Laos
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| Laos | |
|---|---|
| ລາວ (Lao) | |
| |
| A boat on the Nam Ou river at Nong Khiaw, northern Laos | |
| Capital | Vientiane |
| Continent | Asia |
| Subregion | Southeast Asia |
| Cannabis Status | |
| Legal Status | Illegal |
| Status Since | 2017 |
| Enforcement | Prohibition enforced; possession under five grams directed to treatment |
| Documentation | |
| Growing Regions | 3 |
| Growing Areas | 10 |
| Accessions | 55 |
| Conservation | |
| Populations | none documented yet |
Laos is a landlocked country in mainland Southeast Asia, on the middle Mekong. Cannabis is known there as kan xa, a name derived, like its Thai, Khmer and Vietnamese equivalents, from the Sanskrit gañjā.[1]
In the lowlands and along the river the plant was grown in household gardens and sold in the market for smoking, for medicine and for cooking. On the high plateaus it was grown for bast fibre by upland peoples, a practice the ethnobotanist Marie Alexandrine Martin found to be absent from Cambodia altogether.[1]
Martin's fieldwork of 1973 was published in Ethnobotanical Aspects of Cannabis in Southeast Asia. Martin found retail sale of the plant "absolutely free" in Laos as in Cambodia, recorded a Lao grading of the harvest by season and priced a bundle of ten flowering stems at 90 kip against 20 kip for the same number of stems without flowers, which were bought for soup.[1] Cannabis is prohibited; the governing instrument is the Penal Code of 2017 (see Legal status).[2]
The Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle in Paris holds a run of Lao Cannabis sativa sheets that reaches from the French Mekong exploration commission of the 1860s to Martin's own purchases in the market at Vientiane in May 1973.[3][4]
Geography
The country is mountainous, its lowlands lying along the Mekong and its tributaries, with the Annamite Range forming much of the eastern frontier.[citation needed] Martin reported that cultivation was "hardly more widespread" in Laos than in Cambodia, and that the fibre crop belonged to the high plateaus of Laos and Tonkin.[1]
Herbarium sheets of the plant were gathered at Tranninh, now Xiangkhouang Province, in 1920[5] and at Sam Niou, 12 kilometres from Xieng Khouang, in 1952.[6] Martin's sheets of 1973 come from the market at Vientiane and from Ban Xay Fong near the city.[4][7]
Thirteen kilometres downstream from Vientiane, on the bank of the Mekong, lay the village of Ban Het Kansa, "the village of the hemp-covered sand bank", which appears in the geographer Christian Taillard's survey of the Nam Ngum and Mekong banks; Martin found no trace of the plant there.[1]
Demographics
The fourth Population and Housing Census of Laos was conducted in March 2015, and as of December 2022 the fifth was scheduled for March 2025.[8]
Communities with cannabis relationships
In Laos as in Cambodia, smoking cannabis before heavy labour was a male activity.[1]
The fibres of the cannabis stem were scarcely used anywhere in the region except by highland peoples, and the Paris herbarium held sheets from Laos and Tonkin labelled as textile plants but none from Cambodia at all. The colonial agronomists Charles Crévost and Charles Lemarié, writing between 1919 and 1921, described a variety grown early in the twentieth century on the high plateaus of Laos and Tonkin, from which the skirts of the Hmong and Nhung were made. Crévost and Lemarié held that the Hmong, whom they called by the exonym Meo, had brought textile hemp with them from China into the lands north of the Annamite chain in the seventeenth century.[1]
Agriculture
Martin set the cannabis harvest against "the opium fields of Laos" and found it nowhere near their significance. Cultivation in the region was in small plots around the house, not on plantations.[1] The plant on the sheet Martin bought at Vientiane in 1973 was labelled cultivée dans jardin, grown in a garden.[4]
Cannabis in Laos
History
Martin found the date of cannabis's arrival in Southeast Asia unsettled, weighing introduction in the thirteenth or fourteenth century "by the Arabian conquerors" against the Spanish and Portuguese of the sixteenth. The inhabitants themselves attributed the plant to the Indians. The vernacular names across the peninsula, Lao kan xa among them, descend from the Sanskrit, which she reads as an argument for the Indian route.[1]
