Thailand has approved marijuana for medical use and research on Tuesday, Dec. 25, 2018.

Right on Christmas.

Rushed job

The junta-appointed parliament in Thailand voted to amend the Narcotic Act of 1979 in an extra parliamentary session.

This was to handle a rush of bills before the new year’s holidays.

It is the first legalisation of the drug in a region with some of the world’s strictest drug laws.

A new year's gift

Chairman of the drafting committee, Somchai Sawangkarn, said in a televised parliamentary session: “This is a new year’s gift from the National Legislative Assembly to the government and the Thai people.”

The main controversy with legalisation in Thailand appears to be commercial in nature as it involves the issue of preventing foreign firms from dominating the market.

The fear is that foreign firms will start to make patent requests that could allow them to dominate the Thai market.

This would make it harder for Thai patients to access medicines and for Thai researchers to access marijuana extracts.

Setting this possibility straight appears to be the first priority for the Thailand government.

“We’re going to demand that the government revoke all these requests before the law takes effect,” said Panthep Puapongpan, Dean of the Rangsit Institute of Integrative Medicine and Anti-ageing.

Thailand's history with marijuana

Thailand, until the 1930s, had a tradition of using marijuana to relieve pain and fatigue.

But the drug remains illegal and taboo across much of Southeast Asia.

Marijuana traffickers can be subject to the death penalty in Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia.