BANGKOK – Thailand’s Parliament is running out of time to pass a much-awaited Bill to regulate wider use of cannabis as lawmakers remained divided over key provisions of the legislation, leaving the nation’s fast-growing industry in a regulatory limbo.
The House of Representatives failed to conclude the second reading of the Bill on Wednesday, the last session earmarked for the controversial legislation before it goes into a recess next week.
The delay was caused by some factions of lawmakers arguing that the Bill lacked the teeth to prevent recreational use of cannabis and demanding the plant be listed as a narcotic again.
With Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-cha planning to dissolve Parliament next month before polls slated for May, the fate of the Bill will depend on the next government.
A Bill typically needs to be passed by a majority of the members at three readings, before being sent for a Senate approval to become law.
Thailand became the first country in Asia to decriminalise cannabis last year by delisting the plant as a narcotic but has since struggled to prevent its use for recreational purpose and a mushrooming of dispensaries selling everything from cookies and cosmetics laced with its extracts.
Growing concerns about the impact of legalisation on youth have also threatened to set back an industry that is estimated to be worth over US$1 billion (S$1.33 billion) by 2025.
The cannabis liberalisation has divided Thailand’s political parties as Bhumjaithai Party, headed by Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, is seen as a major beneficiary after it spearheaded the plant’s wider use and cultivation by households. Many of the opposition parties and the Democrat Party, a member of the ruling coalition, want to roll back the decriminalisation.
“It’s clear that the Bill will not be passed in this sitting. We will re-submit the cannabis Bill in the next Parliament,” said Mr Supachai Jaisamut, a lawmaker from Bhumjaithai Party. “People who don’t want cannabis to be criminalised again should vote for Bhumjaithai.”
The government has repeatedly said the June decriminalisation was aimed at medical and commercial use for marijuana rather than recreational purposes, though the draft Bill stopped short of explicitly outlawing recreational smoking.
Cannabis-related rules issued by the health ministry are adequate to keep the industry in check for now, Mr Supachai said.
The rules include restrictions on causing unpleasant smells in public, selling to pregnant women or people under 20 and commercial advertising. BLOOMBERG
