Thailand changes cannabis rules

According to the Thai Ministry of Health, only cannabis buds will be on the controlled product list, and sales and advertising will be restricted.

The government has slightly revised the rules surrounding the sale and use of cannabis as a "controlled herb," ​​pending passage of a bill that has been delayed by growing opposition from lawmakers and others concerned about recreational drug use.

In June, Thailand became the first country in Asia to decriminalize cannabis use, but designated the plant a controlled herb and banned the sale of all parts of the plant to people under 20 and pregnant or breastfeeding women.

Cannabis liberalization was the flagship policy of the Bhumjaithai Party led by Anutin Charnvirakul, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Health.

However, it took place in a legal vacuum, and recreational marijuana use skyrocketed in just a few months.

See: Thailand Cannabis Lovers Travel Guide

Mr. Anutin insisted that recreational use was never his goal, and said tourists who come to Thailand to get high should reconsider.

Revised rules announced last Friday by the Ministry of Public Health stipulate that only cannabis buds, the flowers that contain the highest concentrations of cannabinoids, will be considered controlled weed.

Their sale will be prohibited to persons under 20 years of age and to pregnant or breastfeeding women.

Licensed businesses must also report to the government the quantity of controlled herb stocks they hold, along with details of their origin and use.

Companies are required to notify the government whenever they export controlled herbs.

It is not yet clear how this might affect the many dispensaries that have opened, particularly in Bangkok and some tourist spots, which openly sell weed, and even rolled joints, to customers.

“The previous version listed the entire cannabis plant as controlled, making it difficult to use for medical, health, and economic purposes,” said Thongchai Lertwilairattanapong, director general of Thailand’s Department of Traditional and Alternative Medicine.

"Since the bill is not yet complete, we need to control it in a way that still allows for beneficial uses."

Sales to students or through vending machines or electronic or online channels are now prohibited, as is commercial advertising.

The government has repeatedly stated that decriminalization is aimed at medical and commercial use and that it disapproves of recreational use, although it has always refrained from an explicit ban.

However, extracts that contain more than 0.2% of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), a psychoactive component, remain illegal.

The Move Forward Party (MFP) on Thursday asked the Ombudsman to seek an injunction from the administrative court to suspend the ministerial announcement removing cannabis from the list of narcotics, pending further legislation on cannabis control.

The cannabis bill, which passed its first reading in June and aimed to give the government more control over the industry, was withdrawn during a parliamentary session in September.

Opposition members and Bhumjaithai's coalition partner, the Democratic Party, said the bill did not contain sufficient provisions to prevent recreational use and threatened to vote it down.

The bill is expected to be reintroduced for parliamentary debate this month.

Source: Bangkok Post