Thailand has just become the first Asian country to decriminalise cannabis, in a move that hopes to bolster the country’s agriculture and tourism sector.
This ruling came into effect on 9 June, removing the plant from the category of narcotic drugs. This means that it will no longer be a crime to grow and trade in cannabis and hemp products, but this does not mean that users can light up recreationally.
Previously, the plant was listed as a category-five drug, which meant that its use could result in a 10-year prison sentence, and ‘trafficking’ was a crime liable for life imprisonment or the death penalty.
A long time coming
Thailand’s cannabis legalisation began in 2018 with the legalisation of medical marijuana but the latest step to allow people to grow cannabis was spearheaded by Thailand’s deputy prime minister, Anutin Charnvirakul, campaigning on a promise to allow hemp cultivation to allow farmers to supplement incomes.
The cabinet amended its narcotics act in 2020, to allow private medical operators to grow and trade the crop. This meant that extracts containing less than 0.2% THC, the psychoactive compound in cannabis, were legal. But, recreational use remained against the law.
A move towards full decriminalisation?
Charnvirakul however, has cautioned that recreational use of cannabis remains illegal. ‘We still have regulations under the law that control the consumption, smoking or use of cannabis products in non-productive ways,’ he said in an interview,
But there are talks of broader legalisation, with advocates calling for a so-called cannabis sandbox – a limited area where recreational use is allowed, in tandem with legalised casinos.
Thailand was a known cultivar of cannabis, renowned for its Thai Stick variety, named after the way its buds were dried and tied into sticks before the government cracked down in cooperation with the US ‘war on drugs’.
Picture: Unsplash
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