BANGKOK: One man died while three others have been hospitalised in Thailand's capital due to cannabis overdose, just days after the government decriminalised cannabis.
Bangkok governor Chadchart Sittipunt said the four were rushed to hospitals in the city on Tuesday with suspected overdose symptoms. One of them was a 51-year-old man who suffered chest pains and later died of heart failure.
Relatives of the man reportedly said that he had a history of taking cannabis.
According to a Bangkok Post report, two others - a 17-year-old and a 25-year-old - had palpitations after consuming cannabis.
The other case involves a 16-year-old who is now being treated in the intensive care unit.
Chadchart said city authorities would monitor the situation and educate students and teachers about cannabis, and a project would be launched to declare schools a cannabis-free zone.
With the decriminalisation of cannabis, products with a THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) content of not more than 0.2 per cent is allowed to be consumed while anything above this limit is still illegal and subject to drug laws.
The THC limit also applies to its use as a food ingredient. THC is the main psychoactive compound in marijuana.
On Monday, Department of Medical Services of the Public Health Ministry director-general Dr Somsak Akksilp had warned against the recreational use of cannabis, especially among young people.
Meanwhile, Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said deaths caused by cannabis overdose was not new and reiterated that anything, if overused, would do harm to health.
Defending the decriminalisation of cannabis following the death, he said the issue should not be politicised.
Anutin said the primary aim of decriminalisation was for medical purposes and warned against the unhealthy use of cannabis.
"The report [of the man's death] may have had an ulterior motive... This is not about politics. When the bill on cannabis was tabled to parliament, it received support from both MPs from the coalition government and the opposition," Anutin said.
Decriminalising the use of cannabis was among the Bhumjaithai Party's main campaign policies during the 2019 election.
"Problems occur due to the abuse of cannabis. This is not the aim of liberalising the use of the plant. We want to promote medical use and boost the income of growers. But efforts are being made to politicise the matter and discredit the policy of Bhumjaithai," said Anutin, who is the party's leader.
The Post also reports Thai Senator Somchai Sawangkarn warning that if the cannabis and hemp bill was not passed during the current parliamentary session, it would have to wait another year for the next parliament session.
That would leave a vacuum for curbs on the recreational use of cannabis needed to protect the young, he added.
He said the cabinet should issue an executive decree to deal with any uncontrolled and irresponsible use of cannabis pending the passage of the bill.
However, Anutin responded that such a decree was not necessary as the Ministry of Public Health had already issued an announcement on the use of cannabis pending the bill's passage in parliament.
He said a ban on smoking cannabis in public will also be announced in the Royal Gazette soon.
The delisting of hemp and cannabis from the government's Category 5 narcotics list took effect last Thursday following the publication of a Ministry of Public Health announcement in the Royal Gazette.
With this, Thailand now allows the production, import, export, distribution, consumption and possession of cannabis and hemp.