Online system to control cannabis bud sales will be ready next year

The Department of Thai Traditional and Complementary Medicine (DTAM) is launching an online system to control the sale of cannabis buds next year. Buyers must be over 20 years old and present their ID cards before purchasing.

While the official Cannabis Act was under process, different rules and restrictions were gradually introduced to prevent people under the age of 20, pregnant women, and breastfeeding mothers from touching cannabis.

The Director of the DTAM, Thongchai Lertwilairattanapong, revealed today that the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) was worried about the cannabis bud sale. So, the DTAM is working on a system and programme for the officials to track the sales of controlled cannabis buds, which will be ready in January next year.

Thongchai stated that each cannabis shop permitted to sell cannabis buds must install the system. The system will require the shop owners to report cannabis stock, where the shop gets the cannabis, and who buys cannabis from the shop.

Moreover, every customer who buys cannabis buds will be required to present their ID cards to the system to make sure that they are over 20 years old. All of the data will be transferred directly to the INCB.

Thongchai reported that about 5,000 shops, 1,000 of them in Bangkok, are allowed to offer cannabis buds. This was hard for officials to track, but the new system is expected to effectively improve the control of cannabis distribution.

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Thongchai said that he is worried about the control of cannabis use in public places but added it is hard to track down all users.

Thongchai admitted that the rules and restrictions launched could not effectively control cannabis use and sale but hoped the Cannabis Act would be launched as soon as possible to close the gaps.