BANGKOK: A new warning has been issued by Thai doctors over concerns that cannabis consumption could lead to coronary heart disease and other heart-related diseases.
The Forensic Physician Association of Thailand president Dr Smith Srisont said the warnings were based on information derived from overseas research on toxicology that was published in 2019.
According to a Bangkok Post report, he said the publication included the cases of 13 people who died from using cannabis. Most were between 17 and 52 years and had no underlying diseases or other toxic substances found in their bodies.
Dr Srisont, who is also the head of the operational forensic lab at the Faculty of Medicine in Ramathibodi Hospital, said blood tests showed they did not consume unusually large amounts of the drug.
Apart from these deaths, another 35 people aged from 15 to 53 years, were found to have fallen ill after using cannabis. It had also caused them to suffer ischemic heart disease and cardiac arrhythmia.
Citing another research, he said it was found that almost 4,000 patients were 4.8 times more likely to contract ischemic heart disease after smoking cannabis for around an hour a day.
With such risks attached to the use of cannabis, he stressed that Thailand needed to have strict laws to control the use of the plant similar to other countries.
At the same time, he also wanted a raised public awareness of the potential risks involved in using cannabis.
Dr Srisont said the government should also take legal action against restaurants or eateries for using cannabis as an ingredient in their menus without warning their customers about the risks.
Due to these risks, he advised those who experienced nausea after consuming cannabis to consult a doctor immediately.
The Post also said that in Buri Ram province, four novice monks were defrocked after a video clip online showed them smoking cannabis.
Their punishment came after Buri Ram provincial office of Buddhism launched a probe over the incident and the four men later admitted their wrongdoing.
Meanwhile, the Department of Mental Health said a Thai man with a history of psychiatric illness cut off his own penis while hallucinating after he consumed too much cannabis.
The department said the man felt sharp pain in his lower part of the body and proceeded to cut off his penis. His current condition is unclear.
Thailand decriminalised hemp and cannabis on June 9 and people are now allowed to grow up to 10 plants in their homes.
The government has also been promoting the plant as a cash crop as production, import, export, distribution, consumption and possession of the plant is now legal.
However, any product including cannabis oil extracts containing more than 0.2 per cent tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), cannabis' psychoactive ingredient, is still considered illegal and regulated by the country's narcotics control and suppression laws.