World
Thai Government Bans Recreational Cannabis use 18 Months after Decriminalizing it
(VORNews) – The Thai government is moving ahead with new legislation banning cannabis for recreational use, reversing a major decision 18 months after decriminalizing the substance.
Throughout Southeast Asian nations, a lucrative cannabis industry that catered to foreigners and locals flourished as the laws relaxed, but late last year, a conservative coalition government came into power vowing to tighten the laws.
The Health Ministry of Thailand presented a bill draft on Tuesday that proposes severe penalties, including fines and jail terms of up to a year or both.
Following Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin’s September commitment to “rectify” cannabis regulations within six months, the bill specifies that cannabis and cannabis-related goods would be restricted to medicinal and health uses exclusively.
The new regulations would outlaw the promotion and marketing of cannabis buds, extracts, and other cannabis products, while the old rules still made it unlawful to use weed in public.
In November, lawmakers rejected an earlier version of the plan. Drug misuse is “a big problem for Thailand,” according to Thavisin, who has been outspoken in his support for a ban on recreational cannabis usage. To get further information on the new idea, CNN has contacted Cholnan Srikaew, the health minister of Thailand.
Thailand became the first Asian country to completely legalize cannabis
Thailand became the first Asian country to completely legalize cannabis in June 2022, a long-awaited move in a region where many countries sentence people to long prison terms or even death for marijuana possession, use, or trafficking. In adjacent Hong Kong, even non-psychoactive cannabidol (CBD) is illegal.
Singapore still has the death penalty for drug trafficking, and people travelling to Thailand are cautioned that if they use marijuana abroad, they may face prosecution when they return home.
Medical marijuana has been allowed in Thailand since 2018, but legalization in 2022 went a step further, making it no longer illegal to cultivate and trade marijuana and hemp products or to utilize any component of the plant to cure ailments.
Since then, dozens of cannabis shops have opened around Thailand, along with additional cannabis-themed enterprises such as marijuana cafés, hemp spas, and beauty treatments. Cities such as Chiang Mai and Bangkok have even hosted cannabis festivals, and liberalization has proven to be a big magnet for tourists.
However, Anutin Charnvirakul, the former health minister who ardently advocated for cannabis legalization in Thailand, recently told CNN that it was never intended to enable Thais and visitors to use marijuana recreationally in public.
“Thailand will push cannabis policies for medical use. There has never been a time when we considered encouraging individuals to consume cannabis for recreational purposes or in a way that might upset others,” Austin added.
“We [have always] emphasized using cannabis extractions and raw materials for medical purposes and health.” Pro-legislation activists have asserted that Thailand’s cannabis boom has benefited many Thais, including farmers, small business owners, and counterworkers.
Cannabis entrepreneurs previously told CNN that they were adamantly opposed to any legalization that would harm the expanding multibillion-dollar sector. The Future Cannabis Network, a Thai advocacy group, expressed unhappiness with the government’s actions and emphasized the significance of “public involvement.”
Kitty Chopaka, a Bangkok-based cannabis businesswoman who has long advocated for cannabis legalization, described the government’s reaction as a “knee-jerk reaction” and “not unexpected.” “But no matter what happens with the incoming cannabis regulations, it is now too late for cannabis to go back to being classified as a narcotic.”
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Trump Appoints Robert F. Kennedy Jr to Head HHS
President-elect Trump appointed Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (RFK Jr) to run the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), sending Democrats and Big Pharma allies into a tailspin.
“I am delighted to announce Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). For too long, Americans have been crushed by the industrial food complex and medicine firms, which have engaged in deception, misinformation, and disinformation regarding public health,” Trump stated in his announcement.
“The safety and health of all Americans is the most important role of any administration, and HHS will play an important role in ensuring that everyone is safe from harmful chemicals, pollutants, pesticides, pharmaceutical products, and food additives that have contributed to this country’s overwhelming health crisis.
