Thailand legalizes cannabis cultivation and consumption

Thus, Thailand is the first Asian country to legalize planting and consuming marijuana with the aim of boosting the country’s agriculture and tourism industries, but smoking marijuana is still illegal.

In Thailand, shoppers queued up at shops selling drinks, sweets and other items laced with cannabis, while supporters legalize marijuana welcomed the reform in a country long known for its strict anti-drug laws.

Thailand, which has traditionally used cannabis for pain relief and anti-fatigue, legalized medical marijuana in 2018.

The Thai government views cannabis as a revenue-generating crop and plans to donate one million plants to encourage farmers to grow it.

Chokwan Kitty Chopaka, owner of a shop selling cannabis-infused gum, said: “After the COVID-19 epidemic, the economy went down, we really need this stuff.”

An employee of a cafe in Bangkok picks up marijuana, June 9, the first day cannabis was removed from the list of drugs under Thai law. (Photo: Reuters)

However, Thai authorities aim to prevent an explosion of recreational use of cannabis-infused items by limiting the amount of cannabis in the products offered. Accordingly, stores are not allowed to possess and sell substances cannabis extract Contains more than 0.2% tetrahydrocannabinol (THC – the psychoactive substance of cannabis).

Those who break the law will face jail terms and fines.

Cannabis growers (or growers of ganja, another name for this hemp plant) must register on a Thai Government app called PlookGanja. Thai Health Ministry official Paisan Dankhum said nearly 100,000 people have signed up for the app.

However, concerns about quality control among new cannabis growers have surfaced: “It will be very difficult to control the levels of THC and other contaminants in their products. And that could be the case. dangerous to consumers”.

Thailand’s Ministry of Health said it had approved 1,181 products including cosmetics and foods containing extracts and it expects the industry to collect 15 billion baht ($435.16 million) by 2020. 2026.

Many large companies are “jumping in” to participate in the production and consumption of products containing cannabis extracts. Agricultural group Charoen Pokphand Foods Pcl and energy company Gunkul Engineering have teamed up to produce foods and beverages containing cannabis extracts.

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