Thailand to Hand Out Free Cannabis Plants
Thailand made history in 2018 as the first Southeast Asian country to legalise medical cannabis. Now their Public Health Minister, Anutin Charnvirakul, is again putting them in the headlines. He is pledging to give away 1 million cannabis plants for free when household cultivation and use of the cannabis plant becomes legal this June.
From June 9, Thai residents will be able to grow an uncapped number of cannabis plants in their own homes, Austin reports.
The catch? The cannabis must be medical grade and used for medicinal purposes only. However, this may be hard to regulate and check as official registration is not required for anyone planning on growing weed at homeAustin announced the move on Sunday in a Facebook post that outlined the separate benefits of commercial cultivation.
Until the new regulations kick in, it is currently only legal for registered businesses to sell cannabis-derived products that include less than 0.2 per cent THC in June.
This all changes from June, though, as more people will be able to operate cannabis-related businesses or enterprises under the new legislation.
"This will enable people and the government to generate more than 10 billion baht [per year] in revenue from marijuana and hemp. Meanwhile, people can showcase their cannabis and hemp-related products and wisdom and sell their products nationwide."
Austin added that entrepreneurs and businesses would; be able to compete freely in Thailand's cannabis market without concessions. Small sellers of cannabis-related products will not be required to register with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
However, he added that large cannabis-related businesses must still request permission from the FDA to operate. Sound like a good enough reason to me! Local cannabis advocates are thrilled at the news. Their hope for some time has been that easing cannabis laws would stimulate an economic boost and put Thailand on the road to recovery following the Covid-19 public health crisis.
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Liz Filmer
