The interim parliament of Thailand has legalised the use of marijuana for medical use and research becoming the first Southeast Asian nation to do so.
The junta-appointed parliament in the country which had a tradition of using marijuana to relieve pain and fatigue until 1930, voted 166-0 to amend the Narcotic Act of 1979 to legalise the medicinal use of marijuana.
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“This is a New Year’s gift from the National Legislative Assembly to the government and the Thai people,” Somchai Sawangkarn, chairman of the drafting committee, was quoted in a report.
While few countries in the west have legalised marijuana for medical or even recreational use, the drug remains illegal and taboo across most of the Southeast Asian countries.
Meanwhile, in countries like Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia marijuana traffickers can be subject to the death penalty.