Thai Canna Regulation Update
The Thai Cabinet is expected to re-approve a bill to regulate cannabis and set guidelines for the cultivation, distribution, retail and use of cannabis.
The proposed rules aim to restrict the recreational use of cannabis products and, in particular, ban smoking. However, the bill will not go as far as reclassifying the plant as a narcotic, as announced by Thai authorities earlier this year. Reclassification would effectively mean re-criminalization of cannabis in the Southeast Asian country.
In 2022, cannabis was decriminalized in Thailand without any law regulating medical and recreational use. This led to an unprecedented situation where everyone started growing and selling cannabis. Many foreign investors took advantage of the period of legal vacuum and started cannabis businesses as well.
Then in early 2024, after a change of government, it was said that Thailand would re-criminalize cannabis and ban recreational use. By the end of the year, cannabis was set to be put back on the notorious list of narcotics. But after another U-turn in Thai cannabis policy, the plant remains legal - but there are new laws.
What does the new bill to regulate cannabis in Thailand include?
In September, Thai lawmakers proposed a new bill that would regulate cannabis for medical and therapeutic purposes, restrict recreational use, tighten licensing, and begin a public feedback period before it is submitted to the Cabinet and Parliament.
Key points of the bill include
- The bill focuses on health and medical use and seeks to limit recreational use
- The proposal to classify cannabis as a narcotic (which would have meant re-criminalization) is abandoned.
- Stricter rules will be introduced for licensing, cannabis cultivation and retail.
- Existing cannabis suppliers will have to apply for a new work permit.
The bill was open for public comment until September 30. It was drafted after much speculation about future cannabis policy in Thailand and still aims to curtail some freedoms, such as allowing recreational use.
Unlike previous plans, the new law will not completely ban recreational cannabis, nor will it reclassify it as a narcotic. However, it does impose fines of up to 60,000 baht ($1,800) for unauthorized recreational use of cannabis. Illegal sales can be punished with jail time and fines of up to 100,000 baht ($3,000).
The legislation was released by the Ministry of Public Health under new Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, the third female prime minister to take office in Thailand in the last two years. Shinawatra is also only the second woman in Thailand's history to take the office of prime minister. She has been in office for just over 100 days, and her government appears to be aiming for a balanced approach between punitive measures and a policy of free cannabis consumption, as was the case with Thailand's previous two governments.
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Liz Filmer
