Showing 1 - 10 of 969
Hemp's potential goes up in smoke
Editorial, Published on 23/06/2024
» Since the legalisation of marijuana, or ganja, in 2022, the total lack of regulatory control has sparked a public outcry, prompting the Srettha administration to criminalise ganja again. The move to make hemp illegal, too, is a major mistake.
The economic benefits of cannabis
Oped, Published on 19/06/2024
» Thailand is at a crossroads between accepting cannabis as a new kind of product or restricting its usage only to medical needs. Social views are divided: one side focuses on the negative effects on society, such as negative impacts on family and community relationships, while the other side stresses the positive effects, including easier and cheaper access for medical uses and contributions to the economy in terms of production, employment, and tourism-related activities.
Thailand's weed legalisation dilemma
Oped, Published on 05/06/2024
» When cannabis or ganja was legalised (the plant was removed from the illicit drugs list) in 2022 by the Prayut Chan-o-cha government, this led to mass confusion whereby the public misunderstood and perceived it as "liberalisation". This resulted in widespread and unregulated cannabis consumption.
Senators send the 'old man' a warning
News, Veera Prateepchaikul, Published on 27/05/2024
» It was a close call. Five against four was the vote by the nine Constitutional Court judges when they decided not to suspend Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin from performing his duties after they voted 6:3 to accept for consideration the petition of 40 senators demanding the removal of the prime minister for allegedly violating ethical standards in appointing Phichit Chuenban as PM's Office Minister.
PM's drug reforms echo past errors
Oped, Published on 24/05/2024
» When Thailand's Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin announced plans to reschedule cannabis as a narcotic and reduce the threshold for possession of methamphetamine for personal use (not for supply to others) from five pills to one, he signalled a return to drug policies championed over two decades ago. He called for crackdowns on people in the drug trade, for people who use drugs to be placed into rehabilitation facilities and demanded results in 90 days.
Thailand's cannabis U-turn is a cautionary tale
News, Published on 20/05/2024
» Turns out you can have too much of a good thing. Earlier this month, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin ordered a U-turn on the country's landmark cannabis policy, saying the plant should be soon classified as a narcotic again and its use limited to medical and health purposes.
For journalists, neutrality is not the goal
Oped, Published on 17/05/2024
» My ability to be neutral as a political journalist depends on the intellectual honesty of the people -- and the society -- I cover.
Climate change poses health threat
Oped, Published on 17/05/2024
» It is widely believed that climate change is the single biggest threat to human health. A global temperature increase of 2C -- a threshold that will likely be exceeded by the end of the century -- could claim as many as one billion lives, with extreme weather events, heatwaves, droughts, flooding, infectious disease outbreaks, and food shortages among the causes of death. But the situation may, in fact, be far worse because the current forecasts fail to account for the inevitable increase in antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
Who's directing behind the scenes?
News, Veera Prateepchaikul, Published on 13/05/2024
» The speechwriter who wrote the speech delivered by Pheu Thai Party leader Paetongtarn Shinawatra at the party meeting on May 3 did a lousy job which consequently put her in hot water.
Fixing Thailand's cannabis regulations
Oped, Published on 08/05/2024
» When cannabis was removed from the Narcotics Code in 2021, widespread, unregulated usage sparked a public outcry, calling for immediate governmental intervention to rectify the situation.