Growing medical marijuana in Phuket planning in place

On September 10th the Phuket Public Health Office held a workshop to raise awareness among those in Phuket who are looking to develop marijuana for medical and research purposes.

Phuket's Vice Governor Phichet Panaphong, PPHO Chief Doctor Thanit Sermkaew, and University President Asst Prof Dr. Hiran Prasarnkan were part of the workshop, conducted at Phuket Rajabhat University.

The workshop focused on the production and processing of marijuana for medicinal purposes and for research.

PPHO Chief Dr. Thanit made it clear that a certain permit from the Ministry of Health will be required. 
He did not explain whether there were already such permits available. 
Dr. Thanit has made it plain that under the Cannabis Act (No. 7) B.E., marijuana remains a Category 5 controlled substance. 2562. 2562.

Accordingly, the workshop clarified the legislation governing the development and distribution of marijuana and the procedure of applying for authorization to develop, manufacture, and distribute marijuana as a drug in category 5.

"This also means growing marijuana safely and educating people on how to prepare the planting area for soil preparation and considering the environmental conditions for farmers in Phuket to cultivate," he said.

Other issues explained were measures to monitor the quality of marijuana grown and how residue testing of soil such as heavy metals or pesticides could be carried out.

"In order to provide medical and research benefits, we also need to look at dry marijuana processing and hemp oil production," Dr. Thanit said. 

​Vice-Governor Phichet explained that growing marijuana for medicinal use could bring a lot of benefits to people.

"Every aspect of growing marijuana, particularly the medical benefits of using marijuana treatments, will offer us more knowledge. Further research of its uses will help in the future treatment of various diseases and medical conditions," he said.