Thailand’s New Cannabis Decriminalization Explained
On January 25th, the Narcotics Control Board (NACC) Committee of the Thailand parliament approved, in principle, the removal of cannabis and hemp from the Thailand Narcotics Control Act, Category 5. In theory, this change may allow growing cannabis at home. However, there are some qualifications that should be explained.
Thailand made international news in 2020 by decriminalizing medical cannabis. This reclassification removed most parts of the cannabis plant from the Category 5 list of controlled drugs, except seeds and flowers. There was also a limit on the potency of the cannabis being grown and on plant extracts of not greater than 2% of the active chemical THC.
The proposal implemented by the FDA is believed to exclude all parts of the plant from the list of controlled narcotics.
The Food and Drug Administration will still have legal authority over commercial and medicinal cannabis and extracts, however. Further, some extracts of cannabis would still be illegal, if they exceed 2% THC. This would exclude high potency hashish and extracts from the legalization process.
The new Cannabis Act will come into effect 120 days after publication in the Government Gazette. There will be additional conditions, including a government registration requirement, for home growing. Until the new Act is actually approved, and all the conditions for legal use and growing are clarified, Thailand lawyers advise that non-medicinal cannabis is still illegal in Thailand.
