Cannabis Business Develops Rapidly After Legalization, Thailand Plans To Ban Use For Recreation

Marijuana illustration. (Unsplash/@budding)

JAKARTA - Thailand plans to impose a ban on the use of marijuana for recreation, reviewing public opinion on the bill, more than a year after the legalization of marijuana and followed by rapid development of its related business.

The change, which aims to fulfill election promises, came after Prime Minister Sretta Thavisin opposed drug use amid fears of drug abuse, vowing that his government would only support drug use for medical purposes.

"We are drafting this law to prohibit the use of wrong marijuana," Health Minister Cholnan Srikaew said.

"All recreational use is wrong."

Published on the Ministry of Health website on Tuesday, the new draft will only allow the use of marijuana for medical and health purposes, while banning all types of recreational marijuana.

The law stipulates fines of up to 60,000 baht (1,700 US dollars) for recreational use, while ads or marketing campaigns regarding the use can be subject to imprisonment of up to one year or a fine ranging from 100,000 baht.

The law also increases penalties for cannabis farming without a permit, ranging from prison sentences of one to three years and fines ranging from 20,000 baht to 300,000 baht.

However, the fate of cannabis shops and unregulated pharmacies is still unclear, as is the risk faced by those growing marijuana on a household scale which is currently allowed after notifying authorities, even without requiring permission.

The government did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding the draft.

The deadline for providing input from the public is January 23, after which the cabinet will consider draft laws and suggestions received before being submitted to parliament for further discussion.

It is known, Thailand became the first country in Southeast Asia to decriminalize marijuana in 2021. It gave birth to an industry estimated to be worth up to 1.2 billion US dollars in the next few years, along with the emergence of thousands of pharmacies, spas, restaurants and festivals.

The rules that are applied in a hurry and little by little, which are implemented within a week after decriminalization, aim to curb its use but still leave gaps for recreational use.