Facts
Recreational Use
Yes it is now legal to use cannabis even for recreational use in Thailand. Officially you must be older than 20 years old and smoking is only allowed in private or in designated rooms for that. Smoking in public for recreational use is still punishable by up to 3 month jail or a fine of up to 25.000 baht- this was announced in the Royal Gazette on 14th June 2022.
Posession
Possession is legal as leaves, stems and flowers of the cannabis plant has been removed from the narcotic list. Also here it applies that you have to be older than 20 years. Also be reminded that this only counts for leaves, stems and flowers of cannabis; extracts or any other kind of processed cannabis is regulated to have a max. Content of 0.2% of the active substances THC/ CBD. Meaning extracts and any kind of processed cannabis products exceeding these limits are still controlled by the narcotics act and are punishable by prison and/ or fine.
Buying
It is legal to buy cannabis products following the laws: only above 20 years old, counts for leaves, stems and flowers of cannabis only, Extracts and edibles only legal if not exceeding the limited active content of THC/ CBD max 0.2%. It is recommended to buy from official dispensaries/ shops only- there’s a big grey market online. So far no limitations on max quantities or weight have been imposed by law
Growing
Growing cannabis at home is even encouraged by the Thai Government and they are even giving away free plants to citizens- the main background is to encourage people to use cannabis for medical purposes. Even growing for recreational use is not punishable anymore and is legally allowed; but there has been no clear definitions of up to how many plants yet. Also it is recommend to follow the official process for this by the government and register via a special designed app for this: Plookganja – https://plookganja.fda.moph.go.th
Growing for commercial use requires a valid license which can be registered trough official bodies (FDA). Foreign individuals or companies are excluded from this.
Selling
Since 16th November 2022 it is now officially required to have a license to be able to sell any cannabis product- which still is relatively easy to obtain. Also since 16th November it is now prohibited to sell cannabis products via electronic channels or computer networks. The seller must be of minimum age of 20 also it is prohibited to sell to persons under 20 years old and to sell to pregnant or breastfeeding women. Newly prohibited is to sell to “students” the term of “students” however is not clearly defined.
The official cannabis regulations published on 16th November 2022 you can read here.
https://www.highthailand.com/new-official-cannabis-regulations/
Please note that these so far not are being enforced 100% so far!
As a foreign individual to work you need to follow the quite strict labour laws and without the correct visa/ work permit it is not legal- For the cultivation of cannabis foreigners are already excluded to take part so most likely regulations regarding selling for foreigners will follow.
THC
So far the content of THC in raw flowers is NOT controlled or regulated. However all extracts or any other kind of processed cannabis (edibles) is regulated to have a max THC amount of 0.2%. Extracts and other processed forms exceeding this limit are so far only legal for medical purpose and with the licence for medical use of cannabis.
The regulations regarding raw flowers could change in the future as again the act controlling this is up to date only a draft
CBD
So far the content of CBD in raw flowers is NOT controlled or regulated. However all extracts or any other kind of processed cannabis (edibles) is regulated to have a max CBD amount of 0.2%. Extracts and other processed forms exceeding this limit are so far only legal for medical purpose and with the licence for medical use of cannabis.
The regulations regarding raw flowers could change in the future as again the act controlling this is up to date only a draft
Medical Cannabis
Medical use was before only possible with the correct licence for it which must have been prescribed by an authorised body. As the plant was completely decriminalised theoretically to own, grow, buy and use cannabis in the raw form is fully legal and does not require a licence anymore. However many forms of medical cannabis are not in the raw form and are extracts or processed forms which as of now are limited to a content of max 0.2% THC or CBD. USing these types of cannabis it is still required to have the certain licence to use it legally.Â
Edibles
All extracts or any other kind of processed cannabis (edibles) is regulated to have a max CBD amount of 0.2%. Extracts and other processed forms exceeding this limit are so far only legal for medical purpose and with the licence for medical use of cannabis.