Thailand Gives Green Light to Growing Cannabis at Home

Cannabis, also known as marijuana, is arguably the most controversial plant in history, especially in Thailand and Southeast Asia. To many government organizations, it is a dangerous plant, and its consumers are definitely criminals.

To others, like Thailand, this substance is considered to be a miracle plant with unlimited medicinal and industrial uses.

In addition to being the first Southeast country in Asia to legalize marijuana in 2018 for medical use and research, the narcotics board in Thailand said, on Tuesday, January 25, 2022, it would remove cannabis from the drugs list, making it legal for households to grow the plant in their gardens after notifying their local government, Reuters reported.

Thailand's Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul shows off a bottle of extracted cannabis oil during a press conference at his ministry in Bangkok, Thailand, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2019.

 

After the decision, Thailand joins the countries that have legalized Marijuana use like Canada, Georgia, Malta, Mexico, South Africa, Uruguay, Lebanon..

However, Thailand’s new legislation will certainly push the neighboring countries to re-think about cannabis' benefits in medicine and economics.

 

Green Light for Marijuana

On Tuesday, January 25, 2022, Thailand became the first country in Asia to approve the decriminalization of marijuana, where the anti-narcotics agency accepted the Health Ministry remove of cannabis from its list of drugs that are controlled, according to the Time.

In light of the recent decision, Thailand has joined the countries allowing the use of cannabis like Argentina, Australia, Barbados, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Italy, Jamaica, Lebanon, Malta ..

People now can grow cannabis plants at their homes after notifying their local government, “but the cannabis cannot be used for commercial purposes without further licenses,” Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul told reporters.

Reuters also published a report regarding this step where it said that the new decision must be released in the official Royal Gazette and 120 days must pass before home cannabis plants will become legitimate.

At the same time, the health ministry will present a separate draft bill to parliament during this week, providing details and guidelines on recreational and legal use of cannabis, according to the same source.

But before presenting the draft bill, Food and Drug Regulator Chief, Paisal Dankhum has noted that homegrown cannabis permission is limited for medical purposes like traditional medicine, and that “there would be random inspections.”

Based on the guiding measures, if someone grows cannabis without notifying the government, he will be fined with up to 20,000 baht ($605.33) and prescribed a fine of up to 300,000 baht or three years in jail, or both, if he sells the plant without a license, according to Reuters.

Thai greenhouse workers trim damaged marijuana leaves and care for plants at the greenhouse facilities at the Rak Jang farm on March 25, 2021, in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand.

 

How Far Will the Green Gold Rush Go?

Thailand’s move is the latest step in the promotion of cannabis’ plan as a cash crop.

About a third of the country’s labor force is working in agriculture, according to the World Bank.

Globally, according to the report released in 2019 by New Frontier Data on the global cannabis industry, the global total addressable cannabis market is estimated at USD 344 billion in the top five regional markets where Asia is the first with $132.9 billion, then come North America, $85.6 billion, Europe $68.5 billion, Africa ($37.3 billion) and finally Latin America with $9.8 billion.

On the other hand, the global legal marijuana market size according to a recent research study by Precedence Research was valued at USD 17.5 billion in 2019 and it has been predicted to reach a market value about USD 65.1 billion by 2027, expanding at a compound annual growth rate of around 17.8% between 2020 and 2027.

Not to forget Sontirat Sontijirawong, the secretary-general of the ruling party Phalang Pracharat and a former commerce minister, when he said that “marijuana is Thailand's future cash crop.”

The question here is, how far will the green gold rush go?

According to DW, other countries in the region “could soon follow in Thailand's footsteps and soften their attitudes toward marijuana, despite the prevalence of tough anti-drug laws.”

Malaysia for example, is now planning to legitimize the possession of cannabis.

Many people are currently pushing the government to become the next country in Southeast Asia to permit the medical use of the plant.

Even the Philippines, where the House of Representatives approved a bill legalizing medical cannabis, after a bloody crackdown on illegal drugs has topped headlines during the recent years.

Not to mention Singapore, despite its government's zero-tolerance policy against drugs, research about cannabis and its medical use, has recently started.

 

Morocco, On the Way!

In December 2020, the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND), drew out cannabis from the most dangerous drugs’ list, including heroin and synthetic opioids.

Cannabis was, until December 2020, classified as banned drugs because of its “particularly dangerous properties”.

Removing it from CND’s list was based on a recommendation by the World Health Organization (WHO).

However, in January 2019, “WHO unveiled six recommendations for the inclusion of cannabis in the UN drug control treaties,” according to the Info Mineo.

After the organization’s amendment, it has been clarified that “cannabidiol (CBD), a non-toxic compound, is not subject to international controls and it has, [instead] become a prominent part of wellness therapies in recent years, sparking a billion-dollar industry.”

The majority of Morocco's cannabis is turned into hashish for recreational use.

 

Based on WHO’s resolution, Morocco has raised the possibility of decriminalizing marijuana at the Government Council level, where the Ministry of Interior drafted a law on the legalization of Cannabis, in order to organize the activities related to growing cannabis, its manufacture, export, and import for medical and therapeutic purposes, only in case of authorizations issued exclusively by specialized agencies, Info Mineo says.

According to the Anadolu Agency, Parliament passed the cannabis legalization bill, and it will be moved to the House of Councilors, the second chamber of Parliament, for the final approval.

Moroccan authorities have been aware that cannabis’ legalization “will unlock great potential for the Moroccan economy, especially since the market is estimated to reach $69 billion by 2027.”

Not only Morocco, but many countries are also actually running research about the uses of this plant in the medical field.