Thailand’s Justice Minister Somsak Thepsutin has said that he will speed up the decriminalization of Kratom, a mildly psychoactive plant with health benefits.
The announcement comes after researchers in Japan and the US filed patents for kratom-based medicines.
Although kratom is defined as a narcotic under Thailand drug laws, the leaves have long been chewed by farmers and laborers in the country.
Kratom has a long history of being used as a traditional medicine in Thailand to treat common conditions like joint pain, fever, dysentery, and diarrhea.
It also has been shown to be successful as a treatment to reduce the negative symptoms associated with the withdrawal of opiates found in heroin and many pain pills.
Somsak said he will create a committee aimed at legalizing or decriminlizing the drug.
Kratom has been illegal in Thailand since 1943 and was officially classified as a Narcotic in 1979 with the passage of the Narcotics Act.
Those caught in possession of kratom face up to one year in jail and a fine of up to 200,000 baht.
Thailand’s current government has been open to liberalizing the country’s strict drug laws.
In December of 2018, they legalized medical marijuana and recently also removed CBD from the list of controlled substances.
Read the full story here.
{ 0 comments… add one now }