Senior officials insist cannabis won’t be recriminalized

The Thai government has no plans to re-criminalize cannabis, Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam said on Tuesday. 

Wissanu said the Narcotics Control Board has no authority to reverse the ministerial order that removed cannabis from the Category 5 narcotics list. 

His statements came in response to a meeting held yesterday by the board to discuss the current legal framework around cannabis, as some reports had suggested the board might decide to overrule the Ministry of Health’s decree.

Concurring with Wissanu, Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul insisted that cannabis will “never go back” to being an illicit drug again. 

Anutin, who was the primary proponent of decriminalizing cannabis, noted that there are both supporters and opponents of the issue but said the latter group’s arguments do not deter his stance.

“I listen to both sides and…