Thailand’s Public Health Minister Plans to Offer 1M Free Cannabis Plants to Citizens

Thailand’s Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul plans to give away up to one million free cannabis plants when personal cultivation and use of the plant is legalized in June, Nation Thailand reports. Anutin said, in a Facebook post, that citizens will be allowed to cultivate “as many cannabis plants” as they like in their own homes once the reforms take effect.

“This will enable people and the government to generate more than 10 billion baht [per year] in revenue from marijuana and hemp. … Meanwhile, people can showcase their cannabis and hemp-related products and wisdom and sell their products nationwide.” – Anutin via Nation Thailand

The cannabis grown must be of medical grade and only for medical purposes but no registration is required. It is currently legal for registered companies to sell cannabis products that contain less than 0.2% THC.

Under the nation’s regulations, small sellers of cannabis-related products do not need to register with the Food and Drug Administration but large-scale operators must seek government approval.

Anutin in February signed a document removing cannabis from the nation’s narcotics list after lawmakers legalized medical cannabis use in 2020 – the first Southeast Asian nation to enact the reforms. During the signing ceremony, Anutin said that cannabis “has plenty of medical benefits, not different from other herbs” and that officials are trying their best “to make the Thai people enjoy both medical and economic benefits from it.”