Mr Anutin stated at the Miracle Hotel’s “Meet the Press: Cannabis” event that since cannabis was decriminalized for medical use, it has not had any negative social impact, as many parties were concerned.
Over the last two months, hospitals reported 60 people suffering from acute cannabis side effects (from June 6 to Aug 16). According to Mr Anutin, the figure meant that one person per day suffered from the acute effects, and it showed no significant impacts when compared to Thailand’s population of 70 million.
According to him, at the Princess Mother National Institute on Drug Abuse Treatment, 80% of patients abused speed pills while only 4% abused cannabis.
He also stated that the cannabis bill would be completely drafted this week and then immediately introduced in the House of Representatives. Anutin stated that people had already registered via an app for cannabis cultivation in areas covering up to 7,500 rai (about 3,000 acres), and that the value of the local cannabis market was estimated to be 28 billion baht, rising to 50 billion baht later.
