Govt approves legal farming of hemp under new drug plan.

PEOPLE in parts of the North will be able to start farming hemp – legally – from next year.

“The Cabinet has already approved hemp as a commercial plant,” Sirinya Sittichai, secretary-general of the Narcotics Control Board, said Tuesday.

“The Thailand Tobacco Monopoly will buy the harvest from growers.”

The plantation areas are 15 districts in six provinces – Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Nan, Phetchabun, Mae Hong Son and Tak.

The permitted species of the herb must contain less than 1 per cent of THC.

“If the THC percentage is higher, growers will face legal punishment,” he said.