タイ、大麻規制を緩和　所持・栽培可能に

【バンコクＡＦＰ＝時事】タイは９日から、大麻を麻薬指定から除外し、所持したり栽培したりすることを認めた。（写真はバンコクの「ハイランドカフェ」に並べられた大麻の入った瓶）
　対象となるのは、向精神作用があるテトラヒドロカンナビノール（ＴＨＣ）の含有率が０．２％以下の大麻。所持・販売は合法化されたが、自宅以外での吸引は引き続き認められない。違反した場合、２万５０００バーツ（約９万７０００円）の罰金や３月以下の禁錮刑が科される可能性がある。
　首都バンコクの大麻ショップ「ハイランドカフェ」には同日、多くの人が訪れた。共同オーナーのラッタポン・セーンラック氏（３５）は「夢が実現した」「約１０年間、合法化を求め闘ってきた」と述べた。
　タイでは２０１８年、麻薬規制が厳しいことで知られる東南アジアで初めて、医療用大麻が合法化された。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2022/06/10-13:27）

Thailand relaxed its cannabis laws Thursday, with users permitted to possess and grow the plant -- albeit under complicated new guidelines.
The change comes after Thailand's landmark 2018 legalisation of medicinal cannabis -- the first such move by a country in Southeast Asia, where anti-drugs laws are notoriously harsh.
The kingdom's public health ministry announced in February that marijuana would be removed from its banned narcotics list, and the rules came into effect on Thursday.
Activists welcomed the development and Bangkok cannabis shop Highland Cafe was doing a brisk trade in buds on Thursday.
It's a dream come true, said co-owner Rattapon Sanrak.
We've been fighting for it (legalisation) for about 10 years, the 35-year-old said.
Thailand has previously taken a tough stance on drugs, with people found with cannabis on them facing up to 10 years in prison and a hefty fine.
But some warned against lighting up outside just yet.
While possession and sale of cannabis are now legal, smoking the substance outside your home could still get you arrested.
Offenders could potentially be fined 25,000 baht ($780) and face up to three months in jail.
And cannabis extracts with more than 0.2 percent concentration of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) -- the psychoactive compound that produces the drug's high -- remain illegal.
Activist Cark K. Linn, author of a popular Thai cannabis newsletter, said the latest change was effectively and practically, a very radical legalisation of cannabis in Thailand.
Jeremy Douglas, regional spokesman for the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, urged caution however, saying the legal reforms have been a bit difficult to track.
Fundamentally what we understand from ONCB (Office of the Narcotics Control Board) is that the part of the law governing cannabis has expired while in the review process, and until it is final and cleared by parliament cannabis can be sold, he said.
So it became legal due to the ongoing process, by default, Douglas said, adding that the ONCB maintains the legal THC level will remain at 0.2 percent.
But outside the Highland Cafe people were optimistic.
I think it will take a long way to full legalisation like Canada, like Amsterdam, but I think this is a good step, said 27-year-old Siravit Taweechan as he patiently queued.