Thailand removes hemp from its list of narcotics

The Thai Ministry of Public Health announced Tuesday that the Cabinet had agreed to remove cannabis from the list of narcotics. The decision was approved and published in the Ministry of Public Health's new regulations.

«First and foremost, this regulation allows individuals and companies to grow hemp plants, provided they meet the conditions for sale and possession,» he said declared Traisulee Traisaranakul, spokesperson for the Ministry of Health.

«The regulation also stipulates that hemp plants may be grown up to a maximum of one rai per household,» or 1,600 m², adding that «producers must be licensed and may only grow the species specified in the new regulation.» This restriction applies to plants with a THC content of -0.3%.

The regulation also stipulates that research will be conducted to determine the role of cannabis in medicines or non-therapeutic products, in accordance with government policy, which aims both to meet the needs of patients and to create a new competitive sector for the country.

The country had already extracted hemp extracts with low THC content from the list of controlled substances last September.

Full market access will, however, take years

In a recent report, Cannabis Cataysts, an Austrian analyst, estimates that the sector will not reach its full potential until 2024. By then, Thailand could develop a market worth between 46 and 312 million.

In addition to a domestic market, Thailand could develop a medical cannabis tourism market, export medical cannabis to neighboring countries, and develop a wide range of cannabis-related products (innovations, technologies, IT, etc.) that could add 1.5 billion euros to the cannabis market alone.

However, current demand for cannabis is quite high, unlike the supply side, which currently lacks adequate infrastructure. A a clinic that specializes exclusively in cannabis It was recently launched but lacks, for example, qualified medical personnel trained in prescribing and monitoring cannabis-based treatments.