According to Crévost and Lemarié, textile hemp came into the northern uplands from China in the seventeenth century with the Hmong.[1]
Under the French protectorate the administration of cannabis fell to the Customs and Excise service, the Douanes et Régies, across the whole of French Indochina.[1] The colonial administration tried to extend the fibre crop further south, but the plants reached only about sixty centimetres instead of several metres, and hemp production was afterwards stopped south of a limit in northern Indochina.[1]
Clovis Thorel, the naval surgeon and botanist attached to the French Mekong exploration commission, collected a cannabis specimen in what is now Laos which the Paris catalogue dates to the range 1862 to 1866.[3] The series continues through the collections of 1920 and 1952 to Martin's sheets of 1973.[5][6][4]
Martin reported that retail sale of the plant was "absolutely free" in Cambodia and Laos.[1]
Cultivation
The crop was raised from seed soaked for three days before sowing in open ground, best sown in the rains and harvested in the dry season, though it could be started at any time where there was water, with the inflorescence appearing after four or five months.[1] The sheet Martin bought at Vientiane records the plant as garden-grown and its biological type as a hard herb.[4]
Three qualities of the harvest were distinguished in Laos. The first, taken in winter when the plants were covered with dew, was reckoned the strongest; the second was taken at other times; the third came from plants not gathered at the right moment, whose development might be incomplete and whose euphoric effect was weaker. Martin could not state the distinction more precisely.[1]
Preparations and consumption
Martin sets the hashish of the Arab countries against a regional habit of smoking the plant "with no prior treatment at all", sun-dried and chopped, stem and leaves and inflorescence together, with tobacco added and the mixture usually burned in the bowl of a bamboo water pipe.[1]
In Lao usage the male plant in the botanical sense was kan xa phu or kan xa dok (dok meaning flower), probably because its flowers stand in a visible panicle; the female was kan xa me, and the female group was divided again into hua nok khao (owl head) and kali. In some parts of the country the dried leaves of the kan xa hua nok khao were taken specifically for their euphoric quality.[1] The label of Martin's Vientiane sheet uses the same vocabulary: the vernacular name is Kan Xa mè, glossed as the female plant.[4]
Hemp soup was common across the region. The Chinese soup sold throughout the region contained hemp, in Laos the male or female stems, to bring customers back, a practice later given up in favour of green tea. The cheaper grade Martin priced, stems without flowers at 20 kip for ten, was bought for soup.[1]
Religious and cultural use
Medicinal use of cannabis in Laos was, on Martin's account, slight. She attributes that to the opium derivatives available to the inhabitants instead. Martin recorded a remedy for stomach complaints, ciep thong, and for the swollen stomach known as beng thong or nkung thong, given to cattle and to people, the patient drinking a preparation of male and female leaves.[1]
Sorcerers treated a person afflicted by a phi, phi kha or phi khom by establishing whether the spirit responsible was one that smoked and, if it was, making it an offering of several leaves of kan xa to restore the patient.[1]
Trade and commerce
In 1973 a package of smoking hemp, ten flowering stems, sold at 90 kip, and ten stems without flowers, male or female, at 20 kip; the exchange rate was 600 kip to the United States dollar officially and 840 kip on the parallel market.[1]
Legal status
Cannabis is prohibited. The governing instrument is the Penal Code No. 26/NA, adopted by the National Assembly on 17 May 2017 and promulgated by Presidential Decree No. 118/PO of 26 June 2017, which replaced the Penal Law No. 12/NA of 9 November 2005.[2]
