Thailand’s Shift: New Prime Minister Plans To Criminalize Cannabis Reversing 2022 Decision

Thailand’s Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin has declared his government’s intention to re-criminalize cannabis by the end of 2024, undoing the country´s 2022 decision to decriminalize the plant.

The initial decriminalization of cannabis had catalyzed the establishment of a robust industry, fostering thousands of dispensaries and attracting foreign investment into high-tech cannabis farms. A report by the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce in 2022 even estimated the industry’s potential value at $1.2 billion by 2025. However, under the proposed changes, cannabis would be relabeled as a “category five” narcotic, making it illegal to “produce, sell, import, export, or possess” the plant for non-medical purposes.

Facing Protests And Legal Challenges

This announcement comes after Thavisin, a former real estate businessman who took office in August, shared on social media his directive for the Ministry of Health to permit only medical and health-related uses of cannabis. This comes in the context of announced efforts “to solve the drugs problem within 90 days” in an …

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