Thailand banks on cannabis for growth, gives away 1 mn free plants

Thailand has launched a campaign to give away 1 million free cannabis plants on Friday, a day after decriminalising its growth for commercial purposes, but it has discouraged people from getting high and warned they could still fall foul of the law. Thailand had legalised medicinal marijuana in 2018 for medical use but is now banking on developing it as a cash crop and building a lucrative local industry.

Thailand legalised the growing of marijuana and its consumption in food and drinks on Thursday, the first Asian country to do so, with the aim of boosting its agriculture and tourism sectors but smoking pot is still against the law.

"Don't use it and sit smiling at home and not get any work done. Those things are not our policies," Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said at the launch in northeastern Buriram province, where the first 1,000 plants were being distributed.

"We have erased the stigma, it's being washed away like removing a tattoo. Don't let it come back," he said, adding that cannabis should be used to improve health.

Authorities are however discouraging its recreational use, while smoking in public could lead to prison and fines. The psychoactive compound in marijuana, tetrahydrocannabinol or THC, is limited to 0.2% in cannabis extracts and products that can be sold in Thailand, which include oils and candy.

Growing cannabis at home requires registration with the government's smartphone application, PlookGanja or "grow ganja". Anutin said more than 300,000 people had registered with the app, which had millions of downloads from people wanting to learn more about cannabis. According to Thailand's corrections department, 3,000 people have been freed from prison after being held on cannabis-related crimes since the law changed this week.

"After COVID, the economy going down the drain, we really do need this," said Chokwan Kitty Chopaka, who owns a shop selling cannabis gum sweets. But authorities aim to head off an explosion of recreational use by limiting the strength of the products on offer. The possession and sale of cannabis extracts containing more than 0.2% of its psychoactive ingredient, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), is not allowed, which will mean smokers of the drug known as "pot", "weed" and a host of other names, will struggle to get "stoned".