New govt bill on cannabis hopes to clear blurred lines in Thailand

A new government bill on cannabis and hemp use revealed that people will be allowed to grow no more than 15 cannabis plants for household use while selling and advertising cannabis and cannabis-based products online and in vending machines will be prohibited.

The House committee spokesperson scrutinising the latest cannabis and hemp bill yesterday announced the amendment will go before parliament for a second reading soon.

Parnthep Pourpongpan broke down the new bill to make things clearer for those wanting to grow or sell cannabis plants as there have been a number of complaints that there are too many grey areas regarding the selling and consumption of cannabis and hemp.

Parnthep made it known that Section 18 of the bill spells out that those wanting to grow cannabis plants for household use can grow no more than 15 plants per household. People need to register if they plan to do so on one of the government channels within one day without paying any registration fees. Also, people are allowed to grow no more than five rai of hemp plants per household for household use.

“Other groups allowed to register for growing the plants include hospitals, medical practitioners, dental practitioners, Thai traditional medicine practitioners, applied Thai traditional medicine practitioners, traditional Chinese medicine practitioners, state agencies, the Thai Red Cross Society, and animal hospitals. They can make medicines from the plants for patients without seeking permission.”

Section 15 specifies that for business and commercial purposes, those who want to grow, process, and extract the plants for sale must seek government permission. Failure to get permission will result in fines and possible prison sentences.

Small-scale business operators who grow no more than 5 rai of cannabis would be liable to a one-year jail sentence and/or a fine of up to 100,000 baht. Large-scale operators growing more than 5 rai would face a jail term of three years and/or a fine of up to 300,000 baht.

“Those who export cannabis without permission would face a jail term of up to five years and/or a fine of up to 500,000 baht.

“Those who want to grow cannabis for commercial purposes must be Thai nationals aged at least 20 years while legal entities that want to grow cannabis for commercial purposes must be owned and operated by Thais.

“Section 28 of the bill prohibits online advertising for the sale of cannabis flowering buds, cannabis hashish, cannabis extracts, and equipment used for smoking cannabis. Violators would be liable to a jail term of no more than one year and/or a fine of up to 100,000 baht.

“The bill also bans exaggeration or false advertising of other parts of the cannabis plant used as herbs, and violators would face a jail term of no more than one year and/or a fine of no more than 100,000 baht.

“Section 37 of the bill bans the sale of cannabis and hemp, their extracts, and food with cannabis and hemp as ingredients to people aged below 20, pregnant women, and women who breastfeed children. People who break this rule face a jail term of up to one year and/or a fine of up to 100,000 baht.

“Section 37/1 also bans the sale of cannabis and hemp, their extracts, and food with cannabis and hemp as ingredients online and in vending machines while promotional and marketing campaigns are also prohibited.

“Under the bill, the sale of cannabis would be prohibited in temples, religious premises, schools, educational institutes, dormitories, public parks, and other premises declared by the Public Health Minister.

“The bill also declares certain premises off-limits to cannabis smoking, including temples, public parks, and restaurants.”

SOURCE: Bangkok Post