Mr. Kennedy will restore these agencies to gold-standard scientific Research and Transparency traditions, stopping the Chronic Disease Epidemic and making America Great and Healthy Again!” Trump added.
Reactions to RFK Jr HHS Appointment
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) oversees the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Medicare, Medicaid, and the National Institutes of Health.
Kennedy is a former environmental justice lawyer who has recently started an anti-vaccine nonprofit. He ran for president as an independent candidate in 2024 but dropped out to join Trump’s closest circle.
House Republicans have reacted to Donald Trump’s nomination of former presidential contender Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as health secretary.
Chip Roy, a Texas congressman, calls it “great news”. He tells me, “We need disruption throughout the federal government.” He’ll be fantastic at HHS [the Department of Health and Human Services] to do that.”
Roy adds that he expects Kennedy’s candidacy will clear the Senate.
“There’s been a few Kennedy’s in the Senate in the past so maybe there’ll be some legacy there that they will want to move him through,” he speculates.
South Carolina Congressman Ralph Norman concurs with Roy on Kennedy’s confirmation in the Senate: “I believe he was an excellent choice by the president, as have all of them. Kennedy is interested in, and passionate about, the medical industry. He will do a terrific job with it.”
According to Public Citizen, a progressive nonprofit group focused on consumer protection, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. “is a clear and present danger to the nation’s health.”
He should not be allowed to enter the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), let alone be appointed director of the nation’s public health agency.”
“Donald Trump’s mishandling of public health policies during the Covid outbreak resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths. “By appointing Kennedy as secretary of HHS, Trump is courting another policy-driven public health disaster,” the organization continued.
Apu Akkad, an infectious disease physician at the University of Southern California, described the statement as a “scary day for public health”.
Meanwhile, pharmaceutical stocks such as Pfizer and Moderna plummeted following news of Kennedy’s nomination for HHS Secretary, as investors considered his potential impact on vaccine sales.
Novavax and BioNTech finished down more than 7%, with almost all losses occurring when word of the selection broke—Novavax shares fell to $7.22, and BioNTech shares fell to $103.56.
Moderna’s stock closed 5.6% at $39.77, reaching its lowest point of the year.
Sanofi’s stock fell 3.4% to $47.82, continuing a weeks-long share price decline that began after the company’s latest earnings report last month.
Pfizer lost less than its competitors on Thursday, closing down 2.6% at $26.02, despite having its sharpest drop of the day immediately following the RFK Jr. announcement.
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UK Police Visit Journalist Allison Pearson Over Old Tweet
Police in Essex, England, have been criticized for sending two cops to the home of Telegraph journalist Allison Pearson over an X tweet that was more than a year old.
On Remembrance Sunday, at 9:40 a.m., two police officers went to Allison Pearson’s home to inform her that she was under investigation and asked for a voluntary interview.
She was informed, however, that officers were not permitted to discuss the exact focus of an investigation. They stated that the claimed offense was being investigated as a criminal matter under Section 17 of the Public Order Act of 1986.
Despite Pearson’s claim that she was told it was an alleged non-crime hate incident, the police have emphasized that it is not being examined as such. Since the terrible occurrence, the Essex Police have been under intense global scrutiny for their actions.
Elon Musk and key British lawmakers are leading a rising protest against the police for probing a Telegraph journalist’s social media remark.
Elon Musk, CEO of Twitter/X, spearheaded the reaction, calling it “crazy”.
Crazy https://t.co/sgfqogullh
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 14, 2024
Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, has also stated that this is Orwellian. I’m disgusted that Allison Pearson and others like her have to live in fear for months without knowing what has been said against them.
The former prime minister, Boris Johnson, tweeted that it was “appalling.”
This is appalling. How can Starmer’s Britain lecture other countries about free speech when an innocent journalist gets a knock on the door – for a tweet? Our police have their hands full of burglaries and violent crime. They are being forced to behave like a woke Securitate -… https://t.co/HaXc1tsokW
— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) November 13, 2024
This is appalling. How can Starmer’s Britain lecture other countries about free speech when an innocent journalist gets a knock on the door – for a tweet? Our police have their hands full of burglaries and violent crime.
