Thai cannabis groups urge government to rethink plan to re-criminalise marijuana

BANGKOK – Dozens of Thai cannabis advocates urged the government on May 16 to abandon its plans to

relist marijuana as an illegal narcotic,

a week after it announced its dramatic policy U-turn just two years after decriminalising it.

Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin has made a push to allow cannabis use only for medical purposes, promising a tough stand on illicit drugs that he said were causing addiction and destroying the future of young people.

Pro-cannabis groups met Public Health Minister Somsak Thepsutin on May 16 and urged him to rethink the policy reversal. Mr Somsak told the group cannabis should be used only for medical purposes.

Mr Prasitchai Nunual, secretary-general of Thailand’s Cannabis Future Network, said: “Even as medical use, don’t bring the people’s plant into the system. It has been our recipe for hundreds of years. When you need licences, there is corruption.”  

Thailand legalised cannabis for research and medical use in 2018 and

in 2022 removed the plant from the national narcotics list,

allowing people to grow, sell and consume cannabis.

That led to an explosion of recreational use, with thousands of cannabis cafes and dispensaries popping up nationwide, especially in tourist hot spots, in an industry projected to be worth up to US$1.2 billion (S$1.6 billion) by 2025.

Critics say liberalisation was rushed by the previous government, with no cannabis Bill drafted or clear rules in place in Thailand, causing widespread public confusion and misuse.

Thailand has a long tradition of using marijuana to relieve pain and fatigue, with use also in traditional medicine and recipes.

But many cannabis businesses say the problem is not recreational use of cannabis, but the haze surrounding rules or regulations.

“There is nothing more reasonable than a comprehensive Cannabis Act, which already addresses the safety concerns like use among children and controlled growth,” activist and cannabis retailer Chokwan Chopaka said. 

“We do not support a Wild West of marijuana in Thailand, but policy that backs farmers, retailers and medical users.” REUTERS