From canned food to cannabis – Thailand embraces medical marijuana as patient roster explodes

Thailand became the first Southeast Asian country to legalize cannabis for medicinal purposes in 2019. That historic moment came at a time when all other countries in Southeast Asia were sticking to their strict laws regulating cannabis within their borders.

In other parts of their world, medical cannabis has been available for a very long time, with lawmakers and lawyers vying to introduce recreational cannabis into the mix. Southeast Asia must be the most indifferent region to cannabis legalization. Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia, for example, have a law that subjects illegal marijuana traffickers to the death penalty.

The low level of support for cannabis in Southeast Asia has allowed Thailand to hold the upper hand in the region’s medicinal cannabis industry – it is at the forefront.

Since medical cannabis was legalized about three years ago, the country has moved in no time to catch up on belated legislation.

Thailand’s Medical Cannabis Legislation

Medical cannabis legislation is usually the first small step a country needs to take. Thailand wrapped this development as a New Year’s gift to its residents in December 2018.

It ranged from supporting one of the toughest penalties for drug violations to growing the drug for medical and economic reasons.

Earlier this year, the government finally approved the personal cultivation of up to six cannabis plants per household. This was an important step as many other countries are not yet allowing it.

Traisulee Traisoranakul, Thailand’s deputy spokeswoman, defended the new change, saying that everyone in the country has the right to grow cannabis as long as they work with a provincial hospital for their medical use. That means anyone wishing to be included in this program must get government approval before they can start planting.

The 1979 Narcotics Act was amended to decriminalize the use of cannabis. Thailand has since set up a hemp cultivation center for medical research in Chiang Mai Province.

The desire to boost the local economy

Making medical cannabis a top government priority in Thailand has done a lot in adding about $ 2 billion to the country’s total economic value. Various market segments are influenced by the emerging medical cannabis industry.

In the few years the industry has been in business, the regulator has issued over 700 licenses for cultivation, extraction and distribution. However, the country has favored public companies over private companies.

The government is committed to ensuring that patients, farmers, researchers, tourists, and other domestic businesses benefit from the medical cannabis industry. While this has created various controversies, authorities are focused on protecting the medical cannabis market from large pharmaceutical companies and intellectual property theft.

Thailand benefits from being the first cannabis legalized country to make adjustments that better position it as the main player in the region’s cannabis market. This ambition is reinforced by the country’s status as one of the strongest export countries within the Free Trade Area of ​​the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

A loan program for cannabis growers

Cannabis growers in need of help starting a cannabis business can now apply for government loans.

Last month, the government directed the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC) to offer loans to aspiring farmers in the county. The new loan program was reported to be in line with the government’s search for a better alternative to growing rice, cassava and rubber trees.

For the first three years, these farmers will have to repay the loan at an annual rate of 0.01%. For a country whose cannabis legislation is less than five years, this is a progressive development that shows how rigid US banking reforms are. In the United States, banks are prohibited from offering any form of traditional services to cannabis companies. Cannabis companies cannot register with these banks, nor do they get access to credit.

With a tiny interest rate tied to its loan program, Thailand appears poised to take on the cannabis industry.

Videos promoting medical cannabis in Thailand

Thailand does business in ways that other cannabis law countries don’t want.

In addition to the bank loan controversy, there is other controversy surrounding the government’s promotion of medical cannabis.

In countries like Canada and the United States where medical cannabis is legalized, promoting the product on social platforms is a criminal act. The Thai government says this will not be a stumbling block for the industry and is encouraging operators to use videos to promote their products instead. The government itself is currently promoting its videos to spread information about the burgeoning cannabis industry. It hopes to remove the stigma associated with cannabis use in a short period of time.

In one of their recent videos uploaded to YouTube, the government stated that the country is a massive source of income while providing medical and health services to citizens at affordable prices.

Currently, the government plans to promote Thailand’s medical cannabis program to boost the country’s tourist presence and economy. To do this, it needs to promote its medical cannabis and get the message across while ensuring that all provisions of the directive are followed.

Bottom line

Removing certain strains of hemp and cannabis from Category 5 narcotics for medical reasons is one of the best decisions a country can make right now.

The cannabis industry is a gold mine that can do more than enough to boost an economy, especially if all cards are played correctly.

Not only does Thailand generate revenue for all of its residents, it is deliberately positioning itself on the right side of history.

Very few countries are adopting cannabis reforms at the same level as Thailand.

The methods and techniques used to implement cannabis reforms in Thailand will serve as a shining example for other Southeast Asian countries.

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