In a new high, Thailand becomes first in Asia to make marijuana legal

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Last Updated11/06/2022

Thailand made it legal to cultivate and possess marijuana, like a dream come true for an aging generation of pot smokers who recall the kick the legendary Thai Stick variety delivered.

for medical use of marijuana.
a well developed medical tourism industry and its tropical climate is ideal for growing cannabis.
prefers to build an awareness that would be better than patrolling to check on people and using the law to punish them.
nat least 4,000 people imprisoned for offenses relating to cannabis will be released.
Economic benefits are at the heart of the marijuana reforms, projected to boost everything from national income to small farmers’ livelihoods.

The country’s public health minister to distribute 1 million marijuana seedlings has added to the impression that Thailand is turning into a weed wonderland.
no effort to police what people can grow and smoke at home, aside from registering to do so, and declaring it is for medical purposes.
for medical use only, warning those eager to light up for fun that smoking in public could still be considered to be a nuisance, subject to a potential 3-month sentence and 25,000 Thai baht ($780) fine.
And extracted content, such as oil, remains illegal if it contains more than 0.2% of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the chemical that makes people high.
The status of marijuana is still in considerable legal limbo because while it is no longer treated as a dangerous drug, Thai lawmakers have yet to pass legislation to regulate its trade.
Thailand has become the first nation in Asia to decriminalize marijuana/cannabis/ganja but it is not following the examples of Uruguay and Canada, the only two countries so far that have legalized recreational marijuana on a national basis.

Whether the benefits will be distributed equitably.
Giant corporations could be unfairly served by proposed regulations involving complicated licensing processes and expensive fees for commercial use that would handicap small producers.
- For example alcohol businesses in Thailand, only large-scale producers are allowed to monopolize the market.
- A similar thing can happen to the cannabis industry if the rules are in favor of big business
- Small operators are keen to move into the marijuana sector anyway.