Latest news with #SomsakThepsuthin
Washington Post
18 hours ago
- Health
- Washington Post
Thailand goes back on decriminalized marijuana
Thailand, which decriminalized marijuana in 2022 — a first for the region — has reimposed a slate of renewed restrictions on the drug. Public Health Minister Somsak Thepsuthin signed an order this week to bar sales of cannabis without a medical prescription. 'Cannabis will be classified as a narcotic in the future,' Thepsuthin said of the measure, which has since come into effect, in a statement cited in local outlets.
Sky News AU
a day ago
- Health
- Sky News AU
Australian tourists warned as Thailand overhauls cannabis laws, re-criminalises drug for recreational use
Aussie holidaymakers have been warned not to be caught out unaware after Thailand made sweeping changes to its cannabis laws, re-criminalising all non-medical sales of the drug. Thailand's Health Minister Somsak Thepsuthin signed a bill prohibiting the use of cannabis excluding medical reasons on Tuesday, with a prescription now needed to purchase the substance. The move comes just three years after Thailand became the first country in Asia to legalise cannabis use, which bolstered tourism and farming and fostered a booming local market. "Cannabis will be classified as a narcotic in the future," Mr Thepsuthin said on Tuesday. The government faced fierce backlash for the decriminalisation call with consumer advocates arguing the industry was under-regulated and lacked comprehensive governance rules. Secretary-general of the Office of the Narcotics Control Phanurat Lukboon said studies undertaken by his agency last year found that addiction rates had ballooned since cannabis was decriminalised. Smartaveller warned Australians heading to the country to 'exercise a high degree of caution' and advised travellers not to use or purchase cannabis. 'The use of cannabis is limited to medicinal purposes only,' the updated site read. Medicinal Cannabis will now also have to be below 0.2 per cent in weight and must come with a 'prescription.' The Thai government said the changes would come into effect when the law was published in the Royal Gazette, although did not disclose when this would be. The penalty associated with breaching the order is also yet to be announced. The Thai cannabis trade is estimated to be worth over $1.2 billion according to the Thai Chamber of Commerce, with the industry now thrown into limbo and uncertainty. Tens of thousands of stalls and business selling cannabis have sprung up across Thailand in recent years with the majority located in the country's tourism centres. The ruling Pheu Thai Party repeatedly pledged to re-criminalise the drug, yet faced fierce protest from its coalition partner the Bhumjaithai Party who advocated for fewer laws governing the sector. However the Bhumjaithai Party quit the ruling coalition last week after it was revealed in a leaked phone recording Thai PM Paetongtarn Shinawatra had inflamed border tension with Cambodia's former leader, which allowed the government to pursue the reforms. Government spokesman Jirayu Houngsub said the recreational use of cannabis had caused substantial social issues in the country. "The policy must return to its original goal of controlling cannabis for medical use only," Jirayu said in a statement.
NDTV
2 days ago
- Health
- NDTV
Thai Cannabis Shops Face Uncertainty As Government Plans Stricter Rules
Thai cannabis store owners and activists on Thursday hit out at new government plans to tighten the rules on selling the drug by requiring a doctor's approval, three years after it was decriminalised. The kingdom was the first country in Southeast 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 Tuesday requiring an on-site doctor to approve sales for medical reasons. The rule would only come into force once it is published in the official Royal Gazette. It is not clear when this would happen. 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 told AFP. "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." 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 last year, but none has come to fruition. The new rules would mean cannabis could 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," Kajkanit Sakdisubha, owner of The Dispensary cannabis shop in Bangkok, told AFP. "The choice is no longer up to the customer -- it's not like going to a restaurant and pick your favorite dish from a menu anymore." And he warned that many of the shops that had sprouted since decriminalisation would 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," Poramat Jaikla, the lead seller or "budtender", told AFP. 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 quit the coalition this month in a row over a leaked phone call between Paetongtarn and former Cambodian leader Hun Sen.
NBC News
2 days ago
- Business
- NBC News
Thailand moves to recriminalize cannabis, shaking $1 billion industry
BANGKOK — Thailand's government is moving to recriminalize cannabis, plunging into limbo an industry estimated to be worth over $1 billion that has boomed since the substance was taken off the country's narcotics list in 2022. The push to impose new controls on recreational use of cannabis comes after the Bhumjaithai Party, which championed its legalization, withdrew from the ruling coalition last week following Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra's apparent mishandling of a border row with Cambodia. Late on Tuesday, Thailand's health ministry issued an order prohibiting the sale of cannabis for recreational use and making it mandatory for any retail purchase to require a doctor's prescription. The new rules will come into effect once they are published in the Royal Gazette, which could happen within days. 'Cannabis will be classified as a narcotic in the future,' Health Minister Somsak Thepsuthin said on Tuesday. Three years ago, Thailand became one of the first countries in Asia to decriminalize the recreational use of cannabis, but without any comprehensive rules to govern the sector. Since then, tens of thousands of shops and businesses selling cannabis have sprung up across Thailand, many of them located in the country's tourism hubs. Thai Chamber of Commerce previously estimated the industry, which includes medicinal products, could be worth $1.2 billion by 2025. Unregulated access to cannabis has created serious social problems, particularly for children and young people, said government spokesman Jirayu Houngsub. 'The policy must return to its original goal of controlling cannabis for medical use only,' Jirayu said in a statement. The recriminalization push has left some cannabis industry members like Punnathat Phutthisawong, who works at the Green House Thailand dispensary in Bangkok, stunned. 'This is my main source of income,' Punnathat, 25, told Reuters. 'Many shops are probably just as shocked because a lot of them invested heavily.' The cannabis sector could have transformed Thai agriculture, medicine and tourism, but uncertainty and policy reversals have stymied any sustainable growth, said cannabis activist Chokwan Kitty Chopaka. 'The cannabis industry has become a hostage to politics,' she said. On Wednesday, there was still a steady trickle of customers — mainly tourists — coming into cannabis shops in Bangkok's Khao San Road area, among them Daniel Wolf, who is visiting from Australia. 'There are shops everywhere, so how do they reverse this? I don't think they can,' he said. 'It's absolutely insane.'
Straits Times
2 days ago
- Health
- Straits Times
Thailand's cannabis stores fret as government tightens rules on sales
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 Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
