Thailand Legalizes Marijuana

In News

• Recently, Thailand made it legal to cultivate and possess marijuana.
  • It became the first Asian country to remove the ban on this drug.

More about the news

• The Thailand government is promoting cannabis for medical use only.
• It also issued a warning for those eager to light up for fun smoking in public. 
  • It is still considered to be a nuisance in the country.
• Cafes and restaurants can also serve cannabis-infused food and drinks, but only if the products contain less than 0.2 percent tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the plant’s main psychoactive compound
• Thailand already has a well-developed medical tourism industry and its tropical climate is ideal for growing cannabis.
  • The country is known for its Thai Stick variety, which is named after the way its potent flowers are dried and tied into sticks and is the origin of many strains now grown overseas.

Marijuana

• Marijuana—also known as cannabis, weed, pot, or dope—refers to the dried flowers, leaves, stems, and seeds of the cannabis plant.
• Marijuana is a psychoactive drug from the Cannabis plant used for medical, recreational & religious purposes.
  • People use the dried leaves, seed oil, and other parts of the cannabis plant for recreational and medicinal purposes. 
• Medicinal purposes:
  • It can have a pleasurable effect and may soothe the symptoms of various conditions, such as chronic pain.
  • The cannabinoids in cannabis work by binding to specific sites in the brain and on the nerves.
  • For pain management as well as treating post-chemo symptoms, arthritis, skin ailments, mental disorders and metabolic problems.
  • It is also used for nausea, vomiting, migraine, and many other conditions, but there is no good scientific evidence to support these uses. 

• Side effects:
  • It appears to affect areas of the brain that control:

• memory and attention
• balance, posture, and coordination
• reaction time
• Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that relates to feelings of pleasure.
• It can also affect sensory perception. 
  • Colours may seem brighter, music more vivid, and emotions more profound.

• Immune response: Frequent cannabis use may affect the immune system.
• Testicular cancer: A study concluded that using cannabis more than 50 times in a lifetime may increase the risk of testicular cancer.
• Addiction: About 9% may develop an addiction. A person has an addiction when they cannot stop using a substance.

Regulation in India

• Cannabis was regulated by the state excise departments and legally sold till 1985.
  • Smoking weed in India is not legal. However, the one and only exemption for it is consuming it as bhang. 
  • While CBD oil manufacturing is licenced under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 can be legally used and sold. 
• The NDPS Act, 1985 lays down the punishment for carrying weed on the basis of the quantity you possess. 
• Fine and punishments:
  • For possessing a small quantity you can face rigorous imprisonment for up to 6 months, a fine of Rs. 10,000, or both. 
  • For a quantity that is more than a small quantity but less than the commercial quantity you can face rigorous imprisonment for up to 10 years, a fine of Rs. 1 lakh, or both. 
  • For possessing commercial quantities you can face rigorous imprisonment for up to 10-20 years, a fine of Rs. 1-2 lakh, or both

Arguments in favour of Legalising Marijuana

• Cannabis has over 25,000 industrial applications:
  • Its plant has been used for manufacturing clothes, shoes, ropes and paper.
  • Its production and distribution can be controlled and regulated by the government if legalised.
  • Legalisation would create regulated markets, weed would no more be a gateway drug.
• Research and development:
  • Conducting more research would make it possible to ascertain if the drug has therapeutic use.
  • The problems of mould and fungus associated with crude marijuana can be inspected as after regulation of weed there would be concerned authorities to deal with contamination and adulteration issues.
• Less Health Risk when compared to Alcohol:
  • WHO (World Health Organization) study concluded that the public health risks from cannabis use were likely less severe than those posed by alcohol and tobacco, which are legal.
• Economic benefits:
  • Cannabis hemp industry can employ lakhs of people.
  • It will generate one more avenue for the government to collect taxes.
  • With supportive laws, illegal cannabis trade can be stopped.
• Spiritual use:
  • Marijuana holds a sacred position in many tribes and civilisations. 
  • The documented use of cannabis in India dates back to the Vedic period. In the Atharva-veda, the ‘bhang’ plant finds a notable mention as one of nature’s five sacred, distress-relieving plants. 
    • During the festival of Holi, the consumption of bhang is an integral part of the celebrations even today.

Criticisms

• According to a report by the United Nation Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), India is one of the major hubs of illicit drug trade of cannabis.
• The money from the drug trade is used to finance terrorism, human trafficking, illegal businesses etc.
• India lies in the middle of two major illicit opium production regions in the world, the Golden Crescent in the west and the Golden Triangle in the east which makes it a viable hub of the illicit drug trade.
  • Golden Triangle: It includes the regions of Myanmar, Laos, and Thailand and is Southeast Asia’s main opium-producing region and one of the oldest narcotics supply routes to Europe and North America.
  • Golden Crescent: It includes Afghanistan, Iran, and Pakistan and is a principal global site for opium production and distribution.
• Impacts of drugs consumption:
  • It has aggravated the crime scenario in India.
  • Persons dealing with narcotic drugs are instruments in causing the deaths of innocent and vulnerable victims.
• Wastage of economic potential: 
  • Leads to physical, psychological, moral, and intellectual decay of the youth of the nation.
• Social Problems: 
  • Like the increase in domestic violence, sexual abuse, increase divorce, degradation of ethical values among the society.
  • Other impacts like losing a job, financial troubles, accidents and injuries, legal consequences, etc.
  • The economic downturn caused by the global pandemic may drive more people to substance abuse or leave them vulnerable to involvement in drug trafficking and related crime.

Source: TH