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The Legalization of Cannabis for Medicinal Use in Thailand

The Legalization of Marijuana andCannabis For Medicinal Use In Thailand

Medical marijuana is now legal in Thailand. The government passed the law in hopes that the export of cannabis from Thailand will make a profit. Most likely, it will stimulate their economy. That’s a plus.

The law, passed this year, abolished a five-year ban that targeted private companies from producing medical marijuana. With this new law, private companies can now produce, export, import, sell, and possess medical cannabis. A breakthrough for the cannabis industry, Thailand can now become one of the leaders in the market.

Thailand has used marijuana as a spice and herbal remedy for centuries. But, it hasn’t been until recently that they’ve made their cannabis laws so lax.

Thailand is the first South-East Asian country to legalize medical marijuana for patients. The government issues certificates for patients who are approved to consume cannabis for medicinal purposes. When Thailand passed this law in 2019, the government started taking an interest in the marijuana industry and moving toward legalization.

Now Thailand is issuing certificates to private companies. Without a certificate, both private citizens and companies are considered to be illegal.

Under this new legislation, foreign entities are allowed to participate in the venture, as long as they don’t exceed one-third of the company’s shares. International travelers can purchase licenses for the import and export of their medical marijuana medication.

“If you’re looking for medical cannabis treatment in Thailand, it’s worth learning how long does marijuana stay in your system first – for example, by reading this “article.

Is Recreational Marijuana Legal in Thailand?

Is Recreational Marijuana Legal in Thailand?

To date, recreational marijuana is not legal in Thailand. Only patients with a medical marijuana certificate or doctor’s prescription and private companies, such as those in the agricultural industry, are allowed to possess the plant.

Although recreational marijuana is illegal, possession and consumption of the plant have sky-rocketed. Cannabis is more readily available now that the new medicinal and growing laws are established.

If caught, possessing or using marijuana without a license can result in imprisonment and stiff penalties.

Cannabis is considered a category 5 narcotics. Under the Narcotics Act, the fine for being caught with cannabis if you don’t have a license can be severe. If a person is caught distributing cannabis to others, they could face two to 10 years in prison or a fine of 40,000 to 200,000 Baht. Should the amount distributed is over 10 kilograms, the punishment can be up to 15 years imprisonment or 200,000 to 1,500,000 Baht.

If cannabis is only for personal consumption, the prison sentence is five years or less. Additionally, the fine can be up to 100,000 Baht. A maximum of one year of prison time is the punishment if caught smoking or consuming cannabis. The fine can be 100,000 to 1,000,000 Bah

Lack of Supply, Huge Demand

Lack of Supply, Huge Demand of Marijuana in Thailand

Although it may seem Thailand is heading in a positive direction regarding the legalization of marijuana, there are still some issues. Just three months before the plant was legalized, there were 30,000 applications for medical marijuana. Besides, there are over one million people who are suffering from severe health conditions that are treatable with medical marijuana.

But, there’s a lack of supply.

Due to a lack of regulation, the infrastructure of distributing cannabis only to medical marijuana patients is poor. Right now, only coffee shops and a dispensary or weed store can distribute medical marijuana.

But, people seeking recreational use are getting their hands on the plant. Because of this, there’s a shortage of available cannabis in Thailand.

New Law, New Specifications

The new medical marijuana law, written as amendments to the previous law, is broken down into two main points- the first targets the patients, and the second focuses on the farmers.

What the New Law Says for Patients

Under the new law, patients can grow their medical marijuana, up to six plants per household. By allowing patients to grow at home and sell to the Thai government, the government hopes to increase supply to the country, making it more readily available to those who need it. Patients must apply for a permit to grow only government-approved strains, including the ever-popular Thai Sticks, which is considered a landrace (originating from a specific region) strain.

What the New Law Says for Farmers

Farming marijuana is under strict regulations under a controlled farming system. Farmers, under the new law, are allowed to grow marijuana as raw material for medicinal cannabis. Additionally, farmers must identify with a signed contract from a hospital or medical practitioner to which they will sell their products. Furthermore, the Thai government can purchase a farmer’s harvest at an estimated price of $1000 per pound or $2200 per kilogram.

What the New Cannabis Laws Mean for Tourists

Since Thailand relies on wellness tourism, tourists can import and export medical marijuana if they have a permit from the government. Legalization allows Thailand’s wellness centers to harvest and process marijuana. Additionally, wellness centers can offer cannabidiol cosmetic and wellness treatments. This opens the door to domestic and foreign investments.

To apply for a permit, you need the following:

1. An ID card or passport.

2. Verification of your medical condition(s) being treated with a valid medical certificate(s).

3. Download the application form and print it out. Fill out all information, including name, identification number (ID card or passport), and your medical condition. The amount of marijuana you’ll have in your possession, and the name and license of the doctor, dentist, or traditional medical practitioner who assessed your medical conditions and provided written verification of your needs.

You’ll need a translator to fill out the form, as the language is in Thai.

