Thai authorities said Wednesday that the country is taking further steps to tighten controls on marijuana sales after the health minister signed an order banning sales to those without a prescription.
According to the Associated Press, Thailand became the first country in Asia to decriminalize marijuana in 2022, a move that boosted tourism and agriculture and quickly led to the emergence of thousands of marijuana shops across the country. However, lax regulation has sparked a public backlash, with allegations that marijuana has been exposed to minors and addiction is growing.
Health Minister Somsak Thepsutin signed an order on Monday banning stores from selling marijuana to customers without a prescription. The new rules also plan to reclassify marijuana flowers as “controlled herbs.”
Phanurat Lukboon, secretary-general of Thailand’s Narcotics Control Committee, said Wednesday that his agency is ready to study and implement the regulatory change. The new order will take effect immediately after it is published in the Royal Gazette, but the exact date of publication is unclear.
The ruling Pheu Thai Party had previously promised to reclassify marijuana as a drug, but was strongly opposed by its former coalition ally, the Bhumjaithai Party, which was a key force in the legalization push and withdrew from the coalition last week after a recording of a phone call between Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra and former Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen was released.
Songsak said he was interested in reclassifying marijuana as a drug in the future. The measure follows the government’s revelation last month that “a large number of tourists were involved in a surge in marijuana smuggling cases.”
Panurat said a study conducted by the Narcotics Control Council last year showed a significant increase in the number of addicts after marijuana was decriminalized.
Government spokesman Jirayu Houngsab said the government has instructed the Ministry of Health to strengthen controls on marijuana sales. “Many stores sell marijuana for recreational and medical purposes, making it easy for children and ordinary people to obtain marijuana, which is contrary to the government’s purpose of fighting drugs,” he said.
Marijuana legalization advocacy groups said on Wednesday that the new rules were clearly politically motivated. The group announced that it would hold a protest rally at the Ministry of Health next month against the government’s attempt to re-criminalize the use or sale of marijuana.
