Government hospitals in Thailand allowed to prescribe cannabis oil for free

Yesterday, the Ministry of Public Health announced that 3 types of cannabis oil have been added to Thailand’s National List of Essential Medicines, or NLEM. Now that cannabis is listed as an “essential medicine”, government hospitals may freely prescribe cannabis extract oil to patients in selected circumstances, according to Thailand’s Government Pharmaceutical Organisation, or the GPO.

The first type of cannabis oil contains a higher percentage of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the psychoactive compound found in marijuana. The second type has a higher rate of CBD, or cannabidiol, which has medicinal properties but no psychoactive effects. The third solution has equal levels of THC and CBD, according to Dr Nathakan Suwanpiddokul, a pharmacist for the GPO.

The oil will primarily be used by cancer patients, especially those suffering side effects from chemotherapy treatment…