Growers can now register at the newly opened https://plookganjaweb.fda.moph.go.th, in addition to the original registration portal at http://plookganja.fda.moph.go.th/. The new channel was added after more than 200,000 people registered themselves as marijuana growers through the Plookganja website and mobile application. The registration system has received more than 22.8 million visitors since it was opened on Thursday, when cannabis was removed from the narcotics list under Thai law. As of Friday, the FDA has issued almost 300,000 electronic registration certificates for people to grow the herb.

Navy gives China firm 2 monthsNavy chief of staff Adm Tharoengsak Sirisawat, right, and Liu Song, a visiting vice president of China Shipbuilding & Offshore International Co (CSOC), in their meeting at the Royal Thai Navy headquarters in Bangkok on Thursday. (Photo supplied)The Royal Thai Navy (RTN) has given China Shipbuilding & Offshore International Co (CSOC) two more months to honour its agreement to supply the navy with an S26T Yuan-class submarine with German-made MTU396 diesel engines, RTN spokesman Pokkrong Monthatphalin said. CSOC said it had tried negotiating with the German firm via business-to-business and government-to-government talks as well as diplomatic approaches, he added. The RTN told the Chinese company the diesel engine must meet four key requirements. Thailand procured its first Yuan-class S26T submarine from China back in 2017 for 13.5 billion baht.

Thailand to go slow with rate hikes as pandemic drag lingersA shift by Thailand's central bank to a more hawkish footing this week stunned markets and appeared to finally end policymakers' tolerance for mounting price pressures, but a range of risks are likely to keep any tightening gradual. Other analysts see conviction in the central bank's acknowledgement of inflation as an issue, and have added a series of rate hikes to their projections for this year from none previously. "If the expected rate hikes disrupt the recovery or the global economy faces a severe slowdown, the BOT may choose to hit the brakes (on hikes)," Tisco Group economist Thammarat Kittisiripat said. He expects a quarter-point rate hike at each of the remaining three meetings this year, taking the rate to 1.25%. Kriengkrai Thiennukul, chairman of the Federation of Thai Industries, said smaller firms have yet to recover from the pandemic.

“Each household will be allowed two free plants, which means at least half a million households in Thailand will be growing marijuana,” Mananya said. Registrants must provide their ID card number, mobile number (for one-time password), and give their reason for growing cannabis and the number of plants they will cultivate. Plants offered for free by the government are a Thai strain called Issara 01, developed by the Department of Medical Services and Department of Agriculture. Mananya said more Thai strains would be made available soon, including the Hang Karok (Squirrel Tail), Hang Sua (Tiger Tail), Tanaosri, and Phuphan. The ministry aims to give away all 1 million plants before year-end, or 100,000 to 200,000 plants per month.

Dr Paisarn said that apart from the online registration requirement, growers will not have to seek permission to cultivate plants. After registering, people can grow and use cannabis or hemp for medical and commercial purposes, the FDA secretary-general said. The committee will be disbanded after the bill on cannabis and hemp is enacted into law, Mr Anutin said. Thawatchai Chaiwat, deputy director-general of the Corrections Department, said a total of 3,071 inmates serving time for cannabis offences were released from prisons nationwide on Thursday when the delisting took effect. But if they smoke it in public areas and cause a public disturbance, they can face charges, he said.

Before planting the herbs, individuals need to register via the Plookganja app or the http://plookganja.fda.moph.go.th website and get a digital certificate. Applicants need to provide information on the number of plants they intend to grow and explain why. “The app and website crashed by 4pm after receiving 9,023,194 applications,” Panthep Phuaphongphan, spokesman for Public Health Ministry’s committee on communication and public relation for marijuana usage, said on Thursday. “The FDA is working to improve the application and website to accommodate more applicants,” he said. This is in line with the Public Health Ministry’s aim to make marijuana and hemp new cash crops.

Vehicles refuel at a PTT petrol station on Nawamin Road as retail oil prices have been soaring the past few weeks. The refinery margin is part of the retail oil price that drivers pay at petrol stations, and is essentially a cost added to the crude oil price during the refining process. This marks the first time the ministry has considered an intervention since global oil prices started soaring late last year. The government has capped the diesel price since October last year by spending money from the Oil Fuel Fund and reducing the diesel excise tax to support its price subsidy programme. This caused authorities to carefully manage the diesel price subsidy programme.

