Cannabis in Thai traditional medicine
More actions
Cannabis in Thai traditional medicine covers the formulas of Thai traditional medicine that contain cannabis (กัญชา, kancha). Thai traditional medicine grew from Indian Ayurvedic medicine joined with local belief, and holds that illness follows when the four elements of the body fall out of balance.[1]: 2673 By August 2021 the Department of Thai Traditional and Alternative Medicine had compiled 579 national texts and 536 stone inscriptions holding 45,134 formulas, and had found cannabis in 162 of them.[1]: 2673 Chawalit Yongram and his co-authors call the Tamra Phra Osot Phra Narai, the royal formulas of King Narai of Ayutthaya, the oldest of the national texts; it has three cannabis formulas.[1]: 2674[2]: 334 Cannabis was classed as a narcotic under the Narcotics Act of 1979 and medical use of these formulas stopped; an amendment of 2019 allowed it again.[1]: 2674[3]: 297
Cannabis as a drug
In the Thai herbal reference the drug kancha is the dried female inflorescence of Cannabis sativa. Its other Thai names include sa, katen, kali and li. In the Thai texts on the properties of drugs, cannabis has an intoxicating, nauseating taste (rot mao buea). The flower serves for disorders of the nerves, to bring sleep, to stir the appetite and to cut phlegm in the throat; the leaf for asthma, the appetite and strength, though it makes the user fearful, dizzy and prone to hallucination.[4]: 539–540 In 34 cannabis formulas for sleeplessness, the flower is the part used in 85.71 per cent, the leaf in 8.57 per cent and the seed and stem in 2.86 per cent each.[1]: 2673–2674
The written formulas
Vichai Chokevivat counted three cannabis formulas in the Narai treatise, two in a medical text of the Second Reign, 14 in the medical inscriptions at Wat Pho and three in the drug-properties text of Krom Luang Wongsathirat Sanit, 22 in all. With those of later texts he counted 90 among about 23,000 announced national formulas.[2]: 334 The Narai treatise holds the formulas Akkhiniwakhana, for vomiting; Thipphakat, with cannabis leaf and opium; and Suk saiyat, for sleep and appetite.[5]: 6, 19–20
In January 2019 the department said it had gathered more than 26,000 formulas from experts, chosen 212 and, after removing duplicates, kept 90 with cannabis. It sorted them into four groups. Group A held 16 formulas that were well known, whose drugs were easy to find and which were high in cannabis; some were already in use with the cannabis left out. Group B held 11 effective formulas whose preparation was unclear or whose drugs were hard to find. Group C held 32 uncertain formulas, written in verse or with little cannabis. Group D held 31 that contain banned drugs, such as poisons or animal and plant products listed under CITES.[6] Chokevivat wrote that Aphai sali had already been put on the national list of essential herbal medicines with the cannabis taken out, which suggests that cannabis may not be its main drug.[2]: 335
The 16 formulas of 2019
| Formula | Thai | Use given | Source text named by Chokevivat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nam man sanan traiphop | ยาน้ำมันสนั่นไตรภพ | kasai klon | Wat Pho inscriptions |
| Akkhiniwakhana | ยาอัคคินีวคณะ | vomiting | Tamra Phra Osot Phra Narai |
| Suk saiyat | ยาศุขไสยาศน์ | all diseases; sleep and appetite | Tamra Phra Osot Phra Narai |
| Kae lom naowanari wayo | ยาแก้ลมเนาวนารีวาโย | the wind naowanari wayo | Wat Pho inscriptions |
| Kae lom khuen bueang sung | ยาแก้ลมขึ้นเบื้องสูง | wind rising to the head | Wat Pho inscriptions |
| Fai awut | ยาไฟอาวุธ | children's sang and tan disorders, asthma, cough | Paetsart songkhroh (1910) |
| Kae santhakhat klon haeng | ยาแก้สัณฑฆาต กล่อนแห้ง | santhakhat and dry klon | Paetsart songkhroh (1910) |
| Ammarit osot | ยาอัมฤตโอสถ | lom kasai | Paetsart songkhroh (1910) |
| Aphai sali | ยาอไภยสาลี | wind diseases, colic | Phaetsart sangkhep (1909) |
| Kae lom kae sen | ยาแก้ลมแก้เส้น | wind, the channels, aches, numbness | Vejjasartwanna (1917) |
| Kae rok chit | ยาแก้โรคจิต | to bring sleep | Ayurvedsueksa (1973) |
| Phaisali | ยาไพสาลี | hernia, klon, asthma, cough, dim sight, colic | Ayurvedsueksa (1973) |
| ointment for haemorrhoids and skin disease | ยาทาริดสีดวงทวารหนักและโรคผิวหนัง | haemorrhoids, skin disease | Ayurvedsueksa (1973) |
| Thamlai Phra Sumen | ยาทำลายพระสุเมรุ | lom kasai | Khun Sophit Bannalak's textbook (1961) |
| Thap yathikhun | ยาทัพยาธิคุณ | colic, constipation, aches, poor sleep | Khun Sophit Bannalak's textbook (1961) |
| Kae non mai lap or kae khai phom lueang | ยาแก้นอนไม่หลับ / ยาแก้ไข้ผอมเหลือง | sleeplessness; a wasting yellow fever | Lae Maha Phikat in Paetsart songkhroh |
Names and uses from the department's list, Chokevivat's account and the Sakon Nakhon clinic; source texts from Chokevivat's references.[6][2]: 334–335, 340[7]
Preparations
| Preparation | Kind | Part of the plant |
|---|---|---|
| Akkhiniwakhana | Traditional medicine | Whole plant |
| Ammarit osot | Traditional medicine | Flower |
