Poll Finds Majority Support for Recriminalizing Cannabis In Thailand

A recent opinion survey by the National Institute of Development Administration in Thailand found that the majority of Thais support the government’s plan to relist cannabis as an illegal drug under federal law, the Bangkok Post reports.

The poll found more than 75% majority support for the recriminalization plan, which was announced earlier this year by the health minister and then endorsed on social media this month by the prime minister.

Conducted on May 14-15, the poll asked 1,310 people aged 15 and older for their opinions on cannabis and the country’s cannabis-related policies:

Per the poll, 53.74% of respondents said cannabis is an illicit narcotic with some medical benefits and 33.59% said it was a narcotic with no medical benefits. Meanwhile, 11.60% said cannabis was not a narcotic at all, and 1.07% were unsure.

Additionally, 60.38% of respondents “absolutely agreed” and 15.27% “moderately agreed” with the government’s plan to relist cannabis as an illegal drug. Meanwhile, 14.50% “absolutely disagreed” and 8.93% “moderately disagreed” with the plan, and 0.92% either did not know or were not interested.

Some final highlights of the poll as it covered respondents’ opinions on the government’s current cannabis policy:

• 74.58% believe that the policy covers medicinal use of cannabis
• 19.39% said the government should not have regulated cannabis products
• 10.53% said the policy is to support the development of a legal cannabis industry.
• 7.40% said the policy offers monetary benefits

Thailand was the first country in Southeast Asia to pass significant cannabis reforms with the 2018 legalization of medical cannabis followed by the nation’s 2022 decriminalization policy, which offered little to no regulatory oversight.