Thailand is making great strides in the marijuana market. Although a slow process, legalization is leading to a better economy for Thailand. Because of the high demand for marijuana, $311 million is expected to go to the country this year. This is promising as Thailand has experienced a declining economy for years. Legalization seems like a way to take a step forward economically, and it looks like it will.

 

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Google’s Search Dominance Is Unwinding, But Still Accounting 48% Search Revenue

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Google is so closely associated with its key product that its name is a verb that signifies “search.” However, Google’s dominance in that sector is dwindling.

According to eMarketer, Google will lose control of the US search industry for the first time in decades next year.

Google will remain the dominant search player, accounting for 48% of American search advertising revenue. And, remarkably, Google is still increasing its sales in the field, despite being the dominating player in search since the early days of the George W. Bush administration. However, Amazon is growing at a quicker rate.

google

Google’s Search Dominance Is Unwinding

Amazon will hold over a quarter of US search ad dollars next year, rising to 27% by 2026, while Google will fall even more, according to eMarketer.

The Wall Street Journal was first to report on the forecast.

Lest you think you’ll have to switch to Bing or Yahoo, this isn’t the end of Google or anything really near.

Google is the fourth-most valued public firm in the world. Its market worth is $2.1 trillion, trailing just Apple, Microsoft, and the AI chip darling Nvidia. It also maintains its dominance in other industries, such as display advertisements, where it dominates alongside Facebook’s parent firm Meta, and video ads on YouTube.

To put those “other” firms in context, each is worth more than Delta Air Lines’ total market value. So, yeah, Google is not going anywhere.

Nonetheless, Google faces numerous dangers to its operations, particularly from antitrust regulators.

On Monday, a federal judge in San Francisco ruled that Google must open up its Google Play Store to competitors, dealing a significant blow to the firm in its long-running battle with Fortnite creator Epic Games. Google announced that it would appeal the verdict.

In August, a federal judge ruled that Google has an illegal monopoly on search. That verdict could lead to the dissolution of the company’s search operation. Another antitrust lawsuit filed last month accuses Google of abusing its dominance in the online advertising business.

Meanwhile, European regulators have compelled Google to follow tough new standards, which have resulted in multiple $1 billion-plus fines.

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Pixa Bay

Google’s Search Dominance Is Unwinding

On top of that, the marketplace is becoming more difficult on its own.

TikTok, the fastest-growing social network, is expanding into the search market. And Amazon has accomplished something few other digital titans have done to date: it has established a habit.

When you want to buy anything, you usually go to Amazon, not Google. Amazon then buys adverts to push companies’ products to the top of your search results, increasing sales and earning Amazon a greater portion of the revenue. According to eMarketer, it is expected to generate $27.8 billion in search revenue in the United States next year, trailing only Google’s $62.9 billion total.

And then there’s AI, the technology that (supposedly) will change everything.

Why search in stilted language for “kendall jenner why bad bunny breakup” or “police moving violation driver rights no stop sign” when you can just ask OpenAI’s ChatGPT, “What’s going on with Kendall Jenner and Bad Bunny?” in “I need help fighting a moving violation involving a stop sign that wasn’t visible.” Google is working on exactly this technology with its Gemini product, but its success is far from guaranteed, especially with Apple collaborating with OpenAI and other businesses rapidly joining the market.

A Google spokeswoman referred to a blog post from last week in which the company unveiled ads in its AI overviews (the AI-generated text that appears at the top of search results). It’s Google’s way of expressing its ability to profit on a changing marketplace while retaining its business, even as its consumers steadily transition to ask-and-answer AI and away from search.

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Google has long used a single catchphrase to defend itself against opponents who claim it is a monopoly abusing its power: competition is only a click away. Until recently, that seemed comically obtuse. Really? We are going to switch to Bing? Or Duck Duck Go? Give me a break.

But today, it feels more like reality.

Google is in no danger of disappearing. However, every highly dominating company faces some type of reckoning over time. GE, a Dow mainstay for more than a century, was broken up last year and is now a shell of its previous dominance. Sears declared bankruptcy in 2022 and is virtually out of business. US Steel, long the foundation of American manufacturing, is attempting to sell itself to a Japanese corporation.

Could we remember Google in the same way that we remember Yahoo or Ask Jeeves in decades? These next few years could be significant.

SOURCE | CNN

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2024 | Supreme Court Won’t Hear Appeal From Elon Musk’s X Platform Over Warrant In Trump Case

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Washington — Trump Media,  The Supreme Court announced Monday that it will not hear an appeal from social media platform X about a search warrant acquired by prosecutors in the election meddling case against former President Donald Trump.

The justices did not explain their rationale, and there were no recorded dissents.

The firm, which was known as Twitter before being purchased by billionaire Elon Musk, claims a nondisclosure order that prevented it from informing Trump about the warrant obtained by special counsel Jack Smith’s team violated its First Amendment rights.

The business also claims Trump should have had an opportunity to exercise executive privilege. If not reined in, the government may employ similar tactics to intercept additional privileged communications, their lawyers contended.

trump

Supreme Court Won’t Hear Appeal From Elon Musk’s X Platform Over Warrant In Trump Case

Two neutral electronic privacy groups also joined in, urging the high court to hear the case on First Amendment grounds.

