The Thai cannabis shop owners and activists planned on Thursday to the new government to tighten the rules for the sale of the drug by demanding a displacement three years after the decriminalization.
The kingdom was the first country in Southeast Asia to decriminalize the drug when cannabis removed from the list of banned narcotics in June 2022.
It was intended to enable sales more medical than leisure use, but the step led to the fact that hundreds of cannabis “pharmacies” all over the country have appeared across the country, especially in Bangkok.
While relaxation has proven to be popular with some tourists, there are concerns that trade is under -regulated.
Health Minister Somsak Thepsuthin signed an order late Tuesday, in which a doctor on site had approved the sale for medical reasons.
The rule would only come into force if it is published in the official Royal Gazette. It is not clear when this would happen.
WANTAT CHOTIWONG, a long-time cannabis activist and shopkeeper, said that it was “not fair” to suddenly change the rules for a well-established sector.
“This is a full-fledged industry-not only breeders who sell flowers. There are lighting suppliers, tree names, farmers, soil and fertilizer developers and serious for”, he told AFP.
“Some of us have invested tens of million baht in greenhouses and infrastructure. Then the government suddenly occurs to close everything.”
Instead, the government asked the government to “implement the proper taxation and regulation – so this income can be returned to society in a sensible way”.
“Too few doctors”
The government has made several previous announcements of plans to restrict cannabis, including the laws that were postponed in February last year, but none has brought up.
The new rules would mean that cannabis could only be sold to customers for medical reasons, under the supervision of licensed experts such as doctors, traditional Thai medical doctors, folk healers or dentists.
“It will work like this: Customers come in, say what symptoms they have, and the doctor decides how many grams of cannabis are appropriate and what stress” ”
“The choice is no longer due to the customer – it is not as if you were going to a restaurant and select your favorite dish from a menu.”
And he warned that many of the businesses that have been created since the decriminalization would not be able to adapt to the changes.
“The reality is that too few doctors are available. I believe that many entrepreneurs knew that regulations were coming, but nobody knew when,” he said.
While the pharmacy is waiting for the rules, managing director Bukoree Make Make Cannabis Sales stops.
“Customers themselves are not sure whether what they do is legal. I received a lot of calls,” Poramat Jaikla, the main seller or “Budtender”, told AFP.
The cannabis move comes when the government of Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatras Pheu Thai party hangs on a thread after he has lost its main coalition partner Bhumjaithai.
Although the Bhumjaithai party conservative, it has long supported more liberal laws on cannabis.
The party announced the coalition this month in a row about a leaked call between Paetongtarn and the former Cambodian leader Hun sen.
