The landscape of cannabis legislation is set to be re-evaluated, as a new committee dedicated to analysing a bill to manage the plant has been announced by Cholnan Srikaew, the newly appointed Public Health Minister. The key mission as he adamantly stated, is to limit cannabis usage within the confines of health and medicinal purposes, hence forbidding any recreational usage.
The cannabis and hemp bill was put forward by the Bhumjaithai Party and had successfully navigated its first parliamentary reading in June last year. This bill is now the focus of Cholnan’s committee, established to meticulously evaluate its aspects, proposing necessary amendments if needed. Upon completion of their study, the committee’s findings will be submitted to the cabinet who will then deliberate on the future course of action: to proceed with the current draft bill or to cast it aside and introduce a fresh one.
Through this, Cholnan plans to enforce a stricter regulatory framework around cannabis; a hardline stance against recreational cannabis usage that was made clear in his statement, “Regardless of the fate of the current draft, be it to progress with it or create a brand-new one, my insistence is on a legal framework that restrains cannabis usage. The use of cannabis for leisure activities must be strictly prohibited to prevent the potential harm it could inflict on users.”
In a groundbreaking move, Thailand became the first Southeast Asian country to decriminalise cannabis usage in June of last year. The government decided to declassify the plant from the narcotics list, providing only one major exemption: any product containing more than 0.2% of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the compound responsible for its psychoactive properties, was still designated as a narcotic.
Pushing for this initiative had an underlying intention of promoting the potential medical benefits from cannabis usage and propagating a cannabis-based economy. The plan was to encourage cannabis and hemp to be grown as commercial crops and further, to allow its usage across various industries from food and fashion to cosmetic products. However, legalising the plant incurred minimal regulatory measures leading to an overwhelming influx and saturation in recreational establishments and smoke shops.
As it stands, existing regulations ban public smoking along with sale of cannabis to individuals under 18 years old and pregnant women. For cannabis shops, obtaining a license is mandatory and those growing cannabis for commercial usage are also required to procure necessary licenses–as reported by the Bangkok Post.
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