Thai Anti-Cannabis Campaigner Pleased with Coalition’s MOU, Urges to Shut Down All Cannabis Shops

PHOTO: ชูวิทย์ กมลวิศิษฎ์

National —

Outspoken anti-cannabis campaigner Chuwit Kamolvisit was particularly pleased after seeing that the Move Forward-led coalition, in a memorandum of understanding (MOU), planned to regulate cannabis as a narcotic again.

Chuwit was one of the attendees at Monday’s signing of MOU of the eight-party coalition led by the Move Forward party.

In the MOU, the coalition said they intended to regulate cannabis as a narcotic and introduce penalties for its misuse after taking office.

Despite this, coalition leader Pita Limjaroenrat assured that cannabis business operators who operate in accordance with the law do not have to worry, as the problem with marijuana lies in its legal status.

After regulating cannabis, operators could still operate as usual but with certain additional regulations, according to Pita.

Regarding this issue, Chuwit, who had been actively campaigning against the misuse of the plant, responded that he was pleased with the policy but stated that after it took effect, all cannabis shop operators had no choice but to close down their venues in his opinion.

Pita however, has seemed to support a plan that would allow the shops to stay with certain rules and regulations and pro cannabis groups have already begun to rally towards this cause, which Chuwit disagrees with. A marijuana advocacy group called Writing Thailand’s Cannabis Future has already pledged to protest returning the plant to a narcotic unless Move Forward Party can clearly explain why this is happening and why MFP supports expanding alcohol businesses but not cannabis.

Chuwit added that when all necessary regulations are in place and marijuana is allowed to be used as a controlled substance for medical purposes, actual medical doctors must also be the only ones to prescribe it and believed this should only be done at major hospitals with many rules and regulations and paperwork.

On Sunday, May 21st, Chuwit held a press briefing in front of a marijuana shop that was located close to a female high school in Bangkok. He said this was among the reasons why the new government needed to re-criminalize cannabis to prevent children from being exposed to its influence.
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Aim Tanakorn
The local news translator at The Pattaya News. Aim is a twenty-four year old who currently lives in Bangkok. Interested in English translation, story-telling, and entrepreneurship, he believes that hard-working is an indispensable component of every success in this world.