Marijuana was legalized in Thailand in the closing days of 2018 when the National Legislative Assembly passed the Narcotics Bill in its third and final reading. Now it awaits publication in the Royal Gazette to become law, which should happen by March 25.

The upcoming general election, which had been expected in the new year’s first quarter, might have been a factor in the decisive enactment of the law, especially considering who it benefits most. People in rural areas constitute the largest pool of voters eligible to form licensed agricultural groups to cultivate hundreds of acres of the new economic crop. Some of these folks will also be able to earn extra income by obtaining licenses to prescribe medical marijuana as Thai traditional medicine practitioners and village healers.

People with illnesses requiring marijuana treatment will be allowed by the new law to consume the now-lawful drug provided they can produce a prescription issued by a properly licensed medical practitioners specifying the limited amount they can carry on their person, subject to medical formulations permitted by the Public Health Ministry.

Marijuana, or “kanja” as it is known in Thailand, can now be grown legally and used in medical and scientific applicationswith the consent of the authorities concerned.

The Narcotics Act B.E. 2562, which seeks to amend specific provisions of the Narcotics Act of 1979 to enable the use of marijuana for the treatment of patients, study, research and development as well as for agricultural, commercial and industrial uses for medical benefits, has been published in the Royal Gazette.

However, the legal use of marijuana will be placed under the control of a committee headed by the permanent secretary of agriculture and comprises heads of several departments such as the Health Support Services Department, the Industrial Works Department, the Mental Health Department and the Medical Council.

The law also allows for the legal use of “kanchong”, or hemp,with consent from the committee.

Import and export of marijuana in quantities appropriate formedical treatment of certain ailments is now possible under the law,but there must be a prescription or a certificate from a certified medical practitioner. However, the import or export ofmarijuana in excess of 10 kilogrammes is not permissible as this will be considered trafficking in narcotics.