Dozens of Thai cannabis advocates urged the federal government on Thursday to desert plans to re-list marijuana as an illegal drug, every week after it announced a dramatic policy to reverse the problem just two years after its decriminalization.
Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin has insisted that the usage of cannabis should only be allowed for medical purposes, promising a troublesome stance on illegal drugs that he says cause addiction and destroy the longer term of young people.
On Thursday, cannabis advocacy groups met with the health secretary and urged him to reconsider the policy change.
“Even for medical purposes, do not introduce a human plant into the system. This has been our recipe for hundreds of years. When licenses are needed, corruption occurs,” said Prasitchai Nunual, secretary general of Thailand’s Cannabis Future Network.
Thailand first legalized cannabis for research and medical purposes in 2018, and two years ago removed the plant from the national drug list, allowing people to grow, sell and consume cannabis.
This has led to an explosion in recreational use, with thousands of cannabis cafes and dispensaries popping up across the country, especially in popular tourist locations, in an industry expected to be worth as much as $1.2 billion by 2025.
Critics say the previous government rushed liberalization because Thailand had no draft cannabis law and no clear rules in place, leading to widespread public confusion and abuse.
Thailand has a long tradition of using marijuana to relieve pain and fatigue, with use also in traditional medicine and recipes. Public Health Minister Somsak Thapsutin said cannabis should only be used for medical purposes.
However, many cannabis companies say the problem is not recreational use of cannabis, but the fog surrounding rules and regulations.
“There is nothing more sensible than a comprehensive cannabis bill that already addresses safety issues such as use among children and controlled growth,” said activist and cannabis retailer Chokwan Chopaka.
“We don’t support the wild west of marijuana in Thailand, but [a] policies to support farmers, retailers and medical users.”
