Health Canada Amends Cannabis Act, RI Rec Sales Hit 1.6M In A Week, Activists Rally In Bangkok

On Dec. 9, Health Canada announced amendments to the Cannabis Act and its regulations concerning cannabis research and testing, and cannabis beverages have been approved and are now in force as of Dec. 2.

The amendments “aim to facilitate research and testing, and also amend the public possession limit for cannabis beverages to bring them in line with other cannabis products,” stated Health Canada in a press release.

The amendments allow increasing the public possession limit for cannabis beverages to a level similar to other forms of cannabis, such as solid edible cannabis products (i.e. gummies or chocolate).

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Adults in Canada are now able to possess up to 17.1 liters (equal to 48 cans of 355 ml each) of cannabis beverages in public for non-medical purposes, which is up from approximately 2.1 liters (equivalent to five cans of 355 ml each) under the previous rules.

Health Canada changed the regulation of non-therapeutic cannabis research with human participants. In addition, analytical testing license holders and governments now can produce, distribute and sell test kits, “to support access to a quality-controlled supply of cannabis.”

$1.6 Million In One Week

According to the Department of Business Regulation, one week after recreational cannabis sales started, Rhode Island’s six marijuana dispensaries sold just over $1.63 million worth of marijuana from Dec. 1 to Dec. 7, reported local media. “Less than half of those sales were for recreational marijuana, at about $786,000. The rest, about $845,400, were sales to medical marijuana patients,” reported local media. 

Cannabis Activists Will March In Bangkok

On Wednesday activists will rally outside of Parliament to press for the passage of the cannabis control bill. Prasitchai Nunual, a local activist, said they want parliament to enact the law to prevent the “liberalization of cannabis use.” 
Banyat Jettanachan, a Democrat MP from Rayong, recently told reporters he is uncertain when the cannabis control bill will be passed, and referred to a photo on social media that allegedly shows two 10-year-olds smoking cannabis. It sparked "a heated debate,” per the Bangkok Post.

Medical Cannabis In The Philippines Under The Scope In Congress

The Health and Demography subcommittee in Manila, conducted another hearing Tuesday on the Medical Cannabis Compassionate Act, a measure authored by Senator Robinhood Padilla. However, the debate will take time and not all Senators are on board with the idea. 

During the hearing, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian said he has reservations about the bill. “There is a possibility of drug proliferation because unlike in other countries which use greenhouse cultivation, in the Philippines, anybody can plant it,” he said according to local media.

Image By Gerd Altmann On Pixabay.