Legalization of cannabis in Thailand
Within the same year of its decriminalization, the revenue of Thailand’s cannabis industry reached approximately 28 billion Thai baht and is projected to almost double by 2025. According to the law, marijuana extracts containing no more than 0.2 percent of THC are not considered illegal drugs. Currently, adults aged 20 and above who are not pregnant or breastfeeding can legally use cannabis at home. Furthermore, licensed operators can serve cannabis-infused products. As of January 2023, the authority issued nearly 3,000 licenses to sell, grow, and process marijuana in Thailand, and more than 6,000 registered shops emerged around the country. Despite being a “controlled herb,” cannabis is readily available both offline and online.Moreover, Thai dispensaries can offer weed without portion limitations, and labeling or testing. Loose regulations have led to concerns about drug-fueled violence and abuse, especially among the youth. A survey conducted in February 2022 found that 62 percent of Thais were interested in consuming cannabis products in the next 12 months. Results from the same study also showed most Thais knew about infused products and that Thai millennials were the top age group that had used cannabis products in the two years prior.
Volatile regulation of cannabis in Thailand
Historically, cannabis appeared in traditional Thai medicine texts from the 17th century. After outlawing cannabis in 1922, the law was amended in 2018, allowing for the medicinal use of cannabis extract under strict governmental control. Like in many Asian countries, cannabis usage and ownership in Thailand used to carry severe penalties ranging from high fines to a decade of jail time. Thus, on the day of legalization, Thai officials released more than 3,000 inmates detained for cannabis-related crimes. Easing the overcrowded prisons was just one of the consequences of deregulation.The 2019 general election campaign by the Bhumjaithai Party advertised marijuana as a golden ticket to uplift the rural Northeast economy. When the party joined the military-led coalition, its leader became health minister and passed the Marijuana Act in 2022, supposedly for medical use. Given cases of cannabis overdose reported by tourism operators, the idea of Thailand being the so-called new Amsterdam raised some brows.
The 2023 elected government coalition led by a former opposition party called Pheu Thai aimed to prohibit recreational cannabis usage by the end of 2024. The proposed legislation would make parts of cannabis illegal for sale and impose fines and prison sentences for recreational use. Nevertheless, it did not specify how medicinal cannabis use would be controlled.
