Many hurdles before cannabis oil is legal in Thailand

THERE has not been sufficient research to back a proposal to include cannabis oil on the National List of Essential Medicines, executives at the Department of Thai Traditional and Alternative Medicine (DTAM) said on Tuesday.

They a lso said t he 16 traditional marijuana-based medicines approved by the Public Hea lt h Mi n i s t r y i n Apr i l should f irst be considered for t he list.

The executives were responding to a call by 12 organisations, led by well-known campaigner and president of the Khao Kwan Foundation, Decha Siriphat, to include his formula of cannabis oil in the list.

The organisations made the demand when they wrapped up t hei r 270k m “Ca nnabis Walk” in Suphan Buri province on Sunday. The 20-day march, which k icked of f in Phichit, aimed to bring attention to the benefits of medical marijuana.

The campaigners also called for Decha’s formula to be included in the National He a l t h S e c u r i t y O f f i c e (NHSO)’s universal healthcare scheme. DTAM Thai Traditional Medicine Office director Dr Kwanchai Wisithanon said the matter would be brought f or consideration by the authorities at a meeting in the afternoon.

Kwanchai said representatives of Thai traditional medicine practitioners recently met with representatives from Chulalongkorn University’s Faculty of Pharmacy and members of Decha’s group. They d i s c us s e d whether Decha’s cannabis oil should be approved for use under the Public Health Ministry’s special access scheme (in which approval will be granted on a case-by-case basis) like the 16 cannabinoid medications that were approved in April.

According to NHSO secretary-general Dr Sakchai Kanchanawattana, the universal healthcare scheme only allows medication to be prescribed after it is included in the National List of Essential Medicines. That provision will also apply to cannabis oil, he said.

It is not easy to get a medicat ion i ncluded on t he l i st , DTAM deputy director-general Dr Pramote Stienrut said. Multiple steps are required, along with a key requirement t hat a suf f icient number of credible studies be conducted on a large sample of people, in this case some 2,000 to 3,000 locals, because once the medici ne is approved it wil l be used by t he genera l public. The qualit y of t he medicine will also be tested to ensure it is up to par before being submitted for consideration by a sub-committee of the National List of Essential Medicines and the National Drug System Development Committee.

The 50 formulas listed more than six to seven years ago were included because they originated from Thai local wisdom, and public hospitals had produced and used them for more than a decade, he said. THE NATION/ASIA NEWS NETWORK