Dozens of cannabis advocates urged the government on Thursday to abandon its plans to relist marijuana as an illegal narcotic, a week after it announced a dramatic policy U-turn just two years after decriminalising it.
Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin is pushing 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 with Public Health Minister Somsak Thepsutin on Thursday and urged him to rethink the policy reversal.
“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,” said Prasitchai Nunual, secretary-general of Thailand’s Cannabis Future Network.
The country first legalised cannabis for research and medical use in 2018. In June 2022 the government of Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha 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 hotspots, in an industry projected to be worth up to $1.2 billion by 2025.
Critics say liberalisation was rushed by the previous government, with no cannabis bill drafted or clear rules in place, which led to 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. Mr Somsak told the group that cannabis should be used only for medical purposes.
Mr Somsak’s predecessor as minister, Dr Cholnan Srikaew, had been pushing for tough legislation to curb the recreational use of cannabis. He had prepared a bill that would clearly spell out approved medicinal uses of the plant, as well as what forms of consumption would be banned.
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 “Kitty” Chopaka said.
“We do not support a wild west of marijuana in Thailand, but policy that backs farmers, retailers and medical users.”
- Editorial: Control weed, don’t kill it
