Thailand’s Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said this week that he wants to make cannabis illegal again except for medicinal purposes, aligning with the re-criminalization plan proposed earlier this year by the country’s health minister, the Associated Press reports.
Srettha wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that he asked the Health Ministry to add cannabis to its narcotics list once again and establish new rules governing medical cannabis access, the report said. In the announcement, the prime minister specifically highlighted concerns about youth access and increased crime rates.
Thailand became the first country in Asia to pass significant cannabis reforms when it decriminalized the plant in 2022 — that policy removed cannabis from the country’s narcotics list and legalized cannabis cultivation and trade to support medical access. But Thailand’s largely unchecked cannabis industry has burgeoned among locals and tourists alike, drawing public backlash and negative political attention.
The re-criminalization proposal seeks to reestablish criminal penalties for cannabis products with a THC level above 0.2%.
The country’s health minister predicted in March that Thailand’s cannabis decriminalization policy could be reversed by the end of the year.
Cannabis industry insiders in Thailand, meanwhile, have argued that the industry is too large to shut down outright, with some entrepreneurs already speaking with lawyers and preparing lawsuits for if the legislation gets passed.
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