Padang Besar MP calls for legalising of ketum, hemp farming

[superadmin]

PETALING JAYA: Padang Besar MP Zahidi Zainul Abidin has urged the government to legalise the cultivation of hemp and ketum plants following the move by Thailand to remove the two from its dangerous drugs list.

He said farmers are requesting for these two plants to be allowed to be grown for commercial purposes as there is high demand globally.

Ketum, which is known as kratom in Thailand, is a tropical leaf long used as a herbal remedy but which some health regulators around the world have criticised as potentially unsafe.

It has become increasingly popular in the United States, where the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has warned against its use, citing risks of addiction and abuse.

The change to the Thai law meant the general public will be able to consume and sell kratom legally, government spokesman Anucha Burapachaisri said last week. More than 1,000 prisoners convicted of offences related to the drug will be freed.

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