Thailand just decriminalized cannabis. But you still can't smoke joints, minister says

[tobedetermined]

"Thailand on Thursday became the first country in Asia to decriminalize cannabis -- but tough penalties will still apply to those who use the drug to get high, according to the minister who spearheaded the change."

"Under decriminalization, it is no longer a crime to grow and trade marijuana and hemp products, or use parts of the plant to treat illnesses. Cafes and restaurants can also serve cannabis-infused food and drinks -- but only if the products contain less than 0.2% tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the plant's main psychoactive compound.

Harsh penalties remain in place under the Public Health Act, including up to three months in jail and an $800 fine for smoking cannabis in public.

"We [have always] emphasized using cannabis extractions and raw materials for medical purposes and for health," Anutin said. "There has never once been a moment that we would think about advocating people to use cannabis in terms of recreation -- or use it in a way that it could irritate others.""

Source: CNN​

​

Note: This article is factually wrong. There is no restriction on % of THC in flower. Only concentrates are restricted to 0.2%.

 

[Mitsuharu]

What bullshit... sounds like they decriminalize it just to get the 800 $ fines from the people who use it! Back to the stone age!

 

[strangebabylon]

Sucks about the concentrates and hash, hopefully it changes in the next few years. Still better than getting jailed 10 years for having 30 grams on you. There have been dispensary's opening all over the country since yesterday.

Also i'm fine with the fines/punishment for smoking in public. The same law have already been applied to tobacco since years back, ofcourse they wont allow smoking weed in public if they dont allow smoking tobacco in public. However this is Thailand so it's always a grey area, people smoke outside anyways and cops dont get payed enough to care.

Personally i got a headstart on the growing so therefor i will abandon this account and start a new one for my future grow logs

 

[f-e]

Seems they just legalised industrial hemp, grown under license. With medical intentions allowed, not just seed and fiber crops. Anyone wanting to grow this themselves at home can also have a go. Though it's not to be smoked in public.

Getting caught leads to confiscation. Testing. Then charges or apology. It doesn't get you your crop back though.

Thus, a genuine personal grower with medical needs is not getting in trouble. Anyone filling their terrace will loose them.

Thai weed is still illegal at any level.

Some interpretation is needed, which allows law enforcement a bit of movement, when it come to individual finds. Thus, growing one for personal could be looked at as just one plant, and left alone under the interpretation of plants being allowed. If the officer was paid enough. This is Thailand.

 

[strangebabylon]

Seems they just legalised industrial hemp, grown under license. With medical intentions allowed, not just seed and fiber crops. Anyone wanting to grow this themselves at home can also have a go. Though it's not to be smoked in public.

Getting caught leads to confiscation. Testing. Then charges or apology. It doesn't get you your crop back though.

Thus, a genuine personal grower with medical needs is not getting in trouble. Anyone filling their terrace will loose them.

Thai weed is still illegal at any level.

Some interpretation is needed, which allows law enforcement a bit of movement, when it come to individual finds. Thus, growing one for personal could be looked at as just one plant, and left alone under the interpretation of plants being allowed. If the officer was paid enough. This is Thailand.

Nah. All kind of cannabis is currently allowed to be cultivated and consumed.

However they kept concentrates/extracts medicinal, so only prescription thc oils from clinics allowed. Sadly this also includes hash.

Dont know why there as so many bad articles about it but the laws that are currently applied are official and can be read by anyone who understands Thai.
As someone who does and lives in Thailand i can ensure you that on paper and in reality weed with any amount of thc is legal in Thailand since yesterday.

The big problem here is something that is common for Thailand - They practically changed the law before they prepared the regulations.

So the goverment have given us these very few rules and then told us "Just follow these few rules for now and we will be back later this year with the full package".

For example the registration of household grows is currently something the goverment only encourage people to do, because currently there is no punishment in the law for not registering your grow.

Oh... And there is no age restriction at all yet, it's all up to the dispensaries. The PM literally went on national television asking people to not sell cannabis to minors

 

[Chi13]

Nah. All kind of cannabis is allowed to be cultivated and consumed.

However they kept concentrates/extracts medicinal, so only prescription thc oils from clinics allowed. Sadly this also includes hash.

Dont know why there as so many bad articles about it but the laws that are currently applied are official and can be read by anyone who understands Thai.
As someone who does and lives in Thailand i can ensure you that on paper and in reality weed with any amount of thc is legal in Thailand since yesterday.

