When it comes to the pursuit of cannabis reform and establishing a legal, national cannabis industry you will be hardpressed to find a country that is trying harder than Thailand.
Historically, Thailand was home to some of the harshest cannabis laws on earth. However, after legalizing cannabis for medical use a few years ago Thailand has passed and/or implemented some of the most progressive cannabis policies on the planet.
Arguably the biggest example of that will come in June when every household in the country can sign up to cultivate low-THC cannabis plants. Households can even get a government-backed, low-interest loan to get their operations going.
As pointed out in previous coverage on this website, there will reportedly be no limit to the number of plants that a household can cultivate as long as the garden is registered with the Thailand government.
Thailand’s Health Minister, who is one of the biggest supporters of Thailand’s cannabis industry, announced this week that the government will be giving away 1 million cannabis seeds to aspiring cultivators. Per CNN:
The Thai government will distribute one million free cannabis plants to households across the nation in June to mark a new rule allowing people to grow cannabis at home, its health minister has said.
Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul announced the move in a Facebook post on May 8 in which he expressed his intention for cannabis plants to be grown like “household crops.”
What Thailand is doing is extremely commendable, especially when considering how harsh cannabis laws still are in neighboring countries. Thailand is located in the same region where people are still receiving the death penalty for cannabis-only offenses.
Hopefully, as Thailand continues to pursue meaningful cannabis policy reform and it proves to be successful it will convince countries in the region and everywhere else on the planet to follow suit.