IN ASIA
YEARS AFTER BECOMING THE FIRST ASIAN COUNTRY TO DECRIMINALIZE THE PLANT, A NEW ORDER TO BAN THE SALE OF CANNABIS WITHOUT A PRESCRIPTION IN THAILAND HAS COME INTO EFFECT.
THE NEW ORDER, SIGNED BY THAI HEALTH MINISTER, SOMSAK THEPSUTIN RECLASSIFIES THE PLANT AS CONTROLLED HERB AND BANS SHOPS FROM SELLING CANNABIS TO CUSTOMERS WITHOUT A PRESCRIPTION.
THE MINISTER, CITING A PUNISHMENT FROM THE 1999 ACT OF PROTECTION AND PROMOTION OF TRADITIONAL THAI MEDICINE WISDOM, NOTED THAT A VIOLATION OF THE WOULD RESULT IN A MAXIMUM ONE-YEAR JAIL TERM AND A $614 FINE.
