Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said on Wednesday that he saw no signs of any social problems from the decriminalisation of cannabis in June.
He voiced his opinion at the Meet the Press: Cannabis forum the Public Relations Department organised at a Bangkok hotel on Wednesday.
Mr Anutin and his Bhumjaithai Party successfully pushed for the legalisation of cannabis use for medical purposes and for households to grow the plant.
The Public Health Ministry reported only 60 patients suffering serious side effects from cannabis abuse since decriminalisation on June 9, about one case per day, said Mr Anutin, who is also a deputy prime minister.
There was no sign of a social problem regarding the whole population of about 70 million, he said.
He said that about 1.1 million people registered for cannabis cultivation on a combined area of 7,500 rai and he estimated cannabis-related income in the country would reach 28 billion baht this year, and 50 billion baht annually in the near future.
Existing laws and regulations were enough to ensure the proper use of cannabis and statistics showed that cannabis accounted for only 4.2% of all addiction cases in the country, Mr Anutin said.
