13-5-2024 (BANGKOK) The Thai government faces mounting pressure from pro-cannabis advocates threatening to rally at the Ministry of Public Health from Thursday onward. Their demand? That the ministry provide scientific evidence justifying the proposed reclassification of cannabis as a narcotic drug.
The rumblings come as licensed cannabis farmers voiced support for the government’s intention to reverse course on the 2022 decriminalization, citing plummeting prices due to oversupply since legalization.
“We will give the ministry 15 days to convince us, otherwise we won’t accept recriminalizing cannabis,” said Prasitchai Nunual, secretary-general of the Cannabis Future Network, one of the groups planning the protest. “Countless studies show cannabis’ medical benefits, while none demonstrate serious mental health risks comparable to alcohol and tobacco.”
Prasitchai argued the decision must rest on scientific grounds, not politics. Ironically, he noted, the administration seeming eager to tighten cannabis rules is simultaneously pushing to relax alcohol regulations.
Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin hinted that even after reclassification, cannabis may still be permitted for medical use, with Public Health Minister Somsak Thepsuthin to provide specifics later. The premier maintained all perspectives would be heard before the Narcotics Control Board renders its final verdict.
The reclassification bid follows reports of a tenfold surge in recreational cannabis abuse among youth post-decriminalization. However, Prasitchai claimed his network has long advocated stricter regulatory laws, stymied for “political reasons.”
On the farmers’ side, over 90% of the licensed growers in Nakhon Ratchasima’s Nong Bua Sala saw their cannabis crops lying fallow amid the price freefall. One Sakon Nakhon cultivator lamented prices dropping from 10,500 baht/kg pre-decriminalization to a paltry 5-10 baht/kg currently.
Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, whose Bhumjaithai Party spearheaded decriminalization, vowed formal studies and multiple panel reviews before any reclassification proceeds.
