Thai govt decides against criminalizing cannabis, but govern use through legislation

The decision against outlawing marijuana is expected to bring some cheer to the thousands of people who started growing it in large quantities and retailers who sprouted overnight, both of whom protested cannabis being recriminalized.

Still, although Srettha has changed his mind and agreed to govern cannabis use through a law, the parliament has the ultimate say, Prommin Lertsuridej, secretary-general to the prime minister, told news agency Reuters.

“It will be a matter of law and debated in parliament,” Prommin said. “Whether it is a narcotic or not is up to parliament.”

Among immediate next steps are a decision on a draft law to regulate cannabis use and debate on it in the parliament. Various parties might submit their own versions of a draft legislation, Anutin said, according to the Bangkok Post.

“I thank the Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin for considering this matter and deciding to proceed with an act,” he said, adding that he would discuss the issue with the deputy PM and Prommin.

Anutin also noted that his Bhumjaithai Party previously had a draft bill in the parliament. The bill had passed first reading under the previous government but could not be voted on ahead of the May 2023 general election.

Anutin’s comments came after a meeting Tuesday with the prime minister and Somsak Thepsutin, the health minister. Anutin said Srettha maintained at the meeting that cannabis must not be used recreationally, but did not disclose what the steps the PM may have suggested to ensure that does not happen.

Anutin led the move to legalize cannabis two years ago and when it was finally decriminalized on June 9, 2022, Thailand became the first country in Asia to take that step.

But because Thailand did not concurrently enact any law to regulate how cannabis should be used, people, including some minors, began using it indiscriminately.

That prompted the Pheu Thai party’s Srettha, who became the head of a coalition government in September 2023, to previously say that he wanted cannabis outlawed again for recreational use.

He had also said that the change would be effective Jan. 1, 2025.

Anutin, Thaksin’s golf outing

So what made him change his mind?

Srethha’s decision was a political maneuver, said Thanaporn Sriyakul from the political science faculty at Kasetsart University.

“Last week, Anutin expressed discomfort with recriminalizing cannabis, and soon after, Thaksin was golfing with him. Who in Pheu Thai would dare object?” Thanaporn said.

He was referring to ex-PM Thaksin Shinawatra, who returned to Thailand from exile in August 2023. Thaksin founded what were precursors to the Pheu Thai Party and has considerable power over it.

And Srettha, who joined the Pheu Thai Party in November 2022, was appointed chief adviser to the “Pheu Thai family,” then headed by Thaksin’s daughter, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, in the lead up to the May 2023 election.

Additionally, the recent Senate election results showed that the upper house would now have a sizable number of members associated with Anutin’s Bhumjaithai Party, Thanaporn said. And all bills – including a potential one to recriminalize cannabis – have to be passed by the Senate in addition to the lower house of parliament.

Confident of support from many senators, Bhumjaithai, the second-largest party in the parliament, now feels it can assert itself against Pheu Thai, the largest, he added.

“It’s clear that Bhumjaithai is now riding Pheu Thai because ministers fear independent organizations appointed by senators and being summoned to answer senators’ questions.”

Senators appoint organizations such as the National Anti-Corruption Commission and Election Commission. Political analysts, including Thanaporn, said they believe the senators can influence these organizations.

Meanwhile, a group called Writing Thailand’s Cannabis Future Network, which had protested the move to again criminalize cannabis, urged marijuana enthusiasts to monitor any proposed legislation.

The network’s secretary-general, Prasitchai Nunual, proposed a committee to study four key issues: cannabis’s health impact vs tobacco and alcohol; its effect on society since being legalized; its medicinal properties; and its potential psychiatric effects on young people.

The Bhumjaithai Party, in its Cannabis Act, proposes a dedicated committee to oversee cannabis use; licensing requirements for production and sale; registration for cultivation; and prohibition on sale to people younger than 20, pregnant women and nursing mothers without a doctor’s prescription.