| Aphai sali | Traditional medicine | Whole plant |
| Fai awut | Traditional medicine | Whole plant |
| Kae lom kae sen | Traditional medicine | Leaf |
| Kae rok chit | Traditional medicine | |
| Kae santhakhat klon haeng | Traditional medicine | Whole plant |
| Suk saiyat | Traditional medicine | Leaf |
| Thamlai Phra Sumen | Traditional medicine | Flower |
| Thap yathikhun | Traditional medicine | Whole plant |
| Thipphakat | Traditional medicine | Leaf |
Popular medicine in the 1970s
Marie Alexandrine Martin wrote in 1975 that in Thailand many curative powers were credited to cannabis. It went into medicines against dizzy spells (lom); with sandalwood it was taken as a tea for the heart, liver and lungs; on its own it was a remedy for cholera. Against convulsions it was ground in honey with many other plants, among them two myrobalans, long pepper, pepper and the unripe fruit of matum. An alcoholic extract of cannabis and other plants was given for haemorrhoids and polyps.[8]: 71–72 Since December 1971, she wrote, cannabis in Thai popular medicine had been regulated: it had always to be used with other plants and could not be the only drug in a medicine.[8]: 67
Use since 2019
The department named the 16 formulas of group A in January 2019, to be used once the narcotics law allowed it.[6] At the Thai-medicine cannabis clinic of the Rajamangala University of Technology Isan in Sakon Nakhon, 15 cannabis formulas were used between February 2020 and January 2022, Suk saiyat most often, then Thamlai Phra Sumen and Kae lom kae sen.[7] Notifications of the Ministry of Public Health of December 2020 and February 2021 took Suk saiyat off the list of Category 5 narcotics because it is made with the leaf.[3]: 297
The national list of essential herbal medicines of 2023 includes Suk saiyat, Thamlai Phra Sumen, Kae lom kae sen and Ammarit osot. The list also includes Prasa kancha, a sleeping medicine of which cannabis leaf makes up half the weight, and an ointment of turmeric and cannabis leaf in cottonseed oil for haemorrhoids. Its Aphai sali contains no cannabis.[9]: 48, 56, 84, 87, 99, 119, 123
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Yongram, Chawalit; Meeboonya, Rumrada; Chokchaisiri, Suwadee; Wonganan, Orawan; Sansila, Piyaporn; Kaewudom, Piput; Kakatum, Narin; Kanjanakaroon, Yodwit; Kamoltham, Thavatchai; Roongpisuthipong, Anuvat; Sripan, Panupan (June 2025). "A qualitative ethnopharmacological analysis of cannabis-based formulations for insomnia in Thai traditional medicine recipes". Tropical Journal of Natural Product Research. 9 (6): 2673–2683. doi:10.26538/tjnpr/v9i6.43.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Chokevivat, Vichai (2019). "กัญชา เป็นยาวิเศษ จริงหรือ" [Cannabis: is it really a magic medicine?]. Journal of Thai Traditional & Alternative Medicine (in ไทย). 17 (2): 324–340.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Boontham, Apakorn; Nootim, Preecha; Dilokthornsakul, Piyameth (May–August 2022). "รูปแบบการสั่งใช้ ความปลอดภัย และผลต่อคุณภาพชีวิตของตำรับยาศุขไสยาศน์" [Prescribing patterns, safety and effect of Suk Sai-Yad Thai traditional medicine formula on patients' quality of life]. Journal of Thai Traditional & Alternative Medicine (in ไทย). 20 (2): 295–310.
- ↑ Subcommittee on the Thai Herbal Reference (May–August 2021). "กัญชา-ช่อดอกเพศเมีย" [Kancha: the female inflorescence]. Journal of Thai Traditional & Alternative Medicine (in ไทย). 19 (2): 539–542.
- ↑ ตำราพระโอสถพระนารายณ์ [King Narai's medical treatise] (PDF) (cremation volume) (in ไทย) (7th printing ed.). Bangkok: Fine Arts Department. 1965. Retrieved 29 October 2026.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 "เปิด 16 ตำรับยาแผนไทยผสมกัญชา เน้น'แก้ลม แก้ปวด แก้เส้น' พร้อมจัดระบบหมอพื้นบ้าน!" [Sixteen Thai traditional formulas with cannabis revealed, chiefly for wind, pain and the sinews, with a system for folk healers]. Matichon (in ไทย). 25 January 2019. Retrieved 12 October 2026.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Srithat, Dutsadee; Pranakhon, Ratree; Khamluerit, Phakamas; Tongkasee, Pongsathorn; Sansupa, Kanokwan (26 April 2022). "การให้บริการตำรับยาที่มีกัญชาปรุงผสมในคลินิกกัญชาทางการแพทย์แผนไทย มหาวิทยาลัยเทคโนโลยีราชมงคลอีสาน วิทยาเขตสกลนคร" [The service of medicinal recipes containing cannabis mixed in Thai traditional medical cannabis clinics of Rajamangala University of Technology Isan Sakon Nakhon Campus]. วารสารวิชาการกัญชา กัญชง และสมุนไพร (in ไทย). 1: 1–9. ISSN 2985-0177.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Martin, Marie Alexandrine (1975). "Ethnobotanical Aspects of Cannabis in Southeast Asia". In Rubin, Vera (ed.). Cannabis and Culture. The Hague: Mouton. pp. 63–76. doi:10.1515/9783110812060.63.
- ↑ Herbal Products Division, Food and Drug Administration (2023). บัญชียาหลักแห่งชาติด้านสมุนไพร พ.ศ. 2566 [National List of Essential Medicines: herbal medicines, B.E. 2566] (PDF) (in ไทย). Food and Drug Administration (Thailand). ISBN 978-974-244-453-2. Retrieved 29 October 2026.