Thailand's cannabis stores fret as government tightens rules on sales

Straits Times

2 days ago

The new rules mean cannabis can only be sold to customers for medical reasons under a doctor's supervision. PHOTO: REUTERS
BANGKOK – Thai cannabis store owners and activists on June 26 hit out at new government rules tightening restrictions on selling the drug by requiring a doctor's approval, three years after it was decriminalised.
Thailand was the first country in South-east Asia to decriminalise the drug when it removed cannabis from the list of banned narcotics in June 2022.
The intention was to allow sales for medical rather than recreational use, but the move led to hundreds of cannabis 'dispensaries' springing up around the country, particularly in Bangkok.
While the relaxation has proved popular with some tourists, there are concerns that the trade is under-regulated.
Health Minister Somsak Thepsuthin signed an order late on June 24 requiring an on-site doctor to approve sales for medical reasons.
The rule came into force after it was published in the official Royal Gazette on June 26.
Mr Thanatat Chotiwong, a long-time cannabis activist and store owner, said it was 'not fair' to suddenly change the rules on a sector that was now well established.
'This is a fully fledged industry, not just growers selling flowers. There are lighting suppliers, construction crews, farmers, soil and fertiliser developers, and serious R&D,' he said.
'Some of us have invested tens of millions of baht in greenhouses and infrastructure. Then suddenly, the government steps in to shut it all down,' he said.
Mr Thanatat urged the government instead to 'implement proper taxation and regulation, so this revenue can be returned to society in a meaningful way'.
'Too few doctors'
The government has made several previous announcements of plans to restrict cannabis, including legislation moved in February 2024, but none has come to fruition.
The new rules mean cannabis can only be sold to customers for medical reasons, under the supervision of licensed professionals such as medical doctors, traditional Thai medicine doctors, folk healers or dentists.
'It's going to work like this: Customers come in, say what symptoms they have, and the doctor decides how many grams of cannabis is appropriate and which strain to prescribe,' Mr Kajkanit Sakdisubha, owner of The Dispensary cannabis shop in Bangkok, said.
'The choice is no longer up to the customer. It's not like going to a restaurant and picking your favourite dish from a menu anymore.'
And he warned that many of the shops that have sprouted since decriminalisation will not be able to adapt to the changes.
'The reality is there are too few doctors available. I believe that many entrepreneurs knew regulations were coming, but no one knew when,' he said.
While waiting for the rules to come into force, The Dispensary is halting cannabis sales as a precaution, store manager Bukoree Make said.
'Customers themselves are unsure whether what they're doing is legal. I've been receiving a lot of calls,' Mr Poramat Jaikla, the lead seller or 'budtender', said.
The cannabis move comes as the government led by Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra's Pheu Thai party is hanging by a thread after losing its main coalition partner, Bhumjaithai.
Though conservative, the Bhumjaithai party has long supported more liberal laws on cannabis.
The party has quit the coalition in a row over a leaked phone call between Ms Paetongtarn and former Cambodian leader Hun Sen. AFP
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