National —
On July 25th, 2024, at 10:40 AM, Mr. Anutin Charnvirakul, the Deputy Prime Minister, the Interior Minister, and leader of the Bhumjaithai Party, addressed the progress of cannabis and hemp legislation.
Anutin mentioned that Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin had emphasized the need for a formal law and that they would first consider the draft prepared by the Ministry of Public Health.
The Cannabis and Hemp Act, initially proposed during the tenure of former Health Minister Dr. Cholnan Srikaew, had already been submitted. Additionally, the Bhumjaithai Party filed its draft in September 2023.
Deputy Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai suggested that any coalition party could submit a bill for consideration, emphasizing the Prime Minister’s directive to formalize the legislation and remove cannabis and hemp from the list of narcotics without involving the Narcotics Control Board (NCB).
When asked if this development marked a victory for the Bhumjaithai Party, Anutin denied it, stating it was a win for the public. He emphasized that they prioritize the public interest and dismissed any notion of competition within the coalition.
Confident in the Prime Minister’s commitment and the coalition’s majority support of over 314 members, Anutin assured that the legislation would not face the same challenges as the previous government’s proposal, which had only 253 supporters.
On the same day, Public Health Minister Somsak Thepsuthin commented on the cannabis legislation, reiterating that there were no new developments beyond what had already been shared. Somsak emphasized the importance of setting policies and frameworks as the primary role of a minister.
Meanwhile, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Smith Srisont, the President of the Forensic Medical Association of Thailand, and arguably the most vocal opponent of legalized marijuana in Thailand, highlighted the urgency for the NCB to approve the Ministry of Public Health’s draft to reclassify cannabis as an illegal narcotic.
This would enable swift regulatory control, he claimed, followed by the formal enactment of the cannabis bill, providing legal enforcement under the Narcotics Code of 2021 and the Cannabis Control Act.
Dr. Smith noted that the four existing draft bills on cannabis were inadequate compared to countries that allow recreational use. He stressed the need for a new, comprehensive bill to limit cannabis use strictly for research, economic, and medical purposes, and to set stringent guidelines on cultivation. Dr. Smith is strongly against any recreational use and has called repeatedly for regulation to specifically ban and criminalize recreational usage.
Drawing parallels with the kratom plant, he warned of the potential misuse of cannabis for recreational purposes despite legal restrictions, claiming making it an illegal narcotic under police enforcement is the only way to stop recreational use, concluded Dr. Smith.
