Thailand Moves to De-Legalize Weed in Major Drug-Policy U-Turn

In 2022, Thailand bucked a trend in Asia. While many other countries in the region have historically meted out harsh punishments for drug use and even tightened restrictions in recent years, Thailand became the continent’s first to remove marijuana from its list of illegal narcotics.  Since then, marijuana production and sale became a sprawling national industry, spawning around 11,000 dispensaries, sourcing from farms across the country. The industry, which also helped Thailand become a tourist haunt for those looking to access the substance, was estimated in 2022 to hit $1.2 billion by 2025. Now, however, the Thai government is harshing that buzz as it moved to restrict access to the drug. Public Health Minister Somsak Thepsutin signed an order Monday, which took effect this week, that reclassified cannabis buds as a controlled herb and banned shops from selling cannabis to customers without a prescription. A version of the policy is now available on the Thai Royal Gazette online. But Somsak isn’t stopping there: he vowed to reclassify cannabis as a Category 5 narcotic—effectively recriminalizing its recreational use. While the government says that this was a move to protect children and youth, who reportedly suffer because of increased access, critics and activists say that political infighting has played a key role in the tightening of marijuana policies, at the expense of small businesses. What does the new order say? The new order requires licenses for those who wish to study, export, sell, or process cannabis buds for commercial reasons. They must report data on the source, use, and amount of cannabis that they possess—and the cannabis buds should be sourced from a producer that meets the Department for Development of Thai Traditional and Alternative Medicine’s Good Agricultural and Collection Practices (GACP) standards. Cannabis can no longer be sold through vending machines, electronic channels, or computer networks. It and its derivative products cannot be sold in religious sites, dormitories, public parks, zoos, and amusement parks. It can also no longer be advertised. The sale of cannabis for smoking in cannabis business establishments will also be banned unless sold by medical practitioners, including Thai and Chinese medicine practitioners and dentists, for the treatment of their patients. Prescriptions from medical professionals will be accepted, though they must specify the amount of drug, which should not exceed 30-day use. Violators may face up to a year in prison and a 20,000-baht fine. How is politics involved? Decriminalization in 2022 was pushed by then-Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, who ran for Prime Minister in 2023 as head of the Bhumjaithai Party but lost. Bhumjaithai did, however, join the governing coalition of Pheu Thai, the populist party that ended up taking power but that had campaigned on recriminalizing marijuana. Since the removal of cannabis from the illegal narcotics list, no comprehensive law regulating its use was passed. This allowed the quick, albeit legally complex, boom of marijuana businesses, but authorities say it also facilitated the smuggling of marijuana, reaching countries as far as the United Kingdom and India. Following tensions over a Cabinet seat and a border-dispute flareup with Cambodia, the Bhumjaithai Party left the coalition earlier this month, raising concerns that Pheu Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra’s rule may end.  But as Paetongtarn clings to power for now, Bhumjaithai leaving the coalition has allowed Pheu Thai to pursue its promises of restricting the use of marijuana to medical purposes only. The Thai public has viewed marijuana negatively, with a 2024 poll showing a majority in favor of relisting it as a narcotic. How has the industry reacted? Speaking to the Bangkok Post, small- and medium-sized cannabis growers said the tightening of restrictions will force some farms to close. A producer named Somkiat Nitiketkosol told the paper that such stringent requirements would also open the floodgates for corrupt practices: “Most permits are going to big players, while small farmers like me are left waiting or falling victim to scams.” Chokwan Chopaka, a Thai cannabis activist who leads Writing Thailand’s Cannabis Future Network—a group of users, business owners, and producers of the plant—said they plan to protest the order. Chokwan argues that businesses will not disappear overnight following the new rules, which will only push sales of the drug underground. “Thailand had always been known for sabai sabai [easygoing, lax] culture where many illegal products from sex toys, prescription drugs, vape pens, illegal money exchange, and sex workers are readily available on the side of the road to service all types of tourist, together with well organised groups, to supply and manage those products locally (massage parlour, gogobars, illegal gambling house etc.),” she tells TIME. “With the new announcement, cannabis will be just but another thing that will go back to being managed by the corrupt underground system.”