“Do not use it and sit at home smiling without doing any work. This is not our policy,” said Health Minister Anutin Tsarnvirakul of Buriram province in the northeast of the country, where the first thousand plants were distributed.
THE Thailand launched today the campaign for free distribution of one million cannabis plantsone day after decriminalization of its cultivation for commercial purposesbut warned citizens not to use it for entertainment as marijuana smoking is still against the law.
Thailand legalized medical marijuana in 2018 and is now counting on growing the plant to raise money.
“Do not use it and sit at home smiling without doing any work. This is not our policy,” said Health Minister Anutin Tsarnvirakul of Buriram province in the northeast of the country, where the first thousand plants were distributed.
“We removed the stigma, it was cleaned as you remove a tattoo. Do not make it come back,” the minister added, noting that cannabis should be used for health reasons.
Cannabis was removed from the national drug list on Thursday and citizens were allowed to grow the plant if they registered in a government app called PlookGanja (another word used for the cannabis plant).
The possession and sale of cannabis extracts containing more than 0.2% of its psychoactive substance, tetrahydrocannabinol, is not permitted.
The minister said more than 300,000 citizens had signed up to download the application.
According to the country’s penitentiary, 3,000 inmates – who had been convicted of cannabis-related offenses – have been released since the law was changed this week.
