Thailand’s Public Health Minister Somsak Thepsuthin has announced new restrictions on cannabis use, according to multiple media reports, with rules now requiring a medical prescription from anyone who wants to purchase it.
Somsak has described the situation as a “festering problem” and a “chronic problem,” noting the numerous complaints received regarding cannabis use, and has vowed to reclassify it as a Category 5 narcotic.
There is currently no information on when changes will take effect, but the head of the Department of Thai Traditional and Alternative Medicine, Somlerk Jeungsmarn, said on Monday that there will be a grace period before the new rule is enforced. “We want everyone to have time to adjust,” he said.
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The move marks a significant shift for Thailand, which was the first country in Asia to decriminalise cannabis. According to Somsak, more than 10,000 unregulated dispensaries have proliferated since its legalisation in 2022, especially in popular tourist areas and business districts. Furthermore, the lack of formal cannabis regulations have led to a rise in cannabis smuggling across borders, raising additional concerns for authorities.
The push to recriminalise cannabis has been part of an ongoing conflict within the ruling coalition. Tensions have existed between the Pheu Thai Party and its former ally, the Bhumjaithai Party, which spearheaded the decriminalisation of the drug.
Despite attempts by Pheu Thai to regulate cannabis more strictly, Bhumjaithai has resisted, but with its recent exit from the ruling coalition, it can no longer defend its flagship policy. Last May, Thailand’s former prime minister Srettha Thavisin also announced plans to restrict cannabis use, saying that drugs were a “problem that threatens public peace.”
