{"id":48675,"date":"2019-11-18T18:18:21","date_gmt":"2019-11-18T18:18:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/merryjane.com\/thailands-home-growers-will-supply-the-government-with-weed\/"},"modified":"2019-11-18T18:18:21","modified_gmt":"2019-11-18T18:18:21","slug":"thailands-home-growers-will-supply-the-government-with-weed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/merryjane.com\/news\/thailands-home-growers-will-supply-the-government-with-weed\/","title":{"rendered":"Thailand\u2019s Home Growers Will Supply the Government with Weed"},"content":{"rendered":"

[Editor’s Note: This article originally stated that North Korea never banned cannabis. North Korea never banned hemp, but THC-rich varieties of cannabis are illegal there.]<\/em><\/p>\n

As Americans continue to bicker over home grows fueling black markets<\/u><\/a>, and Canada\u2019s government recovers from a year of legal weed shortages<\/u><\/a>, Thailand may be setting the world\u2019s standards for how federal legalization should operate.<\/p>\n

On Wednesday, Thai officials announced a new law that would let home growers sell their medical marijuana to the government, which controls the nation\u2019s supply of legal cannabis. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe have high confidence that marijuana will be among the major agricultural products for Thai households,\u201d the nation\u2019s new Health Minister, Anutin Charnvirakul, said<\/u><\/a> during a press conference in Bangkok. \u201cWe are speeding up the law changes. But there is a process to it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thailand launched its medical marijuana program at the start of 2019<\/u><\/a>, becoming the first Asian nation to dramatically reform its anti-weed laws. At the end of the summer, the first harvests were converted into cannabis oils and dispensed directly to the country\u2019s hospitals<\/u><\/a>. A few months ago, Thailand also became the first Asian country to develop its own medical cannabis strain<\/u><\/a>, dubbed Issara 01, indicating that the Land of Smiles is well on its way to becoming the region\u2019s leader in legal weed regulations.<\/p>\n

Thailand\u2019s government is also one of the only governments in the world that puts marijuana seized from criminal organizations to good use. (Most governments destroy black market weed by incinerating it<\/u><\/a>.) Black market cannabis confiscated by Thai cops is lab tested just like the nation\u2019s legal herb, and if it passes safety and quality measures, it\u2019s added to the nation\u2019s medical cannabis supply so it can be given back to patients<\/u><\/a>. <\/p>\n

Gallery \u2014 Weed Porn and Cannabis Up-Close:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n