Thailand becomes 1st Asian country to legalise marijuana, but you still can’t smoke a joint in public

Thailand government had earlier announced plans to distribute one million free cannabis plants to households in the country in the month of June.

As per Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, this was to mark a new rule to allow people to grow cannabis at home. Keeping in line with this, the country has now become the first in Asia to decriminalise marijuana.

It is important to note that marijuana has been legalised only to use for medicinal purposes. The country still doesn’t permit commercial use of marijuana without licences. Thai Health Minister has informed that those who use the plant to get high will have be bear tough penalties.

According to Anutin, the decriminalisation of marijuana has been done to boost the economy.

“We still have regulations under the law that control the consumption, smoking or use of cannabis products in non-productive ways”, he added.

From June 9 onwards, growing and trading marijuana and hemp products or using parts of the plant for medical treatment is not a crime.

In the food and beverages industry, cafes and restaurants can also serve cannabis-infused items provided that the product has less than 0.2 per cent tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which is the plant’s main psychoactive compound.

Speaking about punishment for violators to CNN, the Health Minister mentioned harsh penalties, up to three months imprisonment and an $800 fine for smoking publicly.

The Health Minister said, “There has never once been a moment that we would think about advocating people to use cannabis in terms of recreation — or use it in a way that it could irritate others.”

Notably, the minister has warned tourists to consider the rule seriously as they can’t come to Thailand just to smoke joints freely. He said, “Thailand will promote cannabis policies for medical purposes. If tourists come for medical treatment or come for health-related products then it’s not an issue but if they think that they can come to Thailand just because cannabis or marijuana is legal and come to Thailand to smoke joints freely, that’s wrong.”

The minister expects this decision to imply a major boost to the agriculture sector. “We expect the value of the industry to easily exceed $2 billion dollars”.

Anutin is confident about Thailand-grown cannabis products making it big in the global market.