I agree. It seems very badly reported to me. My understanding is that you can grow any cannabis including high THC but that must be consumed at home, or in private.
Only concentrates (e.g. oils, edibles), must be below the 0.2% THC.

Anyway, overall great news.

 

[Finepointcanon]

 

[strangebabylon]

I agree. It seems very badly reported to me. My understanding is that you can grow any cannabis including high THC but that must be consumed at home, or in private.
Only concentrates (e.g. oils, edibles), must be below the 0.2% THC.

Anyway, overall great news.

Yeah they just dont want people smoking fat ones on the streets around other people. They have the same regulation when it comes to any kind of smoking.

Thai goverment is very anti smoking in general. Which is funny when they the goverment themselves have monopoly on tobacco and also criminalized e-cigarette's/vapes because it threatened the state monopoly

 

[goingrey]

If the strict smoking ban is the same as for tobacco then, fair enough..

@strangebabylon Have you been at any dispensaries yet? Are they sketchy back alley dives or upscale high street boutiques?

 

[strangebabylon]

@goingrey No, i live out on the countryside. Doubt anyone will open anything in a small muslim dominated town like mine lol.

Thats why i only smoke my own stuff, i have a farm afterall

Here is a clip from a shop and its first customer

 

[goingrey]

Looks nice enough, happy people.

Modern hybrids for 450-700 Baht/g ($13-$20) on the menu.

 

[strangebabylon]

Looks nice enough, happy people.

Modern hybrids for 450-700 Baht/g ($13-$20) on the menu.

I heard the prices yesterday was being compared to the very worst corporate dispensaries in the US/California.

Makes it even worse when the average monthly salery here is 500-600$.

But yeah prices will go down a bit every day now, especially outdoor stuff should become cheap. Indoors here you still have to pay the electrical bills for dealing with the high temperature and humidity + the rest of the equipment.

 

[Loc Dog]

It is only allowed to be .2% THC. In USA .3% or lower is hemp. Columbian form 70's was about 5% and best now is 32%. That is 130 times less potent. If top shelf sells for $20 a gram here, what they have should cost 15 cents. Probably a lot less healthy. Government wants to control all seeds and cuttings. Probably make more turning to bio diesel.

 

[strangebabylon]

It is only allowed to be .2% THC. In USA .3% or lower is hemp. Columbian form 70's was about 5% and best now is 32%. That is 130 times less potent. If top shelf sells for $20 a gram here, what they have should cost 15 cents. Probably a lot less healthy. Government wants to control all seeds and cuttings. Probably make more turning to bio diesel.

. 2% thc is for concentrate/extracts.

 

[romanoweed]

i think its OFFICIAL that everyone says something else!

 

[f-e]

Deputy PM and Health Minister who signed off on it, after spearheading the campaign, says getting high is illegal.

Tourists are not party to this decriminalisation. So the finer details are a little mute for most of us.

 

[strangebabylon]

Deputy PM and Health Minister who signed off on it, after spearheading the campaign, says getting high is illegal.

Tourists are not party to this decriminalisation. So the finer details are a little mute for most of us.

Yeah not really. They are saying smoking weed in public is illegal. They have rather said/confirmed the opposite, that it is fine as long as you arent being a nuisance to anyone and smoke up outside in public.

However Anutin have said that he considers the decriminalisation to be of medical and economical motivation.

As i said earlier, just like any other country Thailands laws are official. We have access to these and can read these ourselves. Because that is what matters right? And not what media says because it is irrelevant since they are obviously skipping factchecking before making their articles and reports and seem to have zero knowledge of what is actually happening here.

 

[tobedetermined]

And not what media says because it is irrelevant

And you are right. That CNN writer didn't get the facts, he just repeated what the Minister said. As you have said, when you look for Thai media, they say that there is no limit on flower THC%, only concentrates.

 

[strangebabylon]

And you are right. That CNN writer didn't get the facts, he just repeated what the Minister said. As you have said, when you look for Thai media, they say that there is no limit on flower THC%, only concentrates.

I've only seen one single report from foreign media that doesnt contain misinformation regarding this.

For example take this Reuters piece as a example, Reuters starts by telling you that smoking weed is still banned in Thailand, then in the end of the report they show you a clip of Prayut the prime minister of Thailand announcing at the press conference from yesterday that consuming and smoking cannabis AND hemp in private is allowed.
And then they ofc bring up the usual confusion/mixup of regulations regarding flowers vs extracts.



Like...... when they finished editing this piece and sat down to check it..... How the fuck did they think that made any sense at all?

 

[romanoweed]

lol , i chose the Strain LSD25 from the Menue they showed