“Cannabis will be as legal as garlic,as legal as basil,as legal as chili,” said Kitty Chopaka,an advocate for cannabis legalisation who runs a shop in Bangkok that sells terpene-infused gummies.
The delisting has been driven by Thailand Deputy Prime Minister and Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul,whose Bhumjaithai or “Pride of Thailand” party has campaigned on a platform of legalising marijuana.
He announced last month that the government would hand out 1 million plants to households,which can grow as many as they like by registering with their provincial authorities and can use an app to be approved for commercial distribution.
The relaxing of restrictionscomes with caveats. Extracts that exceed 0.2 per cent of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC),the main psychoactive chemical in marijuana,will still be considered illegal and there will be stiff penalties of 25,000 baht ($1000) or three months jail for getting high in public.
Officials in Thailand,where conviction for cannabis possession has carried a prison sentence of up to 15 years,have also maintained it must be consumed at home for health and medical reasons and not for recreational use and a new law on cannabis control is being debated in parliament.
However,Chopaka believes that in practice it will be difficult to stop people using it as they like.