Thailand Decriminalized Cocaine and Opium for Science

Of the “102 ordinary narcotics,” cocaine, opium and morphine fall within the category.

In the official announcement posted on the Royal Gazette on Monday, the Public Health Ministry will only grant permits to sell for “Medical treatment or disease prevention in patients or animals,” “Medical or scientific analysis or study” and for “the benefit of the government,” according to National Thailand.

Permits to possess these narcotics, meanwhile, will be allowed in the case of “Manufacturing of category III narcotics” if the formula is medicinal and the ingredients contain category II narcotics “in accordance with the rules prescribed by the minister, such as cough medicine, diarrhea medicine.”

They are also allowed to possess drugs if they are, “Used as an example for educational purposes,” or “For providing first aid or in case of emergency in public transport ships or airplanes operating on international routes that are registered in the Kingdom.”

The new regulation will take effect 240 days after it was first announced.

A similar regulation was recently passed in Oregon, where state law decriminalized the possession of certain drugs, such as heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine, CNN reported.

Those caught in possession of small amounts of the mentioned drugs will no longer face jail time, but they will receive something similar to a traffic ticket violation.

However, people in possession of larger amounts of narcotics could still face a misdemeanor charge.

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