Article 318 covers the planting, production, trade, distribution, transport, possession, import, export and transit of cannabis and cannabis seed, on a scale of quantity. Planting between three and ten kilograms of raw cannabis for trade carries three months to one year and a fine; more than ten kilograms carries one to three years. Dealing in dry cannabis runs from six months to three years below five kilograms up to five to ten years where the quantity exceeds ten kilograms or the dealing is regular or organised.[2]
For tetrahydrocannabinol, hashish and derivatives the same article's scale begins at two to four years for 0.3 to 50 grams and reaches life imprisonment, with confiscation of assets, above 500 grams.[2]
Article 320 governs consumption. A person holding less than five grams of dry cannabis for consumption "shall be regarded as victims and shall be treated or sent for treatment"; between five and ten grams the penalty is six months to two years and a fine. Providing a place or service for cannabis consumption carries three months to five years.[2]
Prohibition predates the current code. The Law on Narcotics No. 10/NA of 25 December 2007 prohibits narcotics. The decree implementing it, No. 076/PM of 20 March 2009, declares the cannabis plant a narcotic-producing plant and prohibits its cultivation and possession. Lao law does not define marijuana or hemp; the authorities usually treat marijuana as synonymous with the cannabis plant, whatever its tetrahydrocannabinol content.[9]
On 28 December 2022 the Ministry of Health issued Decision No. 3789/MOH on the control of hemp for medication and products, which defines hemp, porkeo in Lao, as a plant of the same family as ganja under the name Cannabis sativa L. subsp. sativa var. sativa, and authorises approved companies to cultivate, extract, process, store, distribute, use, import, export and transport it. Dried flowers may carry no more than one per cent tetrahydrocannabinol and products for medical use no more than 0.2 per cent, with at least four times as much cannabidiol as tetrahydrocannabinol. Approval rests with the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Planning and Investment. Ganja itself remains a prohibited narcotic. As of February 2023 the 2007 and 2017 instruments had not been amended to match the decision.[10]
Growing Regions
Growing Areas
Accessions
| Accession ID | Name | Collected | Area |
|---|---|---|---|
| ILE-LAO-VIE-0120210001 | Laos, Vientiane Province 2021 | Vientiane | |
| KHA-LAO-LNA-0120140001 | Lao Highland 2014 | Muang Sing | |
| Martin 1860 (1973) | Martin 1860 herbarium specimen, Vientiane market (1973) | ||
| Martin 1861 (1973) | Martin 1861 herbarium specimen, Laos (1973) | ||
| Martin 1864 (1973) | Martin 1864 herbarium specimen, Ban Xay Fong (1973) | ||
| Martin 1865 (1973) | Martin 1865 herbarium specimen, Ban Xay Fong (1973) | ||
| Martin 1866 (1973) | Martin 1866 herbarium specimen, Ban Xay Fong (1973) | ||
| Maxwell 98-468 (1998) | Maxwell 98-468 herbarium specimen, Don Long (1998) | ||
| Miéville 41082 (1920) | Miéville 41082 herbarium specimen, Tranninh (1920) | ||
| NPG-LAO-BOL-0020200001 | Highland Lao #3 General Population 2020 | ||
| NPG-LAO-BOL-0020210001 | Highland Lao #2 General Population 2021 | ||
| NPG-LAO-BOL-0020240001 | Namkading General Population | ||
| NPG-LAO-BOL-0020260001 | Hmong D-Type General Population | ||
| NPG-LAO-LNA-0020220001 | Burmese General Population 2022 | ||
| NPG-LAO-UNK-0020230001 | Lao Gold General Population | ||
| NPG-LAO-UNK-0020230002 | Lao Sa General Population | ||
| NPG-LAO-UNK-0020230003 | Lao Village General Population | ||
| Poilane 1897 (1920) | Poilane 1897 herbarium specimen, Muong Pun (1920) | ||
| Poilane 2365 (1920) | Poilane 2365 herbarium specimen, Ban na Punh (1920) | ||
| RSC-LAO-BOK-0120210001 | Bokeo General Population 2021 | ||
| RSC-LAO-BOK-0120220001 | Bokeo #2 General Population 2022 | ||
| RSC-LAO-BOL-0120190001 | Highland Lao General Population 2019 | Bolikhamsai | |
| RSC-LAO-BOL-0120220001 | Highland Lao #4 General Population 2022 | Bolikhamsai | |
| RSC-LAO-BOL-0120230001 | Highland Lao #5 General Population 2023 | Bolikhamsai | |
| RSC-LAO-BOL-0120240001 | Highland Lao #6 General Population 2024 | Bolikhamsai | |
| RSC-LAO-BOL-0120240002 | Hmong Ganja General Population 2024 | Bolikhamsai | |
