Thailand will reintroduce cannabis onto its drug list by the tip of the 12 months, its prime minister said on Tuesday, a surprising turnaround just two years after it became certainly one of the primary countries in Asia to decriminalize its recreational use.
These moves got here despite the rapid expansion of the country’s marijuana retail sector, with tens of hundreds of stores and businesses opening in Thailand over the past two years, estimated to be price $1.2 billion by 2025.
“I want the Ministry of Health to change the regulations and put cannabis back on the list of drugs,” Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said on social media platform X. “The Ministry should quickly issue a regulation allowing its use only for health and medical purposes. “
Cannabis was decriminalized for medical use in 2018 and recreational use in 2022 under the previous government, but critics say liberalization was rushed, resulting in huge confusion over rules and regulations.
Sretta’s remarks came after a meeting with drug enforcement agencies during which he pledged to take a strong stance on illicit drugs and ordered authorities to deliver results and show “clear progress” within the next 90 days.
“Drugs are a problem that is destroying the future of the country, many young people are addicted. We must act quickly and confiscate property [of drug dealers] and expand treatment,” he said.
He also asked authorities to redefine what possession of medicine legally means from “a small amount” to “one pill” to permit authorities to implement the law more stringently.
Sretha’s government has previously said it desires to introduce a cannabis law by the tip of the 12 months that may ban recreational marijuana and only allow its use for medical and health purposes.
It was not immediately clear when cannabis could be relisted as a drug or what processes would want to occur first.
Prasitchai Nunual, secretary general of Thailand’s Cannabis Future Network, said recriminalizing cannabis could be a nasty move for the economy and would deal an enormous blow to small businesses and consumers.
“A lot of people are growing cannabis and opening marijuana stores. They will have to be closed,” he said.
“If scientific results show that cannabis is worse than alcohol and cigarettes, then they can put it back on the drug list. If marijuana is less harmful, they should also list cigarettes and alcohol as drugs.”
