This week the country of Thailand became the first in Asia to approve the de factor decriminalization of cannabis.

On Tuesday Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul announced that the Narcotics Control Board had approved dropping cannabis from the ministry’s list of controlled drugs.

The delisting by the ministry’s Food and Drug Administration will now need to be formally signed by the health minister and enters into effect 120 days after its publication in the government gazette.

The move follows the removal of cannabis — a plant species to which both marijuana and hemp belong — last month from the list of illegal drugs under Thailand’s Narcotics Law.

Police and lawyers that were contacted by The Associated Press said it was unclear if possession of marijuana would no longer be an offense subject to arrest.

The Health Ministry measure retains on its list of controlled drugs parts from the cannabis plant that contain more than 0.2% by weight of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the psychoactive ingredient that gives users a high.

Anutin said last week that the FDA’s delisting “responds to the government’s urgent policy in developing marijuana and hemp for medical and health care benefits, developing technology and creating income for the public.”

Anutin’s party announced that on Wednesday it will propose in Parliament a draft Cannabis Act to clarify the legal status of marijuana.


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