They are being forced to behave like a woke Securitate – and it has to stop!
Former Prime Minister Liz Truss described the incident as “yet another affront to free speech,” adding, “We must speak out and fight back against this appalling bullying of Allison Pearson.”
Meanwhile, the Home Office announced that it was evaluating how police record non-crime hate incidents to ensure that they are “proportionate” and preserve free speech, following the controversy surrounding an investigation into a Telegraph journalist.
Sir Keir Starmer’s official spokesman stated that it is critical that police record non-crime hate events where “proportionate and necessary” to help prevent severe crimes from occurring in the future.
He did, however, disclose that the Home Office was examining current instructions for police officers on recording non-crime hate events to maintain people’s right to free speech while not diverting officers’ attention away from other crimes.
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Archbishop of Canterbury Resigns Over Christian Camp Abuse
Archbishop of Canterbury resigned on Tuesday, claiming he failed to oversee a thorough inquiry into allegations of abuse by a volunteer at Christian summer camps decades ago.
Justin Welby, the senior bishop of the Church of England and spiritual leader of 85 million Anglicans worldwide, faced calls to quit after a report last week revealed that he had taken insufficient action to stop a man characterized as the Church’s most frequent serial abuser.
“The last few days have renewed my long felt and profound sense of shame at the historic safeguarding failures of the Church of England,” Welby said in a news release.
“I hope this decision demonstrates how seriously the Church of England takes the need for reform and our deep commitment to building a safer church. As I step down, I do so with grief for all victims and survivors of abuse.”
Welby’s term spanned a decade of considerable change, during which he had to navigate disagreements over homosexual rights and women clergy between liberal churches, primarily in North America and Britain, and their conservative counterparts, particularly in Africa.
The Anglican churches in African countries such as Uganda and Nigeria will likely celebrate Welby’s resignation, having stated last year that they no longer trusted him. His successor’s key responsibilities will be to unite the more divided global Anglican Church and reverse a fivefold decrease in church attendance in Britain since 2019.
Archbishop resigned after Makin Report.
Welby resigned five days after the independent Makin Report singled him out for criticism of his treatment of abuse complaints dating back to the 1970s. According to the investigation, John Smyth, a British lawyer, subjected over 100 boys and young men to “brutal and horrific” physical and sexual abuse over 40 years.
According to the investigation, Smyth beat some victims with a cane for up to 800 strokes and provided diapers to absorb the bleeding. He would then drape himself over his victims, occasionally kissing them on the neck or back.
Smyth chaired the Iwerne Trust, which financed Christian camps in Dorset, England, and Welby worked as a dormitory officer there before becoming an ordained minister.
According to the study, Smyth moved to Africa in 1984 and continued to torture people until shortly before he died in 2018.
In 2013, the Church of England was fully aware of sexual abuse allegations at the camps. According to the study, Welby became aware of the claims at least in the same year, months after becoming archbishop.
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If the claims had been brought to the police in 2013, there may have been a thorough investigation, and Smyth could have faced prosecution before his death, according to the study. The Makin Report was commissioned in 2019.
Welby apologized for “failures and omissions” but stated that he had “no idea or suspicion” of the claims before 2013. The report stated that this was improbable and accused him of failing to uphold his “personal and moral responsibility” to conduct a thorough investigation.
Church protocols for appointing a new archbishop of Canterbury involve a committee of clerics and a chair, selected by the British prime minister, to recommend two candidates to him.
Graham Usher, Bishop of Norwich, and Guli Francis-Dehqani, Bishop of Chelmsford, are expected to follow Welby and become the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury.
Usher supports homosexual rights and has been outspoken on the need to address climate change.
Francis-Dehqani was born in Iran and has spoken about her brother’s assassination following the Iranian Revolution. She would be the first woman to hold the position.
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