| RSC-LAO-BOL-0120250001 | Highland Lao #7 General Population 2025 | Bolikhamsai | |
| RSC-LAO-CHA-0120240001 | Champasak General Population 2024 | Champasak | |
| RSC-LAO-HOU-0120250001 | Hmong Hemp General Population 2025 | ||
| RSC-LAO-UNK-0120230001 | Mango Thai General Population 2023 | ||
| RSC-LAO-UNK-0120230002 | Mango Thai #2 General Population 2023 | ||
| RSC-LAO-UNK-0120240001 | Lao Sa General Population 2024 | ||
| RSC-LAO-UNK-0120260001 | Lao Gold General Population 2026 | ||
| RSC-LAO-VIE-0120220001 | Central Lao General Population 2022 | Vientiane | |
| RSC-LAO-VIE-0120230001 | Mekong General Population 2023 | Vientiane | |
| RSC-LAO-VIE-0120240001 | Mekong #2 General Population 2024 | Vientiane | |
| Thorel 3009 (1862–1866) | Thorel 3009 herbarium specimen, Mekong expedition (1862–1866) | ||
| VIB-LAO-UNK-0100000001 | Laos General Population | ||
| Vidal 1526 (1952) | Vidal 1526 herbarium specimen, Sam Niou (1952) | ||
| ZOM-LAO-CHA-0220250011 | Pakse 'JC' General Population #1 2024 | Champasak | |
| ZOM-LAO-CHA-0220250021A | Pakse 'JC' General Population #2 2023 A | Champasak | |
| ZOM-LAO-CHA-0220250021B | Pakse 'JC' General Population #2 2024 B | Champasak | |
| ZOM-LAO-CHA-0220250021C | Pakse 'JC' General Population #2 2024 C | Champasak | |
| ZOM-LAO-CHA-0220250031A | Pakse 'JC' General Population #3 2024 A | Champasak | |
| ZOM-LAO-CHA-0220250031B | Pakse 'JC' General Population #3 2024 B | Champasak | |
| ZOM-LAO-CHA-0220250041A | Mekong Gold 'Papa Mon' General Population 2024 | 4000 Islands | |
| ZOM-LAO-CHA-0220250041B | Mekong Gold 'Papa Mon' General Population 2024 | 4000 Islands | |
| ZOM-LAO-CHA-0220250041C | Mekong Gold 'Papa Mon' General Population 2024 | 4000 Islands | |
| ZOM-LAO-CHA-0220250051 | Mekong Gold 'Khun Wath' General Population #1 2024 | 4000 Islands | |
| ZOM-LAO-CHA-0220250061 | Mekong Gold 'Khun Wath' General Population #2 2024 | 4000 Islands | |
| ZOM-LAO-CHA-0220250071 | Mekong Gold 'Khun Wath' General Population #3 2024 | 4000 Islands | |
| ZOM-LAO-LUA-112023001 | Nong Khiaw General Population 2023 | Nam Ou Valley | |
| ZOM-LAO-LUA-112023002 | Luang Prabang General Population 2023 | ||
| ZOM-LAO-SAI-112023001 | Sainyabuli 'Xayaboury Madness' General Population | Xayaboury | |
| ZOM-LAO-XAY-0020210001 | Muang Xai General Population 2021 |
Conservation status
Recent news
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See also
References
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 Martin, Marie Alexandrine (1975). "Ethnobotanical Aspects of Cannabis in Southeast Asia". In Rubin, Vera (ed.). Cannabis and Culture. The Hague: Mouton. pp. 63–76. doi:10.1515/9783110812060.63.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 "Penal Code No. 26/NA of 17 May 2017" (PDF). National Assembly of the Lao People's Democratic Republic. 17 May 2017. Retrieved 23 September 2026 – via Lao Official Gazette.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Occurrence 731718321: Cannabis sativa L." GBIF. Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Retrieved 23 September 2026.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 "Occurrence 731718381: Cannabis sativa L." GBIF. Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Retrieved 23 September 2026.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Occurrence 731417277: Cannabis sativa L." GBIF. Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Retrieved 3 October 2026.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Occurrence 731718305: Cannabis sativa L." GBIF. Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Retrieved 3 October 2026.
- ↑ "Occurrence 730907340: Cannabis sativa L." GBIF. Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Retrieved 3 October 2026.
- ↑ United Nations Population Fund (December 2022). The 5th Population and Housing Census of Lao PDR, 3rd Brief (PDF) (Report). UNFPA Lao PDR. Retrieved 23 September 2026.
- ↑ Santaniello, Dino. "Outlook for Cannabis Liberalization and CBD Market Authorization in Laos". Tilleke & Gibbins. Retrieved 23 September 2026.
- ↑ Santaniello, Dino (21 February 2023). "Laos Approves Hemp-Related Activities". Tilleke & Gibbins. Retrieved 23 September 2026.