Thai Cannabis Policy U-Turn a ‘Victory’ for People, Key Party Says

By Patpicha TanakasempipatJuly 25, 2024 

(Bloomberg) -- Thailand’s move to shelve a plan to re-criminalize cannabis in favor of tightening regulations is a “people’s victory,” according to the leader of a party that’s widely credited for spearheading a landmark decriminalization two years ago.

The government will consider several draft legislations after Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin earlier this week gave in to demands to withdraw the plan to classify cannabis as a narcotic again, Anutin Charnvirakul, a deputy prime minister and the leader of Bhumjaithai Party, told reporters on Thursday.

“This is a people’s victory, not ours,” said Anutin, whose vocal disagreement with the premier on how to regulate the nascent industry had created tensions within the government.

Among the bills under consideration are Bhumjaithai’s version that was submitted to parliament last September and another draft proposed by former public health minister Cholnan Srikaew to the cabinet earlier this year, Anutin said.

Thailand’s cannabis industry has been operating in a legal vacuum after a military-backed government decriminalized marijuana in June 2022 before lawmakers could agree on how to regulate it. Anutin’s Bhumjaithai Party, which made cannabis decriminalization the centerpiece of its 2019 election campaign, couldn’t get its proposal passed before the 2023 general election.

The decriminalization led to the opening of about 8,000 dispensaries across the country and rampant recreational use in the absence of an explicit ban.

Srettha’s directive for a comprehensive law to control the industry has come as welcome news for the thousands of growers, dispensaries and users in Thailand, who were bracing for weed to be once again classified as a narcotics.

A new law is still likely to clamp down on the liberal use of cannabis and limit it to medical and commercial use. Officially, all major Thai political parties back cannabis only for medical purposes and as a cash crop that can boost farmers’ income.

It remains to be seen what lawmakers will agree on in regulating the industry. Cholnan’s draft sought to explicitly outlaw recreational use of marijuana, but Bhumjaithai’s version has been criticized for not going far enough to provide a safeguard against weed addictions among the youth.

Anutin said he was confident that a legislation will secure parliament approval. “I’m confident in my prime minister,” he said. “He already gave a command for it to happen.”

©2024 Bloomberg L.P.