The Public Health Ministry will issue a new ministerial regulation to tighten control of the production, import, export, sale and possession of cannabis and hemp extracts.
Pol Lt Gen Phanurat Lukboon, secretary-general of the Office of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB), said on Wednesday the cabinet on Tuesday approved in principle the draft of a ministerial regulation on the permission for the import, export, sale and possession of cannabis and hemp extracts, which are categorised as Type 5 narcotics.
The draft, proposed by the Public Health Ministry, will be submitted to the Council of State, the government’s legal arm, for scrutiny, Pol Lt Gen Phanurat said, adding the draft regulation will be issued under the Narcotics Code.
The regulation will lay down the criteria for applying for, granting and renewing licences and licence fees for the production, import, export, sale and possession of cannabis and hemp extracts for medical, commercial, industrial purposes, scientific research, as well as for anti-drug operations, he said.
When it takes effect, those who are not granted the licence to engage in those activities will be liable to a jail term of up to five years and/or a fine of up to 500,000 baht.
In particular, if they use the extracts for commercial purposes without a licence, which lead to their widespread use, or sell them to young people under the age of 18, they will face a harsher punishment — a jail term of up to 15 years and/or a fine of up to 1.5 million baht, Pol Lt Gen Phanurat said.
On Monday, the ONCB secretary-general met British Ambassador Mark Gooding to discuss measures to tackle the smuggling of cannabis from Thailand to the UK.
Representatives of the Royal Thai Police, the Customs Department, and Airports of Thailand (AoT) also attended.
The British envoy said more than 200 smugglers from Thailand have been arrested in the UK so far this year, Pol Lt Gen Phanurat said, adding the ambassador expressed concern about transnational criminal networks pulling the strings.
Justice Minister Pol Col Tawee Sodsong has instructed the ONCB to work with the UK’s National Crime Agency to share information and jointly hold a programme to train AoT personnel in drug analysis.