Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul seemed hopeful Wednesday that the current coalition government will enact a measure regulating cannabis, while a health advocacy organization has demanded a complete prohibition of recreational marijuana use.
According to Mr. Anutin, the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) has prepared a new draft for former health minister Cholnan Srikaew to present to the House for discussion alongside the bill that the Bhumjaithai Party had previously submitted in September.
After announcing plans to relist marijuana as a narcotic drug, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin reversed course on Tuesday. The plant’s decriminalisation occurred two years ago.
When asked about his confidence in the cannabis control bill’s chances of passing this time around, Mr. Anutin cited two reasons to believe it will succeed this time around rather than fail in the House like it did during the previous administration.
“I believe in the PM’s commitment and clear order [to push to pass the bill], and now this coalition has up to 314 votes to cast in support of the cannabis control bill, unlike the past coalition, which only had 253 votes to do so [when the bill was voted down],” said the minister.
In May of this year, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin directed the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) to revise its regulations in a way that would reclassify marijuana as a narcotic drug, with the intention of limiting its usage to medicinal and health-promoting applications only.
The health advocacy group is spearheading a public campaign to have marijuana reclassified as a narcotic. They claim that the prime minister’s plan to regulate cannabis use instead will allow for its recreational use because there will be legal loopholes.
The organisation claims to have scientific proof linking the growing cannabis epidemic to an upsurge in users’ physical and mental health issues.
Yesterday, the organisation released a statement urging the government to legalise medicinal marijuana usage immediately and to relist cannabis as a narcotic to prevent its abuse. According to the group, this approach is the best way to end the disagreements that have arisen thus far.
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Geoff Thomas is an award winning journalist known for his sharp insights and no-nonsense reporting style. Over the years he has worked for Reuters and the Canadian Press covering everything from political scandals to human interest stories. He brings a clear and direct approach to his work.
