Thailand and the recreational use of cannabis: where is the country heading?

We've seen it with our own eyes: the decriminalization of cannabis in Thailand has opened the doors to a Wild West of cannabis stores, for better or worse. The current regulations set few limits on the cannabis trade: minors are forbidden, and no extracts contain more than 0.2% THC. As for the rest, some parts of the city have a weed store every 300 metres.

So is Thailand really going to put an end to the recreational use of cannabis? At the risk of playing with words, technically no. The current law simply decriminalized cannabis use and authorized its possession and use for medical purposes. Recreational use is therefore still not authorized, even if in practice there is no official distinction between the different uses. So where is Thailand heading?

Probably towards «medical» regulation.

The latest news is that an updated version of the Cannabis and Hemp Control Bill will be proposed at the government's weekly meeting this week. The revised bill retains a key point that cannabis should only be used for medical purposes, but will also make it clear that any recreational use will not be permitted.

Public Health Minister Cholnan Srikaew has previously stated that consuming cannabis would probably require a doctor's authorization - which will, according to the evidence we gathered on the spot, probably be easy to get - and that the bill would be very clear on how the plant can be used for medical purposes and which parts of the cannabis plant can be used, as well as acceptable quantities for possession.

The government has yet to clarify what will happen to the thousands of companies that have sprung up in the legal vacuum that has existed since the cannabis removed from the list of controlled drugs in 2022.

The Bhumjaithai party, which is also a member of the current coalition government, has previously advocated the liberalization of cannabis, but its bill to regulate the plant failed to pass last year, when the previous government was in office.

Under the new bill, all cannabis plantations will have to obtain a permit from the authorities and adopt advanced agricultural practices to ensure that the plants are of medical quality. It is likely that home planting, as advocated by Bhumjaithai, continue.

In the meantime, many dispensaries selling medical and recreational cannabis products are eagerly awaiting news of their future. It is estimated that there are over 7,000 cannabis stores in the country.

Why the change?

In addition to the flood of companies and the all-out growth of the local industry, many stakeholders have questioned the consequences of the absence of regulation on public health and safety. And it's true that today's marketed products are not tested, come from a not inconsiderable share of «imports» and are sold as freely as electronic cigarettes, which are completely banned in Thailand.

The need to regulate the industry is therefore easy to understand. No less important, however, is the image the Kingdom projects to neighboring countries that are still proudly prohibitionist. While medical use poses no problems for them, recreational use is still a long way off. For Thailand, it's also a question of calming relations with its neighbors through «medical» regulation.

In the same way that prostitution has been banned in Thailand for 1960 years, cannabis use could just as easily remain «medical».