Free handouts of cannabis oil at Bangkok medical marijuana clinic
Bangkok: A medical clinic in Bangkok opened Monday offering free cannabis oil to hundreds of Thais seeking relief from cancer, insomnia and muscle pain as the government drives home the economic and health benefits of their gamble of marijuana.
Thailand in 2018 became the first country in Southeast Asia to legalise medical marijuana, although many Thais have long used the herb in traditional medicine. The government is eager to harvest the multi-billion-dollar potential of weed, investing in tech to extract, distill and market cannabis oils. “Today marks the beginning,” Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said at the launch of the Bangkok clinic. “We are fighting for the better health of Thai people and fighting for a better economy,” he told AFP, standing next to a marijuana leaf mascot wearing a doctor’s coat.
Hundreds of mostly elderly Thais waited to receive the 5-10 mg vials of oil for muscle aches, though some came bearing more serious ailments — like Natjuta, born with cerebral palsy and confined to a wheel chair.
Her mother Supatra Ulapatorn said cannabis oil helps her daughter to sleep better and stay calmer.
“She does not sleep well which causes me not to sleep either,” said the 60-year-old. “She is more calm now, so I think it works.” Anutin, a construction tycoon-turned-minister whose Bhumjaithai party rode a pro-marijuana platform in last year’s elections to become a major player in parliament, has promised an economic bonanza to his rural constituents.
He added that the drug has been “de-stigmatised” in Thailand. “If we talk about cannabis extraction, I have a sense people view it as medication rather than it being a narcotic,” he said. Still, a knot of rules govern who can grow marijuana plants and extract cannabis oil, and critics say legislation will limit opportunities for small farmers and likely benefit big agro-industrial firms.
Medical research has shown that cannabis oil can help ease the pain of patients suffering from conditions such as multiple sclerosis and epilepsy, but the science is out on its impact on other serious diseases including different forms of cancers. (AFP)
Aliens exist, may already be on Earth: British astronaut
London: Helen Sharman, the first British astronaut to go to space, has said that aliens exist and it was possible they were already here on Earth, a media report said on Monday.
“Aliens exist, there’s no two ways about it. There are so many billions of stars out there in the universe that there must be all sorts of different forms of life,” metro.co.uk said in the reported citing Sharman as saying to a UK magazine.
She added that although they may not be made up of carbon and nitrogen like humans, “it’s possible they’re here right now and we simply can’t see them”.
Sharman, 56, made history when she participated in a mission to the Russian modular space station Mir in May 1991. In the interview, the astronaut also highlighted how she was often referred to as the first British woman in space, rather than the first Briton.
“It’s telling that we would otherwise assume it was a man. When Tim Peake went into space, some people simply forgot about me.
“A man going first would be the norm, so I’m thrilled that I got to upset that order,” metro.co.uk quoted her as saying. (IANS)
Bluefin tuna sells for $1.8 million
Tokyo: A bluefin tuna has sold for 193 million yen ($1.8 million) at the first auction of the year at Tokyo’s Toyosu fish market – the second-highest price ever paid.
The tuna, weighing 276 kilos and captured by a boat operating in the port of Oma in the northeast of the archipelago, comes in at 700,000 yen ($6,500) per kilo, reports Efe news.
Kiyoshi Kiyomura, the owner of the popular restaurant chain Sushi Zanmai that is headquartered in the Japanese capital, was the one who bought the fish on Sunday.
“I’m even more happy as this was the first auction in Reiwa,” said Kiyomura, as cited by Kyodo news agency, in reference to the new imperial era that the country entered in May last year with Emperor Naruhito’s arrival to the throne.
Kiyomura has been the highest bidder in eight of the first nine auctions of the year that have been held since 2011. He holds the record for forking out the most ever on a tuna – 333.6 million yen ($3.1 million), which he paid at the 2019 edition of the New Year auction.
The tuna he managed to acquire Sunday will be served at his restaurant in Tsukiji, where the fish market was formerly located, according to the company. (IANS)