Thailand will draft bill to regulate cannabis, Minister says

Thailand’s government may be backing away from a promise to ban recreational marijuana use, with one minister suggesting that it will instead seek to regulate the booming cannabis industry.

Speaking to reporters yesterday, Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, the leader of the Bhumjaithai Party, said that Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin had agreed to discuss plans for a draft bill to regulate the sale and use of cannabis, rather than banning it outright.

“I would like to thank the prime minister for considering this issue and deciding to enact an act,” said Anutin, whose party was a driving force in the historic decriminalization of cannabis in mid-2022. He added that the government will allow political parties to submit draft bills to parliament for consideration alongside Bhumjaithai’s proposed legislation.