Talk about progressive. Thailand is doing more to show how supportive it is of legal marijuana. The country is going to allow Thais to cultivate six cannabis plants in their own homes so they can sell them to the government, which will then turn it into medical marijuana.
“We are in the process of changing laws to allow the medical use of marijuana freely,” said recently-appointed Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul. “We have high confidence that marijuana will be among the major agricultural products for Thai households. We are speeding up the law changes. But there is a process to it.”
It was in September that Anutin said, “In the near future, families will be able to plant cannabis trees in their back gardens like any other herb.”
Thailand’s government also says it has the largest, industrial-scale medical marijuana facility in Southeast Asia.
It was in September that Maejo University researchers planted 12,000 new marijuana seedlings in northern Thailand’s Chiang Mai. The seedlings were provided by the government’s Department of Medical Service, according to the Asia Times.
Officials say the plants will produce medical marijuana within six months.
“The university will be a center where ordinary people can learn how to plant and grow good quality cannabis. Cannabis is not an issue of politics; it is a product that can benefit people’s health,” Anutin said.
