Thailand: Ministerial regulation on cannabis and other implementing regulations

SUBSCRIBEFORWARDWEBSITEAs we approach the end of 2021, a year in which we saw many notable legal developments in the area of cannabis and hemp, the Thai Ministry of Public Health (MOPH) issued the ministerial regulation on the application for and the issuance of the license for the manufacturing, import, export, sale or possession of cannabis (“Ministerial Regulation“). The Ministerial Regulation sets out the implementing framework in relation to the application for licenses required for the manufacturing, import, export, sale and possession of cannabis for medical and research purposes. The Ministerial Regulation makes clear that holders of a modern drug manufacturing license (among others, if the requirements are met) can apply for a license to manufacture cannabis (that is not growing) and import or export cannabis for medical use. Alongside the Ministerial Regulation, the Thai Food and Drug Administration (FDA) also issued guidelines and implementing regulations for the key activities in the cannabis supply chain. These include guidelines and implementing regulations for: the operation of cannabis manufacturing facilities; transportation of cannabis parts; labelling of cannabis parts/extracts; and the manufacturing, dispensing and sale of drugs containing cannabis under the Special Access Scheme.