Thailand becomes 1st Asian country to legalise consumption, growing of marijuana
Bangkok, June 10: Thailand on Thursday legalised the growing of marijuana and its consumption in food and drinks. It has become the first Asian country to do so in order to boost its agriculture and tourism sectors. However, smoking pot is still against the law.
After marijuana was legalised in Thailand, people queued up at outlets selling cannabis-infused drinks, sweets and other items.
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Thailand has a tradition of using cannabis to relieve pain and fatigue and it legalised medicinal marijuana in 2018. The government, banking on the plant as a cash crop, plans to give away a million plants to encourage farmers to take up its cultivation.
The possession and sale of cannabis extracts containing more than 0.2% of its psychoactive ingredient, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), is not allowed, which will mean smokers of the drug known as "pot", "weed" and a host of other names, will struggle to get "stoned".
"Buds with 0.2% THC is considered low, so you would need to consume a lot to get high," said Suphamet Hetrakul, co-founder of the Teera Group, which grows cannabis for medical use. THC is concentrated in the plant's flowers, or buds. Those who break the law can still face jail and fines.
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Cannabis growers have to register on a government app called PlookGanja, or grow ganja, another nickname for the spikey-leafed plant. Nearly 100,000 people have signed up to the app, said health ministry official Paisan Dankhum.
The health ministry said it has approved 1,181 products, including cosmetics and food, containing cannabis extracts.
-PTC News with agency inputs
