(Bloomberg) — Thailand’s health ministry will seek the approval of Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin’s cabinet next week for a draft bill that will ban the recreational use of cannabis, Agence France Presse reported Tuesday, citing Health Minister Cholnan Srikaew.
Limiting cannabis for medical and health-related use was proposed by the government last month, effectively a U-turn from a landmark legislation that took effect in the middle of 2022 under the previous administration. Thailand became the first in Asia to decriminalize cannabis, enabling thousands of marijuana and weed-related shops to open nationwide, many of them in tourist areas and business districts.
Using cannabis for fun is wrong, Cholnan was quoted by the AFP to have said. The health minister said the government will seek to speed up the process to get the amendments passed, according to the AFP report.
Srettha had pledged last year when he campaigned for the May 2023 election to restrict the use of marijuana to medical purposes and rein in recreational consumption due to concerns over addiction.
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