In that Asia has some of the strictest laws and harshest penalties for cannabis use, South Korea’s announcement is a major milestone for the global cannabis movement. South Korea’s National Assembly voted to approve the Management of Narcotic Drugs “to pave the way for non-hallucinogenic dosages of medical cannabis prescriptions,” reported Marijuana Business Daily on Nov. 26, 2018. Patients will be required to get a medical marijuana prescription from a medical practitioner then apply to a government agency, called the Korea Orphan Drug Center , a government body that facilitates patient access to rare medicines, which will now include medicinal cannabis. Medical marijuana, according to Marijuana Business Daily’s reading of a Korean government document, will be tightly restricted and approval to use MMJ will be granted on a case-by-case basis and potency will be capped at "non-hallucinogenic" levels. “South Korea legalizing medical cannabis, even if it will be tightly controlled with limited product selection, represents a significant breakthrough for the global cannabis industry,” said Vijay Sappani, CEO of Toronto-based Ela Capital , a venture capital firm exploring emerging markets in the cannabis space. “The importance of Korea being the first country in East Asia to allow medical cannabis at a federal level should not be understated. Now it’s a matter of when other Asian countries follow South Korea, not if.” A number of other countries had been vying to join Israel as the first countries in Asia to allow medical cannabis, including Thailand and Malaysia . Earlier this month, Benziga reported that the Thai National Legislative Assembly submitted some proposed amendments that would legalize medical marijuana and a locally known plant, kratom. In September, Malaysia looked as though it would become the first Asian country legalize medical cannabis, following public outrage over a death penalty handed to a 29-year-old man who was processing and giving free medical marijuana to people in need. Malaysia is one of at least 33 countries that retains the death penalty for drug offences.