Prosecutors, however, claim that the corporation never shown that Trump utilized the account for official purposes, therefore executive privilege is not a problem. A lower court also determined that informing Trump could have compromised the current probe.

trump

Trump utilized his Twitter account in the weeks preceding up to his supporters’ attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021, to spread false assertions about the election, which prosecutors claim were intended to create doubt in the democratic process.

The indictment describes how Trump used his Twitter account to encourage his followers to travel to Washington on Jan. 6, pressuring Vice President Mike Pence to reject the certification, and falsely claiming that the Capitol crowd, which battered police officers and destroyed glass, was peaceful.

musk trump

Supreme Court Won’t Hear Appeal From Elon Musk’s X Platform Over Warrant In Trump Case

That case is now moving forward following the Supreme Court’s verdict in July, which granted Trump full immunity from criminal prosecution as a former president.

The warrant arrived at Twitter amid quick changes implemented by Musk, who bought the company in 2022 and has since cut off most of its workforce, including those dedicated to combating disinformation and hate speech.

He also welcomed back a vast list of previously banned users, including Trump, and endorsed him for the 2024 presidential election.

SOURCE | AP

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The Supreme Court Turns Down Biden’s Government Appeal in a Texas Emergency Abortion Matter.

Supreme Court

(VOR News) – A ruling that prohibits emergency abortions that contravene the Supreme Court law in the state of Texas, which has one of the most stringent abortion restrictions in the country, has been upheld by the Supreme Court of the United States. The United States Supreme Court upheld this decision.

The justices did not provide any specifics regarding the underlying reasons for their decision to uphold an order from a lower court that declared hospitals cannot be legally obligated to administer abortions if doing so would violate the law in the state of Texas.

Institutions are not required to perform abortions, as stipulated in the decree. The common populace did not investigate any opposing viewpoints. The decision was made just weeks before a presidential election that brought abortion to the forefront of the political agenda.

This decision follows the 2022 Supreme Court ruling that ended abortion nationwide.

In response to a request from the administration of Vice President Joe Biden to overturn the lower court’s decision, the justices expressed their disapproval.

The government contends that hospitals are obligated to perform abortions in compliance with federal legislation when the health or life of an expectant patient is in an exceedingly precarious condition.

This is the case in regions where the procedure is prohibited. The difficulty hospitals in Texas and other states are experiencing in determining whether or not routine care could be in violation of stringent state laws that prohibit abortion has resulted in an increase in the number of complaints concerning pregnant women who are experiencing medical distress being turned away from emergency rooms.

The administration cited the Supreme Court’s ruling in a case that bore a striking resemblance to the one that was presented to it in Idaho at the beginning of the year. The justices took a limited decision in that case to allow the continuation of emergency abortions without interruption while a lawsuit was still being heard.

In contrast, Texas has been a vocal proponent of the injunction’s continued enforcement. Texas has argued that its circumstances are distinct from those of Idaho, as the state does have an exemption for situations that pose a significant hazard to the health of an expectant patient.

According to the state, the discrepancy is the result of this exemption. The state of Idaho had a provision that safeguarded a woman’s life when the issue was first broached; however, it did not include protection for her health.

Certified medical practitioners are not obligated to wait until a woman’s life is in imminent peril before they are legally permitted to perform an abortion, as determined by the state supreme court.

The state of Texas highlighted this to the Supreme Court.

Nevertheless, medical professionals have criticized the Texas statute as being perilously ambiguous, and a medical board has declined to provide a list of all the disorders that are eligible for an exception. Furthermore, the statute has been criticized for its hazardous ambiguity.

For an extended period, termination of pregnancies has been a standard procedure in medical treatment for individuals who have been experiencing significant issues. It is implemented in this manner to prevent catastrophic outcomes, such as sepsis, organ failure, and other severe scenarios.

Nevertheless, medical professionals and hospitals in Texas and other states with strict abortion laws have noted that it is uncertain whether or not these terminations could be in violation of abortion prohibitions that include the possibility of a prison sentence. This is the case in regions where abortion prohibitions are exceedingly restrictive.

Following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, which resulted in restrictions on the rights of women to have abortions in several Republican-ruled states, the Texas case was revisited in 2022.

As per the orders that were disclosed by the administration of Vice President Joe Biden, hospitals are still required to provide abortions in cases that are classified as dire emergency.

As stipulated in a piece of health care legislation, the majority of hospitals are obligated to provide medical assistance to patients who are experiencing medical distress. This is in accordance with the law.

The state of Texas maintained that hospitals should not be obligated to provide abortions throughout the litigation, as doing so would violate the state’s constitutional prohibition on abortions. In its January judgment, the 5th United States Circuit Court of Appeals concurred with the state and acknowledged that the administration had exceeded its authority.

SOURCE: AP

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Could Last-Minute Surprises Derail Kamala Harris’ Campaign? “Nostradamus” Explains the US Poll.

Scientists Awarded MicroRNA The Nobel Prize in Medicine.

US Inflation will Comfort a Fed Focused on Labor Markets.

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