EGN NEWS DESK
Thailand’s prime minister, Srettha Thavisin, stated on Wednesday that he wished hashish to be re-listed as a narcotic by the top of the yr, a reversal two years after the nation grew to become one of many first in Asia to decriminalize marijuana.
Mr. Srettha, who took workplace in August, wrote on social media that he wished the Ministry of Health to alter the legal guidelines in order that marijuana may solely be used for medical and well being causes.
All marijuana gross sales in Thailand are technically for medical functions, however lax rules imply that many companies overtly promote dried marijuana flowers and unlawful imports. Smoking weed in public can also be prohibited.
Thailand decriminalized marijuana in June 2022, giving rise to a home business that has not too long ago been challenged by competitors and oversupply. There are 1000’s of registered dispensaries within the nation, and hashish is prescribed at tons of of conventional drugs clinics. Foreign buyers have additionally backed the development of high-tech indoor hashish farms.
The University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce stated in a 2022 report that the home hashish business may very well be price $1.2 billion by 2025.
After Thailand’s parliament chosen Mr. Srettha, an actual property tycoon, to be prime minister, business consultants anticipated that the brand new authorities would tighten rules across the drug’s cultivation and sale. Mr. Srettha advised reporters forward of a May 2023 normal election that his political party, Pheu Thai, didn’t need “full hashish legalization” and would help its use just for medical functions.
Many international locations within the Asia-Pacific area have harsh drug legal guidelines and provides lengthy jail phrases for marijuana possession, consumption or trafficking. In Singapore, at the least two individuals have been executed for marijuana expenses final yr.
In 2019, Thailand grew to become the primary nation in Southeast Asia to permit using marijuana for medical functions.
