(Reuters) – Thailand will re-register cannabis as a narcotic by the end of the year, its prime minister said, in a surprising turnaround just two years after becoming one of the first countries in Asia to decriminalize its recreational use.
The move comes despite the rapid growth of a domestic retail sector for marijuana, with tens of thousands of stores and businesses springing up across Thailand over the past two years in an industry projected to be worth up to $1.2 billion by 2025.
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“I want the health ministry to change the rules and re-register cannabis as a narcotic,” Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said on a social media platform.
“The ministry should quickly issue a rule allowing its use for health and medical purposes only.”
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Cannabis was decriminalized for medical use in 2018 and recreational use in 2022 under a previous government, but critics say its liberalization was rushed, causing widespread confusion over rules and regulations.
Srettha’s comments followed a meeting with agencies involved in narcotics enforcement, where he promised to take a strong stance on illicit drugs and ordered authorities to deliver results and show “clear progress” over the next 90 days.
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“Drugs are a problem that destroys the future of the country, many young people are addicted. We have to work quickly, to confiscate assets (of drug traffickers) and expand treatment,” he said.
He also called on authorities to redefine what constitutes drug possession under the law from “small quantity” to “one pill” to allow for stricter enforcement by authorities.
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Srettha’s government had previously said it wanted to pass a cannabis law by the end of the year that would ban recreational marijuana and allow its use only for medical and health purposes.
It was not immediately clear when cannabis will be re-registered as a narcotic or what processes must occur first.
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Prasitchai Nunual, secretary-general of Thailand’s Cannabis Future Network, said recriminalizing cannabis would be a bad move for the economy and a big blow to small businesses and consumers.
“Many people have been cultivating cannabis and opening cannabis stores. These will have to close,” he told Reuters.
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“If scientific results show that cannabis is worse than alcohol and cigarettes, then they can relist it as a narcotic. If cannabis is less harmful, they should list cigarettes and alcohol as narcotics as well.”
Tags: Thailand recriminalize cannabis
