Last month we weighed in on Thailand becoming the first country in Southeast Asia to decriminalize cannabis. We’ve seen some bad reporting on this since then, along the lines of “weed is legal in Thailand!” The new Thai regime is not that progressive, but we still feel that Thailand has taken a step in the right direction.
In short, the Thai government has stated that it is promoting cannabis for medical use only. Smoking in public could still considered a nuisance, subject to a potential 3-month sentence and 25,000 Thai baht (U.S. $780) fine. Extracted content, such as oil, remains illegal if it contains more than 0.2% THC (this is lower than the “hemp” threshold in many countries).
Still, with its new policy, Thailand joins a short list of nations where weed has been decriminalized or better, including Canada, Mexico, and South Africa.
Thailand’s new law reverses a long history of heavily penalizing drug offenses. Cannabis grows naturally there, and the country has an even longer history of using the plant in holistic medicine practices. The Thai government hopes to capitalize on the economic and medical benefits of the plant, and laws will follow on these
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