Thailand: a first legalization project fails to pass

A new bill, the Cannabis and Hemp Bill, was proposed on Monday to the Thai House of Representatives in order to regulate the decriminalization of cannabis in Thailand.

Under the rules proposed in the new bill, hospitals will be allowed to grow cannabis for therapeutic use, as provided for in the Herbal Products Act. Family farms will be able to use a maximum of 2.5 hectares dedicated to the cultivation of industrial hemp to use the plant's fiber, trunk and roots.

And for personal use, the new proposed law would allow households to grow up to 15 cannabis plants.

Thai lawmakers have forced the withdrawal of a bill to regulate the use of cannabis, believing the proposed legislation lacked not enough provisions to prevent its misuse for recreational purposes.

However, House lawmakers voted 198-136 on Wednesday to withdraw the bill and send it back to the drafting committee for further revision. The cannabis and hemp bill, which passed its first reading in June and aimed to give the government greater control over the industry, could now be reintroduced in November.

Unexpected resistance to the bill came from the main opposition party, Pheu Thai, and the Democrat Party, a member of the ruling coalition. They follow the concern provoked by the more points of sale and cafés selling cannabis products in Bangkok and other cities, three months after the country became the first in Asia to decriminalize cannabis.

«The bill does not control cannabis, but promotes it, leaving open the possibility of its use changing from medical to extremely recreational,» said Sutin Klangsang, a lawmaker from Pheu Thai, the largest party in the Lower House. «We are afraid that children and people will smoke it and become addicted».

Since Thailand's historic decriminalization, the government has repeatedly stated that this aimed at medical and commercial use and disapproved of its use for recreational purposes. The bill does not directly prohibit smoking for recreational purposes, but stipulates that it will be forbidden to consume in public.

Parties opposed to the Cannabis Bill in its current form have threatened to vote against the legislation unless the revised version bans recreational use. They are also against the proposal that would allow households to grow up to 15 cannabis plants.

Opposition to the bill is also seen as a political showdown in the run-up to the general elections due to be called by March 2023. Passage of the bill would hand another victory to the Bhumjaithai party of Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, who has directed the drafting of the bill and spearheaded cannabis liberalization as part of his campaign promises in the 2019 general election.