Bangkok, November 22nd, 2025 – A prominent cannabis advocacy group, the “Write the Future of Thai Cannabis Network” (#เขียนอนาคตกัญชาไทย), has issued an open letter dated 21 November 2025 to the leader of the Bhumjaithai Party calling for urgent reforms to what they describe as “unfair and counterproductive” cannabis control measures introduced this year.
The network, which represents growers, dispensary owners and recreational/medical users, claims that three recently enacted or proposed regulations are causing widespread hardship for licensed businesses and inadvertently pushing consumers toward the black market.
Key criticisms focus on a ministerial announcement signed by former Public Health Minister Somsak Thepsutin earlier in 2025, which the group says:
– Requires all cannabis flowers sold in licensed shops to meet strict new quality standards with immediate effect, leaving operators no transition period and causing significant financial losses.
– Mandates a doctor’s prescription for all purchases, a rule critics argue discourages people from entering the legal system (as many do not want to be officially recorded as patients) and drives users underground.
– Removed previous age-based purchaser protections, meaning minors can technically buy cannabis if they present a medical certificate – certificates the network claims are now widely available for purchase.
Additional complaints target overlapping and burdensome testing requirements for growers and a draft ministerial regulation (still pending Cabinet approval) that would classify cannabis dispensaries as “medical facilities” under the Medical Premises Act – a move the network calls excessive and inappropriate.
In their letter, the advocates proposed four concrete solutions:
1. Reinstate purchaser protections from the previous Anutin-era regulation and create a dual-track system: prescriptions for registered patients, and a one-year “cannabis wellness user card” for non-medical adult consumers.
2. Eliminate duplicate flower testing for growers who already hold recognised cultivation certificates.
3. Abandon the plan to treat cannabis shops as medical facilities and instead design dedicated “controlled herb retailer” standards under the existing Thai Traditional Medicine Act.
4. Fast-track the Ministry of Public Health’s long-delayed Cannabis Act to Cabinet and Parliament for comprehensive, balanced legislation.
The network warned that failure to address these issues would undermine Bhumjaithai’s flagship policy of cannabis liberalisation, weaken child-protection mechanisms, and suggest the party’s original campaign promises primarily benefited select interest groups.
“We will continue monitoring this issue until fair amendments are made,” the letter concluded, noting that Bhumjaithai currently holds the Public Health Ministry portfolio with direct authority to resolve the problems.
As of publication, neither Bhumjaithai Party leader Anutin Charnvirakul nor Minister Somsak Thepsutin has publicly responded to the letter.
