Thai government would like to rewrite the Cannabis Act to allow only medical sales

The new Thai Prime Minister, Srettha Thavisin, has stated that his government will «Rectify» the country's cannabis policy and to limit its use to medical purposes within six months.

In an interview with Bloomberg, Mr. Thavisin, who was elected in August, said it was necessary to «rewrite the law» to end the widespread sale of cannabis for recreational purposes.

«The drug problem has become widespread lately,» he said in the interview.

Thailand has moved from having some of the strictest drug laws in the world to the decriminalization of cannabis last year, after removing this plant from the list of narcotics. In a short time, the country would have seen more than 6,000 licensed dispensaries open.

The Srettha government, which leads a coalition of 11 parties in the country, has pledged to eradicate drugs from Thai society. Earlier this week, the prime minister attended an event where he presented a haul of confiscated narcotics, vowing to «decisively reduce» the menace within a year.

«The drug problem has spread recently, especially in the northeastern and northern regions of Thailand,» Mr. Srettha said. «We don't need another problem added to this one.»

The tourism industry welcomed this decision. A spokesperson stressed that the unregulated cannabis trade had done more harm than good to tourism over the past year.

«You can now easily find a cannabis shop every 200 to 300 meters on the streets of Pattaya, and 90% of them are not for medical use,» said Thanet Supornsahasrungsi, the group’s executive director Sunshine Hotels and Resorts in Pattaya, at Bangkok Post.

The previous coalition government decriminalized cannabis in order to allow local farmers to capitalize on the potential revenues from cannabis as a high-value crop, and to advance research on its medical uses. However, the lack of further regulation has allowed cannabis sales to the public to flourish, while farmers have complained that the majority of cannabis for sale was illegally imported.

Despite the new prime minister's tough talk, Thailand's nascent cannabis industry remains unshaken. Poonwarit Wangpatravanich, president of the Phuket Cannabis Association, seems to favorably welcome some form of legal control. «Cannabis is here to stay, but its status is not yet clear.»