Thailand’s new government is moving ahead to pass new legislation banning cannabis for recreational use in a major reversal 18 months after the country became the first in Asia to decriminalise the plant.
The relaxed laws gave rise to a lucrative cannabis industry catering to locals and foreigners alike across the nation.
However, a new conservative coalition government came to power late last year vowing to tighten the rules and only allow medical use.
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Thailand’s health ministry this week released a draft bill outlining hefty fines or prison sentences of up to one year — or both — for offenders.
Cannabis and cannabis-related products will be limited to medical and health purposes only, the bill states, echoing Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin’s pledge in September that his new government will “rectify” laws on cannabis within the next six months.
Smoking marijuana in public remained illegal even under the relaxed laws, but the proposed new laws will ban advertising and marketing campaigns for cannabis buds and extracts and other cannabis products.
An earlier draft bill failed to win parliamentary approval in November.
Thavisin has been vocal about banning recreational cannabis and stated in several interviews that drug abuse is “a big problem for Thailand”.
CNN has reached out to Thailand’s Health Minister Cholnan Srikaew for further comment about the new proposal.
Reversing history
Thailand became the first country in Asia to fully decriminalise cannabis in June 2022, a move years in the making and a rarity in a region where many countries give long jail terms and even death sentences for people convicted of marijuana possession, consumption or trafficking.
In nearby Hong Kong, even non-psychoactive cannabidoil (CBD) is outlawed.
Singapore maintains the death penalty for trafficking drugs, and residents travelling to Thailand are warned they could still be prosecuted on return if they smoke weed overseas.
Medical marijuana has been legal in Thailand since 2018, but decriminalisation in 2022 took things a step further — making it no longer a crime to grow and trade marijuana and hemp products, or to use any parts of the plant to treat illnesses.
Since then, thousands of cannabis dispensaries have sprung up across Thailand, as well as other cannabis-themed businesses such as weed cafes and hemp spas and beauty treatment.
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Cities such as Chiang Mai and the capital Bangkok have even held weed festivals, and decriminalisation has been a major draw for tourists.
But Anutin Charnvirakul, the former health minister who strongly lobbied for cannabis legalisation in the country, previously told CNN that the intention was never to allow Thais and tourists to smoke weed recreationally in public.
“Thailand will promote cannabis policies for medical purposes. There has never once been a moment that we would think about advocating people to use cannabis in terms of recreation — or use it in a way that it could irritate others,” Anutin said.
“We (have always) emphasised using cannabis extractions and raw materials for medical purposes and for health.”
Pro-legislation advocates have argued the cannabis boom across Thailand has helped many Thais, from farmers to small business owners and workers behind the counter.
Cannabis entrepreneurs previously told CNN they were strongly against any legislation that would hurt the growing multibillion-dollar industry.
The Future Cannabis Network, an advocacy group in Thailand, expressed disappointment at the government’s actions and stressed the importance of “public involvement”.
Kitty Chopaka, a Bangkok-based cannabis entrepreneur who has pushed for cannabis legalisation for years, called it a knee-jerk reaction from the government but said it was “not unexpected”.
“But no matter what happens with the incoming cannabis regulations, it is now too late for cannabis to go back to being classified as narcotics,” Chopaka said.
