Thailand signals another U-turn on cannabis

Anutin says PM agrees on legislating cannabis use, potentially backing down on re-criminalisation

Thailand will work towards controlling the use of cannabis through legislation instead of re-listing it as a narcotic, according to Deputy Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, signalling yet another policy U-turn.

Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin now agreed that legislation was the appropriate step to take, Mr Anutin said on Tuesday.

“I would like to thank the prime minister for considering this issue and deciding to enact an act,” said Mr Anutin, whose Bhumjaithai Party has long championed decriminalisation of cannabis for medical and economic uses.

He made the comments after talks with Mr Srettha and Public Health Minister Somsak Thepsutin on Tuesday. The prime minister reportedly gave guidelines to enact an act to control the plant instead of re-listing it as a narcotic.

Commerce Minister Phumtham Wechayachai and Prommin Lertsuridej, secretary-general to the prime minister, also attended the talks, said Mr Anutin.

“It will be a matter of law and debated in parliament where there is already a draft law,” Mr Prommin told Reuters.

“Whether it is a narcotic or not is up to parliament.”

Thailand in 2022 became one of the first countries in Asia to decriminalise marijuana, but without a law to govern it or clear regulations in place to prevent its recreational usage. Mr Anutin was the minister of public health at the time.

The move prompted an explosion of recreational use, cannabis cafes and retailers, along with public concern about its abuse.

Bhunjaithai subsequently drafted a bill to regulate cannabis use but it failed to get past first reading before the election was called last year.

The current government led by the Pheu Thai Party has maintained that recreational use of cannabis would not be allowed under new regulations being drafted by the Ministry of Public Health.

Mr Srettha said earlier that the plant would be put back on the narcotics list, with exceptions allowed for medical use and research. He gave officials until the end of the year to draft the necessary rules.

Coalition tension

Mr Anutin over the weekend played host to former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, considered the real leader of Pheu Thai, at Rancho Charnvee Resort & Country Club, owned by the Bhumjaithai leader near Khao Yai in Nakhon Ratchasima. Thaksin’s daughter Paetongtarn, the nominal leader of Pheu Thai, posted a video (below) of a karaoke session.

Mr Anutin on Tuesday told reporters that it was strictly a social and not a political occasion. There had speculation that disagreement over cannabis was starting to threaten the unity of the coaltion.

Thailand has seen rapid growth of a domestic retail sector for marijuana, with tens of thousands of shops and businesses springing up in the past two years in an industry projected to be worth up to $1.2 billion by 2025.

Bhumjaithai, the second-biggest party in the current coalition, has always insisted that it favours marijuana for health and economic purposes, but not for recreational use, and has argued against re-criminalising it.  

Mr Anutin, who is also the interior minister, said the government would now discuss plans for a draft bill to regulate the cannabis industry, and political parties might submit drafts to parliament.

Proposed regulations to recriminalise cannabis have already been set in motion, but they have yet to clear the Narcotics Control Board. As a member of the board, Mr Anutin had vowed to vote against the plan.

The Office of the Narcotics Control Board had proposed making the changes effective from Jan 1, 2025 to give a grace period of a few months for operators concerned about their legal status to adapt and apply for new licences.

It said the new rules would prohibit the possession, import and sale of cannabis flowers and resin unless one has licences to do so from the Ministry of Public Health.

Cannabis seeds as well as parts with low tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content such as leaves, roots, fibre and stems would not be re-criminalised, it said.