New Bill Aims to Give Clearer Regulations on Cannabis Use

A new bill that aims to amend the existing cannabis and hemp regulations in Thailand will soon undergo a second reading in the House of Representatives this week. 

As reported by Bangkok Post on Friday (Aug. 19), Parnthep Pourpongpan, a spokesman of a House committee scrutinising the bill, revealed the following key details:

In Section 18, no more than 15 plants will be allowed for those who want to grow cannabis for household use. They can register without paying any registration fee within a day. They’re also allowed to grow no more than five rai of hemp plants per household.

Hospitals, state agencies, the Thai Red Cross Society, animal hospitals, and practitioners in different fields, such as medical, dental, applied Thai traditional medicine, and traditional Chinese medicine, on the other hand, don’t have to seek for permission when making medications for patients.

For commercial use, Section 15 states that those who grow, process, and extract cannabis plants for sale must seek permission from the authorities. Failure to do so will result in a jail term of no more than one year and/or a fine of up to THB100,000 for small-scale businesses, while a jail term of no more than three years and/or a fine of up to THB300,000 will apply for large-scale businesses.

Furthermore, Section 28 indicates that online advertising for the sale of cannabis flowering buds, hashish, extracts, and equipment used for smoking cannabis are prohibited.