Why Thailand is set to reverse weed decriminalisation

Thailand's new government plans to ban cannabis for recreational use less than two years after the country became the first in Asia to decriminalise it.

The public health minister said a new bill will be proposed at the cabinet meeting next week after decriminalisation caused mass legal confusion over regulation of the drug. "The use for fun is considered wrong," Chonlanan Srikaew told the media.

'Gray market'

Thailand "was once notorious for its tough drug laws", said France24, and people found in possession of cannabis could face up to 10 years in prison and a large fine. But in 2022 the country sought to "cash in on the global boom in medical marijuana".

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Decriminalisation was "touted as a lucrative move for the tourism-heavy economy" that was "badly dented by the pandemic", it added, with forecasts that the market may be worth $1.2 billion by 2025.

Thailand delisted the marijuana plant as a narcotic, a move that had been "years in the making", said CNN, and made the kingdom "a rarity in a region where many countries give long jail terms and even death sentences for people convicted of marijuana possession, consumption or trafficking".

As a result a "lucrative cannabis industry catering to locals and foreigners alike" was able to flourish across the country, said CNN, with a "boom of cannabis cafes and weed dispensaries in popular tourist destinations such as Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Pattaya", said The Guardian.

A "gray market" was created for local vendors, who took advantage of the country's tropical climate, which is well suited to cultivating the plant. Some cities have held weed festivals and a rooftop cafe in Bangkok hosted the inaugural Cannabis Cup Thailand, a joint-rolling competition.

But not all Thais have enjoyed the new atmosphere. There was a public outcry last weekend after audience members at  Coldplay's concerts in Bangkok complained of a "pervasive odour" of weed that overtook the venue, said Thai News.

"The failure to pass legislation to regulate its use has opened a legal vacuum in the country," said The Guardian, and there has been mass confusion about the precise legal status of the drug.

Even the former health minister who strongly lobbied for cannabis legalisation in the country said the plan was not to allow Thais and tourists to smoke weed recreationally in public.

"There has never once been a moment that we would think about advocating people to use cannabis in terms of recreation – or use it in a way that it could irritate others," Anutin Charnvirakul told CNN in 2022.

'Too late'

The prime minister, Srettha Thavisin, has "frequently voiced his opposition to the recreational use of the drug" and said it should only be allowed for medicinal use, said France24. He believes that recreational cannabis use could cause "wider narcotic drug problems".

Reaction to his plan has been mixed. Several tourism operators have "welcomed the move to curb its use", said The Guardian. Thanet Supornsahasrungsi, group executive director of Sunshine Hotels and Resorts in Pattaya, said there have been reports of marijuana overdoses at cannabis shops.

The Centre for Addiction Studies recently called for recreational cannabis to be banned, the Bangkok Post reported. But Kitty Chopaka, a cannabis activist in Thailand who owns a small cannabis shop in Bangkok, told VOA she hopes the government won't concentrate on "preying on the poor and starting a war on cannabis just as much as the war on drugs".

Some feel the move to decriminalise weed did not happen early enough. Pasit Chulajata, who works in the medical cannabis industry, believes it is "too late to put the genie back in the bottle", said ABC News. "I think Thailand has come quite a bit too far for everything to go back," he told the news site, "and I think the government kind of knows that as well."

The episode is "a reflection of the ongoing global dialogue on the role of cannabis in society", said Thai News, "balancing the scales between medicinal benefits and social responsibility".