【Thailand】The most respectful country became the first asian country to “Legalize it”.
Cannabis, also known as ganja, has been a controversial crop forever.
People use it as a drug, condiment, and even medicine in countries worldwide. It is thought that cannabis was introduced in Thailand from India.
After cannabis made its way into Thailand, its criminalization was difficult as it was a popular herb and medicine in southeast Asia. Locally there was no moral or legal stigma attached to it.
In the 1980s, the Thai government finally criminalized marijuana to control the growth and usage of marijuana, especially among the young generation.
Despite the rapid decriminalization of marijuana globally, Thailand took its time before passing the regulations regarding the partial legalization of cannabis for both medicinal and recreational use.
In this article, we will briefly but in depth look at the rules, so please stay with us to the end.
Marijuana regulations NOW
On June 9, 2022, Thailand became the first Asian country to legalize the cultivation and possession of marijuana.
The main aim behind the decriminalization of marijuana is to excel in the medical marijuana industry, so the government could still consider a sentence and fine if fun smoking prevails. Products extracted from cannabis, such as oil, should have less than 0.3% THC.
Public health minister Anutin Charnvirakul expected people to know how to use marijuana and how it can revolutionize the economic sovereignty of the country.
However, things didn’t go as planned, and the government had to hastily issue a draft with revised cannabis regulations because of the unchecked sale, purchase, and usage of cannabis by everyone.
Bangkok city officials were surprised by the hike in cannabis sales in just one week. New regulations through the ministry of health notifications came into effect, which forbid the unchecked use of marijuana.
Smoking and the sale of marijuana are restricted to people above the age of 20. Moreover, pregnant and breastfeeding women are also forbidden to use cannabis.
These revised points were published in the Royal Gazette. Critics think that the government was too preoccupied with ensuring the regulation of cannabis that they removed criminal penalities before passing the law, which led to such an alarming situation in the country.
Any public nuisance can be charged with two months of imprisonment or even a fine of 25000 bhatts (US$780).
However, the government claims to have legalized cannabis for medical use only, and any other use needs to be controlled through laws.
Future of cannabis in Thailand
Now that the Thai government has legalized cannabis once, they will surely do it again once they come up with appropriate laws to control its use.
There is a lot of scope in medical marijuana and industrial use of the cannabis plant, which is why decriminalization of cannabis can be very helpful for the country’s economic welfare.
Thailand’s economy also depends on tourism which can be boosted by folds if the government allows the recreational use of cannabis.
That’s it for this time. Thank you so much for reading.
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