Public health minister Anutin back from COVID to talk pot

Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul confirmed that he was back to work Monday, six days after testing positive for COVID-19.

In hurrying back to champion the medicinal benefits of marijuana, the top health official has strayed from his own ministry’s isolation guidelines, which say those who are infected with the virus should quarantine at home for seven to 10 days to monitor their health.

On Friday, Anutin shared two negative ATK results time-stamped around 2pm and announced he was heading back to the office on Monday.

“I’m ready to go back to work on July 4,” Anutin wrote on social media.

The 55-year-old deputy prime minister tested positive on June 26 after returning from a trip to Geneva and Paris. He had received a sixth COVID-19 vaccine just two weeks earlier.

He is scheduled to discuss the legalization of cannabis Wednesday evening…