Thailand moves to recriminalise cannabis, except for medical use
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.'
Re-criminalisation will be a significant move for
Thailand , which was the first country in Asia to decriminalise cannabis. With no cannabis law in place, dispensaries have opened nationwide, flourishing in popular tourist areas and even in Bangkok's business districts. There has also been a surge in cannabis smuggling across borders.
A vendor tests cannabis aroma for sale at a cannabis shop in Bangkok. Photo: EPA-EFE
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.
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