Thailand publishes a cannabis guide for tourists

The Thai Ministry of Health has published a guide titled «10 Things Tourists Should Know About Cannabis in Thailand» to help visitors better understand what they can and cannot do with cannabis in the country.

Thailand is the the first Asian country to have decriminalized cannabis by removing cannabis from the list of controlled substances even before any real regulation had been considered. This led to a rush to open stores—more than 2,500 today—and recreational use that is not always under control.

Thai lawmakers are currently debating a bill aimed at regulating the use and sale of cannabis. However, it is unclear whether it will be passed before the House is dissolved later this year, ahead of new elections.

Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul emphasized that the goal of decriminalization is to promote the medical use of cannabis and create economic opportunities for the local population. Foreigners who wish to visit Thailand solely to «get high» should think twice, he said.

In the current legal vacuum, hundreds of cannabis dispensaries—whether recreational or not—have sprung up and are well documented on websites such as Highthailand or Weed.in.th

However, the Ministry of Health wants to ensure that tourists clearly understand what Thai law permits with regard to cannabis. It has asked provincial tourism offices to distribute a guide in English to visitors and plans to make it available in other languages, including Chinese, Korean, Japanese, and Russian.

The guide can also be Download here.

The 10 things tourists need to know are as follows:

• It is prohibited to transport cannabis seeds or plant parts into or out of Thailand for personal use.
• Cannabis cultivation is legal, but You need to sign up for the Plook Ganja app of the Food and Drug Administration or on a government website
• The use of cannabis flowers for research, export, and sale, as well as their processing for commercial purposes, requires an official license
• People under the age of 20, pregnant women, and breastfeeding women should not use cannabis, except under the supervision of healthcare professionals
• Possession of extracts containing more than 0.2 % of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and synthetic THC is subject to authorization
• Dishes containing cannabis are available at licensed restaurants
• Approved cannabis-based health products are available through specific channels
• Smoking cannabis in public places, including schools and shopping malls, is illegal
• Avoid driving after consuming food or health products containing cannabis
• People who experience serious adverse health effects after using cannabis should seek medical attention promptly