On June 23, Thailand’s Public Health Minister Somsak Thepsuthin signed an order that reclassified cannabis flowers as a controlled substance, imposed tight licensing requirements, and banned sales in public spaces. The new regulation was issued following instructions from Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra during a recent cabinet meeting after the pro-drug Bhumjaithai Party left the coalition government. Cannabis will still be available for people with medical prescriptions, but with a 30-day limit, and some of the restrictions will not take effect until the end of the year.
In June, 2022 Thailand decriminalized cannabis for recreational use with the assumption that it would only be sold to foreign tourists since polls showed little domestic interest. However, within the first year 25% of Thai adults were users. Local doctors argued that marijuana was lowering children’s IQ, and its use was causing more traffic accidents, suicides, and mental health episodes. There has been a backlash, with 75% of Thais demanding that marijuana be returned to the list of banned narcotics.
