Thailand has begun planting its first legal medical marijuana plants.
On Wednesday afternoon, the Government Pharmaceutical Organization (GPO), which is overseeing the plant’s legalization efforts, unveiled the kingdom’s first-ever medical marijuana plantation, located in the Rangsit Pharmaceutical Production Plant in Pathumthani province’s Thanayaburi district.
The GPO showed off their plantation in a virtual tour video posted to their Facebook page.
“[The] GPO has started growing the first medical-grade marijuana plants in accordance to the Asean Economics Community (AEC) laws,” says the post accompanying the video.
In a press conference at the end of last month, GPO Director Dr. Witoon Danwiboon said they were working with a budget of roughly THB10million (about US$315,000) to turn a 100-square-meter section of the Rangsit Pharmaceutical Production Plant into growing areas.
Now that the plan has come to fruition, the organization said they plan to produce 2,500 bottles containing 5ml of Canna-oil each by July, reported Manager.
“We have to race against time to make the most of medical marijuana benefits, because so many countries have been working with this industry for 10 years now like Canada and Israel, said Public Health Minister Dr. Piyasakol Sakolsattayathorn.
This first plantation is only considered Phase 1 of the kingdom’s plan to grow its own marijuana, he added.
In the next, more ambitious, phase, they plan to turn a 1,000 sq-meter facility — also in Pathumthani’s Thanayaburi district — into growing areas, using a budget of about THB164million (about US$5 million) reported Thai Post.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday, the Thai Food and Drug Administration (FDA), an agency under the Ministry of Public Health, launched a medical marijuana hotline that aims to answer all your questions about weed in order to help the kingdom transition into this historic legalization.
In the middle of last month, the administration revealed the conditions and diseases for which medical cannabis can be prescribed. They include Parkinson’s, epilepsy, nausea caused by chemotherapy, and — good news for everyone else — stress.
Related Story: ‘Stress’ among symptoms medical weed can be prescribed for, says Thai FDA
Last year, Coconuts TV produced a docu-series – now available exclusively on Netflix – called “HIGHLAND: Thailand’s Marijuana Awakening” that explores how the marijuana legalization movement got started in Thailand.
We spoke to many vets in the industry including as doctors, patients whose lives have been improved from CBD oil as well as members of Highland, Thailand’s cannabis culture-dedicated magazine.
Check out the trailer here:
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Thai Gov’t Pharmaceutical Organization aims to start producing cannabis oil by mid-Feb
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