Australian tourists warned as Thailand overhauls cannabis laws, re-criminalises drug for recreational use
Aussie holidaymakers have been warned not to be caught out unaware after Thailand made sweeping changes to its cannabis laws, re-criminalising all non-medical sales of the drug.
Thailand's Health Minister Somsak Thepsuthin signed a bill prohibiting the use of cannabis excluding medical reasons on Tuesday, with a prescription now needed to purchase the substance.
The move comes just three years after Thailand became the first country in Asia to legalise cannabis use, which bolstered tourism and farming and fostered a booming local market.
"Cannabis will be classified as a narcotic in the future," Mr Thepsuthin said on Tuesday.
The government faced fierce backlash for the decriminalisation call with consumer advocates arguing the industry was under-regulated and lacked comprehensive governance rules.
Secretary-general of the Office of the Narcotics Control Phanurat Lukboon said studies undertaken by his agency last year found that addiction rates had ballooned since cannabis was decriminalised.
Smartaveller warned Australians heading to the country to 'exercise a high degree of caution' and advised travellers not to use or purchase cannabis.
'The use of cannabis is limited to medicinal purposes only,' the updated site read.
Medicinal Cannabis will now also have to be below 0.2 per cent in weight and must come with a 'prescription.'
The Thai government said the changes would come into effect when the law was published in the Royal Gazette, although did not disclose when this would be.
The penalty associated with breaching the order is also yet to be announced.
The Thai cannabis trade is estimated to be worth over $1.2 billion according to the Thai Chamber of Commerce, with the industry now thrown into limbo and uncertainty.
Tens of thousands of stalls and business selling cannabis have sprung up across Thailand in recent years with the majority located in the country's tourism centres.
The ruling Pheu Thai Party repeatedly pledged to re-criminalise the drug, yet faced fierce protest from its coalition partner the Bhumjaithai Party who advocated for fewer laws governing the sector.
However the Bhumjaithai Party quit the ruling coalition last week after it was revealed in a leaked phone recording Thai PM Paetongtarn Shinawatra had inflamed border tension with Cambodia's former leader, which allowed the government to pursue the reforms.
Government spokesman Jirayu Houngsub said the recreational use of cannabis had caused substantial social issues in the country.
"The policy must return to its original goal of controlling cannabis for medical use only," Jirayu said in a statement.
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