Bangkok: Thailand has opened its first full-time clinic specialising in traditional and alternative cannabis-based medicine, as part of a move by the government towards developing a medicinal cannabis industry.
„This is a pilot clinic, because we cannot produce enough doctors with expertise in cannabis,” Public Health Minister, Anutin Charnvirakul, told reporters at the opening ceremony in Bangkok on Monday. Patients will receive treatment free of charge for the first two weeks, he added.
Patients wait to register for a consultation at the first full-time clinic prescribing cannabis oil for medical treatment in the Public Health Ministry in Nonthaburi province, Thailand. Credit:AP
Thailand, which has a tradition of using cannabis to relieve pain and fatigue, legalised marijuana for medical use and research in 2017 to boost agricultural income.
There are already around 25 cannabis clinics attached to general hospitals around the country but, unlike the newly-launched pilot clinic, they operate for just a few days a week due to a lack of specialised staff.