Cannabis

Thailand started year 2022 with the bright hope that cannabis would be made completely legal. Thailand legalized marijuana for medical use only in year 2019. In 2022 the Public Health Ministry issued a regulation legalizing all parts of the plant. The regulation paved the way for pot to become completely legal. Businesses began launching their cannabis-spiked products, including food and beverage. Thanks to this wide-spanning regulation, shops selling weed began sprouting up all over the country, and some grocery stores even began stocking the stuff. Farmers also expected to get rich or at least earn a good income from growing the plant, which has long been seen as a narcotic in Thailand. The public was also excited, especially those who were keen to find out what smoking pot felt like, while people behind bars for cannabis-related offences expected an early release. As soon as cannabis was decriminalized, they could walk free. However, concerns have been growing that Thailand’s move to legalize cannabis may have unlocked free trade and consumption by people who may not fully understand the harmful effects of marijuana usage. In response to the criticism, various government agencies have introduced new regulations to control the use of cannabis. The Public Health Ministry, for instance, recently declared that the potent buds of the marijuana plant were a controlled substance. Following this declaration, ministry representatives backed by the police have arrested several vendors for selling the herb without permission. So far, medical cannabis is legal, which has a very low contents of substance.