Can foreigners legally grow cannabis in Thailand?
The Ministry of Public Health gave away one million cannabis plants to the people of Thailand in June for home cultivation. Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul dished out the plants to celebrate the removal of all parts of the cannabis plant from Thailand’s list of Category 5 illicit narcotics on June 9.
The plants were intended to be cultivated for medicinal purposes and also to be used as an ingredient in cooking e.g., for extra flavour in Tom Yam soup.
Female cannabis plants produce “buds” that are rich in tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which is the compound that gets you “high.” Male plants do not produce buds and mostly contain cannabidiol (CBD) which does not get you high but has medicinal benefits.
Growing both male and female cannabis plants is legal in Thailand, with conditions:
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- The grower must be at least 20 years old.
- The grower must not extract their cannabis into a product containing more than 0.2% THC (e.g. oil or edibles).
- The grower must register through the FDA’s ‘Plook Gan’ application.
Can foreigners grow cannabis at home in Thailand?
No – not unless they hold Thai citizenship.
To successfully register to grow cannabis at home via the ‘Plook Gan’ application, budding bud farmers must enter their Thai citizenship number.
The Thaiger contacted the Ministry of Public Health through their ‘Hemp Hotline’ to clarify the facts.
The ministry said, “foreigners cannot grow cannabis at home in Thailand without Thai citizenship.”
It is possible to gain Thai citizenship as a foreigner, but it’s a tall order. You have to meet the following eligibility criteria…
Who is eligible for Thai citizenship by naturalisation?
- You are at least 18 years old.
- You have lived in Thailand as a Permanent Resident for at least five years before applying.
- You must have been living in Thailand for those years on the same type of visa that you have at the time of application.
- You have a clean criminal record and are well-behaved.
- You are employed in Thailand.
- You can understand, speak, and be able to write the Thai language.
- You can sing the Thai National Anthem Sanserm Phra Baramee.
- You acquire at least 50 points out of 100 on the Points Based System of obtaining Thai Citizenship.
*These are not required if you:
- Are the spouse or child of someone who received their own Thai Citizenship through naturalisation.
- Are the husband of a Thai wife and wife of a Thai husband.
- Once held Thai Citizenship.
- Have acted in some way that is the benefit of Thailand.
Also, check out our guide on how to grow cannabis in Thailand successfully.
Can foreigners buy cannabis in Thailand?
Don’t worry, foreigners can still benefit from Thailand’s liberal cannabis laws. It is completely legal for anyone, including tourists and foreigners, to purchase cannabis in Thailand so long as they are at least 20 years old and not pregnant or breastfeeding.
If you’re going to smoke cannabis in Thailand, be sure to do it at home or at a registered venue. Smoking cannabis in public places is still a criminal offence if someone reports the smoker as causing a “public nuisance.” If someone reports you smoking cannabis in a public place, you could face up to three months imprisonment and a fine of up to 25,000 baht, or both.
