Thailand moves to recriminalise cannabis, except for medical use
The government’s abrupt reversal follows a pro-weed party’s exit from the ruling coalition, leaving a booming, unregulated industry in limbo
The Thai government is moving to re-criminalise cannabis – except for medical use – after a pro-weed party quit the coalition, with political turmoil becoming the latest threat to the massive and largely unregulated industry.
A new health ministry notification requiring medical prescriptions for cannabis was signed earlier this week and should become effective imminently, Public Health Minister Somsak Thepsutin said on Tuesday. A failure to formulate cannabis regulations following its 2022 decriminalisation has led to the mushrooming of more than 10,000 dispensaries and widespread recreational use, he said.
“It’s a festering problem and we have received so many complaints,” Somsak told reporters before a cabinet meeting. “Today it is classified as a strictly regulated herb for medical uses, but in the future it will be a narcotic.”
The threat to put cannabis back on the list of illegal narcotics is nothing new. The issue had long been a flash point between the ruling Pheu Thai Party of Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra and its then-ally Bhumjathai Party, which spearheaded the decriminalisation policy.