Over 100,000 people register to grow cannabisSriranchakri Rirkrit, an academic at the provincial public health office of Samut Prakan, shows cannabis plants in the compound of the office in Muang district on Thursday as cannabis cultivation is legalised. (Photo: Somchai Poomlard)More than 100,000 people registered to cultivate cannabis via the application and website of the Food and Drug Administration on Thursday morning as the legalisation of cannabis and hemp took effect. FDA secretary-general Dr Paisarn Dunkum said on Thursday that the new law allows people to grow hemp and cannabis only if they register with the FDA via the "ปลูกกัญ" app and https://plookganja.fda.moph.go.th. Dr Paisarn said that apart from the online registration, growers would not have to seek permission to cultivate the plants. If the certification is later found to have been abused, it will be revoked, Dr Paisarn said.

The online shop has been set up under cooperation between the Thai space agency and the Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation Ministry in a bid to sell high-resolution satellite images, maps of flooded areas, thermal images of hotspots, maps of economic crop cultivation, maps of dust particles (PM2.5 and PM10) nationwide with complete statistics and updates every two weeks. The Awagad shop also provides GIS-related services such as multimedia and podcasts that focus on space and GIS technology. Furthermore, GISTDA is holding a promotional campaign from now until the year-end. Every item in the form of a digital file is priced at THB0. Just register and download your selected digital maps & satellite images for free.

Phetchaburi province is hosting Phetchaburi Harmony World Shadow Puppet Festival 2022 from Sept 9 to 11. The event also gathers Nang Yai from across Thailand, including Nang Yai Wat Khanon, Nang Yai Wat Ban Don, Nang Yai Wat Sawang Arom, Nang Yai of King Rama IX, and Nang Tailung, from the South, the Central, and Nang Bug Tue from the Northeastern region. Phetchaburi Harmony World Shadow Puppet Festival 2022 will be held at the King Mongkut Memorial Park, Phra Nakhon Khiri in Phetchaburi and the exhibition “Life In Shadows” will present collections of puppet art photos from Southeast Asia. Vietjet resumes Phuket-Ho Chi Minh routeVietjet airline recently announced the resumption of its Phuket-Ho Chi Minh City route following the easing of travel restrictions. Coming the other way, the flight departs from Ho Chi Minh City at 9am and lands in Phuket at 11am.

The public do not need to seek permission to grow the plants but they must register via the Food and Drug Administration’s Plookganja app or website http://plookganja.fda.moph.go.th. However, a lot of people found it difficult to access the app and website, both of which were down. To solve the problem, the FDA has opened another website for registration at https://plookganjaweb.fda.moph.go.th.

Passengers at Suvarnabhumi airport go through immigration procedures under the Thailand Pass system, which is expected to be cancelled on July 1. (Photo: Wichan Charoenkiatpakul)The 300-baht tourism fee faces a delay in implementation, beginning in the fourth quarter at the earliest, while the cancellation of Thailand Pass is expected from July 1, according to the Tourism and Sports Ministry. The tourism fee was previously on the agenda for the cabinet meeting this week, but the ministry withdrew the proposal to sort out fee collection for land entry. He said the ministry plans to resubmit the proposal to the cabinet within two months, with fee collection beginning 90 days after publication in the Royal Gazette. "Eliminating the Thailand Pass system means tourists don't have to buy travel insurance anymore, which should help make travel more convenient," he said.

Starting on Thursday, Thais will be able to cultivate cannabis and hemp for home and medicinal use, though there are unresolved questions. In a highly anticipated move, Thailand is set to decriminalise cannabis and hemp on June 9 as a new law takes effect. A new draft law on cannabis control is being deliberated in parliament. Kulkanya Vorawanichar, senior associate at Bangkok-based law firm LawPlus, said the Cannabis and Hemp Act is still in draft form. “In the interim period [before the draft act becomes law], there is no specific law imposing penalties on people who fail to notify the FDA that they wish to grow cannabis.

Rapiphat said those who want to import seeds of the three crops must present a phytosanitary certificate from the country of origin and a certificate that the seeds are not GMO produce. The import licence will be issued a day after the required documents are submitted, Rapiphat explained. He advised those who want to sell seeds of the three crops to sell only seeds that are endorsed by the Agriculture Department. “So, I would like to invite researchers and developers of hemp, marijuana and kratom to register with the Agriculture Department to seek endorsement of their species,” Rapipat said. Rapipat said his department is in charge of the three crops’ seeds now that they are no longer narcotics starting from Thursday.

DTAC-True merger poses risk to growthDTAC customers at a service centre in Bangkok. This would translate to a reduction in GDP growth worth between 8.2 billion baht and 323 billion baht, based on the country’s GDP in 2021. The study also looked into efficiency gain assumptions following the merger by categorising them into three levels — zero, 5% and 10% efficiency gains. Efficiency gain pertains to the percentage of cost reduction as a result of the merger. A reduction in GDP growth by 0.170.33% could be expected when there is tacit collusion, and a decline of 0.581.99% could happen if a cartel develops, he said.