By Benjie Cooper
IG: @nuglifenews
YouTube: Lucid’s Vlog
Depending on where you are in the world, the local laws can significantly vary when it comes to the acquisition and consumption of cannabis products, ranging from fully-legal status to completely banned.
Cannabis is listed as a Class-5 narcotic under Thailand’s Narcotics Act and can carry some weighty penalties, though the death penalty for marijuana is not implemented in there as it is some other nearby countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia.
As other nations around the world are changing their cannabis laws, Thailand is in the process of modifying theirs as well. The country recently amended its drug laws to reduce punishments and hand out more appropriate sentencing.
But according to a new poll, public opinion is supporting further changes to Thailand’s cannabis laws.
The results of a survey conducted August 16-17 by the National Institute of Development Administration (NIDA) indicates that the majority of the population believes that cannabis should be legal for medicinal purposes.
The poll surveyed 1,250 people over the age of eighteen with varying education levels and occupations across the country to assess how they felt about the use and harm of marijuana.
Among the respondents, 68.24% said they were aware that cannabis could be used for medicinal applications, and 72.40% said they believed Thailand’s laws should be changed to allow for its use as other countries have done.
As to how the law should be implemented, 51.12% said medicinal cannabis should only be allowed in certain places like hospitals, and 29.04% responded that rules should be strictly enforced with weighty consequences. 19.92% said that people should be educated on benefits and risks cannabis, and 6.88% said that free medicinal marijuana trade should be allowed.
