Report Thai Cannabis Industry Faces Chaos Amid Political Shifts

[webfact]

FILE- A staff member prepares a flower bud of cannabis for a customer at a cannabis shop in Bangkok, Thailand, July 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit, File)

 

Thailand's once-promising cannabis industry is in disarray following the government's abrupt announcement that prescriptions are now required to purchase cannabis.

 

Just three years after the country became the first in Asia to decriminalise cannabis, this reversal has sent shockwaves through the sector.

 

Dispensaries, numbering between 10,000 and 18,000 since 2022, now face stringent regulations that limit them to selling only government-certified products and restrict sales to a 30-day supply per customer.

 

This policy shift has sparked outrage among pro-cannabis advocates who championed the plant’s legalisation to bolster Thailand's wellness and tourism industries. Critics accuse the government of using the new regulations as political revenge following internal disputes within the ruling coalition.

 

Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra’s Pheu Thai Party pushed for stricter drug policies shortly after the pro-cannabis Bhumjaithai Party exited the coalition over a cabinet seat disagreement.

 

Business owners, like Rattapon Sanrak of Highland Cafe in the bustling Khaosan district, are grappling with compliance costs and fear a thriving black market for uncertified products.

 

"These moves are political revenge, but it’s the public who’ll pay," Rattapon lamented, highlighting that many farms are not government-certified, leaving their products without legal outlets.

 

Public Health Minister Somsak Thepsutin announced plans to reclassify cannabis as an illegal narcotic once again. New rules will soon require dispensaries to employ on-site doctors as part of their licensing, further complicating the operational landscape.

 

The suddenness of the rule change, published on a Wednesday night without a grace period, forced many businesses to shut their doors temporarily to rethink their strategies. Some entrepreneurs are considering a class-action lawsuit to challenge or at least delay these rapid changes.

 

An advocacy group, Writing Thailand’s Cannabis Future, is rallying public protest, arguing that these regulations will merely fuel underground sales and increase fake medical prescriptions.

 

"A medical certificate can absolutely be bought," claimed Prasitchai Nunual, the group’s secretary-general, warning of potential corruption as so-called experts issue dubious permissions.

 

Despite the turmoil, the economic significance of the cannabis industry cannot be understated. The University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce estimated its value at 28 billion baht (approximately US$865 million) in 2022, with potential growth to 43 billion baht by 2025.

 

As the industry hangs in the balance, the unfolding situation will undoubtedly impact Thailand’s economy and influence its reputation as a wellness tourism hub.

 

  Adapted by ASEAN Now from Bangkok Post 2025-06-27

 

 

[it is what it is]

 

pro-cannabis activists who viewed liberalisation as a boost for Thailand's wellness and tourism sectors

 

it still is, just follow the rules and you'll be fine.

[watchcat]

4 hours ago, it is what it is said:

just follow the rules and you'll be fine.

 

Indeed....

[thenewgoo]

[hotchilli]

10 hours ago, webfact said:

Just three years after the country became the first in Asia to decriminalise cannabis, this reversal has sent shockwaves through the sector.

It's not reversed, it was always supposed to be medical use only.

It got hijacked when laws were on in place or properly followed.

[Ebumbu]

55 minutes ago, hotchilli said:

11 hours ago, webfact said:

 

It's not reversed, it was always supposed to be medical use only.

 

All use is medical use. Our bodies and minds need relaxation and recreation for optimal health. We lead stressful lives. Anything that can help us to relax and reduce stress promotes health. It activates our parasympathetic nervous system, which is when healing happens. Recreational use is medical use. To reduce health to an absence of 10-12 diseases is ridiculous, arbitrary, and out of step with modern medicine. 

[Srikcir]

57 minutes ago, hotchilli said:

became the first in Asia to decriminalise cannabi

In 2018 Thailand reformed its laws to legalise medicinal cannabis in the country. In 2022, the government went a step further, decriminalising the possession and use of cannabis if it contained less than 0.2% of THC per dry weight. The law thus narrowed what was defined as medicinal and not medicinal.

[BritManToo]

10 minutes ago, Srikcir said:

In 2018 Thailand reformed its laws to legalise medicinal cannabis in the country. In 2022, the government went a step further, decriminalising the possession and use of cannabis if it contained less than 0.2% of THC per dry weight. The law thus narrowed what was defined as medicinal and not medicinal.

0.2% was only ever for products containing extracted THC.

Flower had no restrictions of any kind.

[Thingamabob]

Somsak in permanent grovel mode to Thaksin.

[Ebumbu]

I am reading now that this is just a proposal, like a bill. It must be passed by two houses of parliament before it can be passed on to the Royal Gazette and become law. So, this is still a proposal ... not a law. It's not a done deal. A lot of Thai merchants are going to be desperate and furious. They will make their voices heard. The amount of revenue to be lost is staggering. 

I just bought many ounces online while the gettin's good. The proposal has not been submitted to parliament yet. It could take weeks or months to be reviewed. But, taking no chances. This plant is absolutely medicine. So is love, sunlight, exercise, and good diet. Preventive medicine is still looked upon with derision by corporate medicine. Corporate medicine is controlled by corporate pharma. There's no profit to be made from broccoli. No patent. Shareholders not happy. 

"Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food"
— Hippocrates, the father of medicine 

Legal cannabis was a top-10 perk of living here, as I see it. It's simply civilized. Look at Canada. They are not going crazy with "weed fiends." Quite the opposite. Ganja helps make tough times easier and it enhances good times. Cannabis has been my plant ally since childhood. Precious and sacred plant. 

"Dope will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no dope!”
—  Phineas Freak

[jvs]

Like a fish out of the water,flipping and flopping!