to take the discussion forward when Khairy visits Thailand in November to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit.
Anutin added his ministry would organise a medical marijuana tour for Khairy to study the extraction of cannabis cola or clustered flowers that can be used for medicinal purposes.
“If Malaysia joins Thailand in legalising cannabis for medical use, even though our neighbour has much harsher narcotics laws than Thailand, I believe that would reflect well on our success in bringing the plant into our medical system,” Anutin told the Bangkok Post.
In June, Thailand became the first Asian nation to decriminalise cannabis for medical and industrial use after the plant was removed from the narcotics category by the country’s food and drug administration.
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The move spurred businesses such as cafes and stalls to start openly selling all kinds of cannabis products, but it has also raised concerns about the dangers of unchecked use.
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