The Department of Thai Traditional and Alternative Medicine (DTAM) has suspended the licence of a cannabis shop near a well-known school on Silom Road for a month.
The shocking news on Friday about a cannabis shop standing side-by-side with a convent school on Silom Road is a reminder that the country needs good laws and stronger community-based surveillance to regulate ganja dispensaries as they mushroom across the country. If not, the cannabis they sell that also has proven health benefits and economic potential will be criminalised again.
Operating cannabis shops near schools is permitted as a specific law has yet to be issued to control the locations of such establishments, according to the Department of Thai Traditional and Alternative Medicine (DTAM).
The Public Health Ministry has unveiled its list of so-called "herbal champions", but cannabis, hemp and kratom have been omitted, according to the Department of Thai Traditional and Alternative Medicine.