Thailand’s prime minister has said that he wants to outlaw cannabis again just two years after his country became the first in Asia to decriminalise the drug.
PM Srettha Thavisin posted on X that he was asking the Thai Health Ministry to amend the list of category 5 drugs to again include cannabis, and to issue new regulations to allow its use for medical and health purposes only.
ปัญหายาเสพติดคือวาระแห่งชาติที่ทุกหน่วยงานต้องร่วมมือกันแก้ไขปัญหาอย่างจริงจังเพื่อให้ยาเสพติดหมดไปให้ได้ และภายใน 90 วันต้องเห็นผลชัดเจนครับ
ในเรื่องการปราบปราม ขอให้กระทรวงยุติธรรม ปปส. และตํารวจ ร่วมกันตรวจ จับ ปราบปราม ยึดทรัพย์ให้มากขึ้นอีก ทั้งรายใหญ่ รายย่อย… pic.twitter.com/iYnOenhEin
— Srettha Thavisin (@Thavisin) May 8, 2024
The Thai PM said that he was concerned that legalising cannabis had made it available to children and increased crime, saying “drugs are a problem that destroys the future of the nation”.
Mr Srettha also ordered the Ministry of Public Health and the Ministry of Justice to work on the efficiency of drug treatment programmes in prisons and in the probation system – saying those who would not accept this assistance faced prosecution.
He said he wanted to see progress in the changes he requested within 90 days. “The drug problem is a national agenda that all agencies must work together to solve the problem seriously so that drugs can be eradicated, and within 90 days the results must be clearly seen.”
Medical marijuana has been legal in Thailand since 2018, but decriminalization in 2022 took things a step further, with critics saying patchy regulations meant the letter of the law was not enforced.
Last September, a CNN report said that Mr Srettha told Bloomberg TV that his government would seek to “rectify” the law on cannabis suggesting that the plant would remain legal only for medical use.
“The problem of drugs has been widespread lately, especially in the northeastern and northern parts of Thailand. And we don’t need another issue added on top of that,” the PM said.
The CNN report also spoke to Bangkok-based cannabis entrepreneur Kitty Chopaka who claimed: “The industry has supported and created a lot of jobs for Thais especially in rural areas.”
However, some critics pointed to what appeared to be a sharp rise in the number of recorded marijuana addictions after decriminalisation.
Some reports suggested In the first five months of 2022 prior to the decriminalization, there was an average of 72 recorded cases of marijuana addictions per month, according to the Ministry of Public Health. Between June and November, the number shot up to 282 cases, Nikkei.com said.
Last year, those said to be addicted to marijuana accounted for roughly 17% of psychiatric patients needing intensive care — a five-year high and a sign that the drug’s legalization may have resulted in additional pressure on hospitals.
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He is not the first leader to push for outlawing cannabis after it was decriminalised. I tried to find the names of other leaders but internet searches seem to hide this. Perhaps some of Gript readers can remember a country or two where this is happening. I remember attending a workshop some twenty years ago by someone working for Interpol in their fight against drugs. He was certainly not sanguine about cannabis having clearly seen its harms.
was this government elected by people,is this story about one person or the views of magority of people that live in that country ,i personally endorse medical use but not recreational use.
That’s fair enough they gave it ago, at least it’s left as a medical aid.