Government will give away one million cannabis plants – media
Thailand’s Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul gas announced that the national government will distribute one million free cannabis plants to households across the country in June to encourage Thais to grow marijuana at home, CNN reported on Wednesday.
The news follows the kingdom’s decision in January allowing its citizens to cultivate cannabis plants after notifying their local government. The plant, however, can only be used for medical purposes and cannabis cannot be distributed commercially without an appropriate license. The new rule will come into force on June 9.
Thailand’s cannabis advocates have argued that allowing households such opportunities will help the predominantly agricultural nation boost its economic recovery after the Covid pandemic.
“This will enable people and the government to generate more than 10 billion baht [per year] in revenue from marijuana and hemp,” argued the health minister. “People can showcase their cannabis and hemp-related products wisdom and sell their products nationwide,” he added, urging Thais to grow as many cannabis plants as they like.
While most of its neighbors have strict drug laws, in 2018, the Kingdom of Thailand became the first South Asian nation to legalize medical marijuana. Since then, it has been legal in Thailand to sell cannabis products with less than 0.2 per cent THC, the psychoactive compound in marijuana. Recreational use of the drug is still outlawed in the country.
