Thailand restricts cannabis use to people aged 20 and above

BANGKOK • The Thai government has issued rules to limit marijuana and hemp access to people aged at least 20, after the decriminalisation of cannabis earlier this month sparked many complaints.

Deputy Prime Minister and Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul yesterday signed the regulations to designate marijuana and hemp as controlled plants.

Those under the age of 20 will not be allowed to own and use them unless they have permission from doctors, he said.

The moves followed local reports that four males, including students aged 16 and 17, had been admitted to hospitals in Bangkok this week for treatment of what was defined as cannabis overdoses.

The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration has said it also plans to ban cannabis in schools.

The Thai government will also issue rules to limit or prohibit cannabis consumption in public and control cannabis in food. These rules will be tools for officials to control and prevent any misuse, Mr Anutin said.

More than 150,000 people registered to grow marijuana and hemp on June 9 as Thailand became the first country in Asia to decriminalise cannabis in a bid to promote its wider use in medicines, food and cosmetics. Declassifying marijuana as a narcotic meant companies and individual farmers were allowed to cultivate the plants in farms and gardens.

Many clinics across the nation will be able to offer medical marijuana to treat various illnesses. Restaurants can serve cannabis-infused dishes and drinks with less than 0.2 per cent tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) - the psychoactive compound that gives users a "high" sensation.

But the possession and sale of cannabis extracts containing more than 0.2 per cent of THC is not allowed, and anyone caught puffing marijuana in public may be liable to a jail term of three months and a fine of as much as 25,000 baht (S$990), according to the Health Ministry.

BLOOMBERG