Thailand’s Prime Minister, Srettha Thavisin, has vowed to reverse the country’s decriminalization of cannabis by the end of this year, leaving the country’s grassroots weed community not just angry but confused over the conflicting signals.
The weed community has said that they are upset with what has been described as a “bungled political experiment,” one they claim has mainly benefited foreign investors and the rich rather than inspired local farmers, wellness businesses, and cannabis consumers.
Piyatida Jantra, a small cannabis plant grower in Korat, was quoted as saying: “I’ve lost a few million baht already starting a store. There are too many big businesses – white or ‘grey’ – who have too much more capital to invest, so they cut the price, and small people like us can’t compete.”
Jantra added that prices have been driven down to 40 baht (US$1.10) per kilogram at the farm but then sell at 400 baht per kilogram at their shopfronts.
These numbers far exceed the multimillion-dollar dividends that were promised to ordinary Thais when Thailan’s health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul first pushed for cannabis to be decriminalized years ago—a move that surprised many people, considering Thailand has had a long history of imposing harsh punishments on drug-related offenses, including cannabis possession.
As supply outstrips demand, farm gate prices have collapsed, which is something local cannabis entrepreneurs have attributed to the excess buds from the US grow rooms that are illegally entering the Thai supply chain.
Srettha has stated this week that he will order the Health Ministry to list cannabis as a narcotic once more by the end of 2024, ending the two-year, free-for-all recreational use that was decriminalized without adjoining regulation to regulate its usage.
The ministry will reclassify cannabis as a “category five” narcotic. This will make it a crime to possess and consume, Srettha stated on social media platform X (formerly Twitter). He plans to shut down—or at least control—recreational use but allow the medicinal and wellness market, mainly of low THC content, to continue.
These plans will likely be off-putting to the Thailand people, as well as tourists and businesses who have taken up the booming market for recreational weed.
Anutiin warned on Thursday that foreigners running weed shops in Phuket “must be arrested” as cannabis is once more deemed illegal.
Srettha, who appears set on reclassifying cannabis, made a campaign pledge by his Pheu Thai party. The party lost the previous election in 2023 but reemerged after the election-winning reformers from the Move Forward Party were blocked from office.
Pheu Tai has a long history of advocating for zero-tolerance drug policies, which are popular in its rural base, where narcotics, including methamphetamines, have “gutted” many communities. However, free weed advocates have expressed doubt that Srettha’s declaration will come to fruition, as he may face legal opposition when cannabis businesses file a class-action lawsuit against the government for loss of income.
Tian Scherer, founder of the Thai Budtender Academy, has stated: “The prime minister does not exist in a vacuum. The Thai cannabis industry is forecasted to be worth 43 billion baht by 2025. Many powerful Thai and foreign investors are involved, and work is in motion for Thailand to become a player in the global medicinal market, exporting quality flowers at low cost.”
Some in the weed community have questioned how enforcement will be possible in a country where it is common to walk down roads that have cannabis dispensaries every 20 meters, with bargain prices of 100 baht a gram for high-strength strains.
Under the current decriminalization rules, cannabis products must not contain more than 0.2% of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive compound that makes users “high,” to be considered legal. Current shops are openly advertising strains with 15% to 20% THC content.
“It’s baffling the government hasn’t tried to tax it or take the money to be made from tourists,” Piyatida, the cannabis plant cultivator, stated.
