Is Weed Legal In Thailand?
As of June 9th, 2022, all parts of the cannabis plant were entirely removed from the narcotics list in Thailand, effectively decriminalizing all cannabis related crimes.
For quite some time, Thailand was known as one of the toughest countries when it comes laws on cannabis. Since CBD became legal in Thailand, the opinions about cannabis have started to change dramatically.
Thailand has become the first Asian country, and just 3rd country overall in the world to legalize cannabis, after Canada and Uruguay. This change in cannabis laws came into effect June 9th, but it’s not as simple as smoking up.
Let’s take a look at what you need to know about legal weed in Thailand…
CBD VS. THC: WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE?
One of the most important parts of understanding, is weed legal in Thailand, is knowing the differences in legalization.
Cannabis is known for two primary types:
- THC
- CBD
Here’s how they differ:
THC
THC, or Tetrahydrocannabinol, is the psychoactive compound in weed. That’s just the fancy way of saying it’s the compound that provides the “high” you’d experience from eating or smoking weed. The psychoactive properties are what have made weed an illegal or scheduled drug in many countries.
CBD
What CBD does provide is plenty of proven health benefits that range from helping ease anxiety, treating stress, to physical benefits like reducing blood pressure, and treating pain/inflammation.
The main distinction is that CBD does not get you high.
Weed Laws in Thailand
The most important question – is weed legal in Thailand?
For a longtime, Thailand was one of the strictest countries when it came to laws on cannabis.
It meant plenty of jail time or plenty of baht in fines.
Weed has long been a schedule I drug (psychoactive/psychotropic substance) in the country under the Thai Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Ministry of Public Health (MoPH), but that has changed.
Thailand’s weed scene in december 2022
Buriram Festival, a weed event schedule in November has been postponed due to too many unresolved issues.
One of the organizers said the regulations are still awaiting clarity.
Bringing cannabis together in good conscience is not an enough reason to push through with the event because they have to respect the laws.
As of today, there’s still no law regulating its use. Hundreds have reported about teenagers misusing the product.
“It’s idiotic”, one of the advocates said as they are playing politics over the issue. Rumors are saying that CBD will be soon “re-criminalize” since elections are approaching and tentatively scheduled on May 2023.
The bill was voted down by opposition lawmakers complaining it did not contain enough controls to rein in recreational smoking. This resulted to leave in place the post-decriminalization status quo of few controls beyond an age limit.
Brief Timeline of Weed Legality in Thailand
2019
The use of marijuana for medical purposes becomes legalized in Thailand.
This is the first step towards decriminalization, but only state-run hospitals or registered facilities could prescribe or administer marijuana for patients.
It was still very difficult to determine how effective marijuana was for patients, and the laws were not fully fleshed out yet.
2020
In December 2020, Thai FDA made an amendment to the definition of Category 5 narcotics under the Thai Narcotics Act.
Under the Thai Narcotics Act B.E. 2522 (1976), cannabis is classified under Category 5. Following provisions were introduced to the Narcotics Act as referred to in narcotics B.E. 2563 (2020):
Full exploitation of certain parts of cannabis or hemp plants such as bark, trunk, fibre, stem and root of cannabis and hemp; leaves without shoot tip and flowers of cannabis and hemp; cannabis and hemp extracts containing CBD and containing THC not exceeding 0.2% by weight; cannabis and hemp residues after extraction containing THC not exceeding 0.2% by weight; and hemp seed, hemp seed oil, or hemp seed extracts.
In simpler terms, the above mentioned parts of the cannabis and hemp plants were now no longer classified as a Category 5 narcotic. This meant a big step towards legalization of cannabis in Thailand.
Allowing use of these parts of the plants had the benefit of being able to study them to determine the use of cannabis for medical purposes further.
2021
By February 2021, the Ministry of Public Health issued several new notifications under the Food Act B.E . 2522 (1979) permitted hemp/cannabis as food ingredients.
Known as Notification No. 424, the new amendments permitted production, import, or sale of food that had cannabis parts and substances, as long as they adhered to the parts mentioned in the Narcotics Act amendments in 2020.
Food items that contained stalks, stems, branches, roots, fibers, leaves without tops or the cannabis flowers, any extracts containing CBD and THC that didn’t exceed 0.2% (by dry weight), or residue extracts of cannabis with THC that didn’t exceed 0.2% by dry weight were permitted for sale in Thailand.
Products like CBD oil, CBD edibles, CBD gummies, cannabutter, and similar CBD products could be sold or purchased in Thailand. Shortly after, Thailands food and beverage industry naturally saw a massive boom in popularity of CBD-infused products, another major step towards the legalization of marijuana.
2022
That brings us to today, 2022.
On June 9th, 2022, cannabis become decriminalized in Thailand. Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health designated hemp and marijuana plants as controlled plants, to further legalize them for medical purposes, but also allow for possession and consumption purposes.
Some things to note include:
- possession/consumption is for people 20 years or above
- cannabis with extracts containing no more than 0.2% by weight of THC were removed from the banned narcotics list
- extracts containing over 0.2% THC are still illegal
- smoking cannabis in public is still illegal – penalty = potential 3-month jail sentence or 25000 Baht fine
- importation of cannabis, hemp, hemp-derived, or hemp extracts into Thailand is illegal
- households may cultivate personal plants at home with application on the designated registration
- companies can farm with the proper permit
IS WEED LEGAL IN THAILAND?
As you’ve now read, cannabis and cannabis-products are considerably less scrutinized or penalized than before.
Decriminalization is not yet fully legal, and smoking in public can still net you a hefty fine or even jail time, but cannabis shops have areas you can smoke in, and in most cases, people have been smoking in public without much hassle (don’t say we didn’t warn you!)
Where To Buy Weed in Thailand?
MARIJUANA DELIVERY SERVICES
As of the time of writing this, the cheapest way to legally acquire marijuana is through a trusted delivery service.
For a delivery service to be legal, a few main criteria needs to be met:
– you must be 20 years of age or older
– pregnant women can not purchase cannabis
If you’re looking for a delivery service in Thailand, check out our virtual dispensary:
Marijuana Dispensaries
The second way to buy weed in Thailand is by visiting a cannabis dispensary nearest to you.
Here some ways to find dispensaries in Thailand and dispensaries near you in Thailand:
Final Thoughts
Thailand becomes just one of a small handful of countries to make big leaps towards allowing citizens the use and enjoyment of cannabis products for medical and recreational purposes.
Although cannabis is technically only decriminalized, there’s no doubt that we’ll likely see legalization in the near future.
