The Thai cannabis market has been on a rollercoaster that started with a bang. The plant was legalized for medical use and research in Thailand in 2018, but the real tourism buzz came in 2022 when it was removed from the narcotics list. However, the celebration was short-lived after youth consumption concerns.
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Weed legality has been challenged since Prime Minister Srettha Thaviin took office in the recent election. Activists have staged protests to maintain decriminalization in response to promises from the PM to recriminalize cannabis as a narcotic.
Cannabis enthusiasts, farmers, and business owners protested at the capital in Bangkok in late May. A social media post from PM Thavisin promising to recriminalize cannabis by 2025 sparked the peaceful action. Advocates collected 2,000 signatures at the protest, which they presented to PM Thavisin. Each signatory displayed the amount of income they would lose from a walkback on decriminalization.
On July 8, the pre-weed group Cannabis Future Network began a hunger strike in front of the Government House to demand that the government use scientific means to determine if weed should be legal. The group ended their strike ten days later with word that the PM called to discuss cannabis legality in a July 23rd meeting.
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This week, Health Minister and Bhumjaithai Party leader Anutin Charnvirakul shared that the government will regulate cannabis rather than criminalize it in a press conference. Bhumjaithai backed the initial push to decriminalize. He claimed that the move would reduce prison overcrowding and bring jobs and industry to rural agriculture communities.
Charnvirakul told the press that the PM now agreed that building a medical framework was the correct move for the Thai people. Recreational cannabis will remain prohibited, but medical use and research are on the menu. There are no announcements on how regulators plan to cease non-medical shops operating now.
The Thai government is setting a precedent by even discussing this matter. Cannabis is legal in much of the U.S., but zoom out internationally for a different picture. Few Asian countries allow cannabis possession, consumption, or cultivation–medical or not. Even hemp and CBD are prohibited in some places. The latest move in Thailand signals an open-minded approach for the continent. Whether pro-420 activism contributed or not is open to discussion.
