Thailand is grappling with a major issue ahead of its general elections – weed.
The country, which decriminalised cannabis last year, has been left without a law to regulate the use of the substance after its Parliament concluded its final session.
Let’s take a look at how cannabis became a major election issue in Thailand:
What happened?
In June 2022, Thailand became the first Southeast Asian country to decriminalise cannabis.
The country till that point had some of the world’s harshest drug laws, as per Time Magazine. Merely possessing cannabis could land an offender a 15-year prison stint.
Thailand’s deputy prime minister Anutin Charnvirakul of the Bhumjaithai party, was the driving force behind this move.
Anutin, also the health minister, argued that legalising the drug would both reduce overcrowding in prison and boost the hemp industry – which in turn would drive down the poverty rate.
According to SCMP, the country also wanted to provide a fillip to its nascent medicine and culinary industry – which is expected to generate billions of dollars in revenue down the line.
Indeed, within weeks of decriminalisation, thousands of cannabis shops and businesses popped up in Bangkok and in tourist hotspots.
At the same time, a raft of rushed piecemeal regulations to curb its potential unchecked use, including by children, was passed by authorities.
Parliament was considering a cannabis draft bill, but in February it concluded its final session before the 14 May general elections without endorsing the bill.
Which left the country without an umbrella law to regulate the use of the substance.
Parties turn up the heat on govt
Anti-drug feeling runs deep in largely conservative Thailand.
Public outrage has been stoked by videos of schoolchildren and tourists smoking weed as well as pre-rolled marijuana buds being sold on the streets, as per SCMP.
The Bhumjaithai Party, which successfully pushed for legalisation and campaigned on the issue in the 2019 elections, has come under fire from the Opposition and some of its coalition partners in government.
The Opposition Pheu Thai Party, whose leader Sreetha Thavisin is a frontrunner to become the next prime minister, said the recreational use of cannabis posed a threat to society, especially young people.
SCMP quoted Thavisin, an ex-real estate CEO as saying, “Since I’ve been on campaign trail I have experienced first-hand the suffering of the people and their discontent with images of 10-year-olds smoking ganja as well as other drug problems in communities.”
“These are images that many Thai people – including myself – cannot have expected to see and we don’t want the future of our children to be like this.
“I sincerely hope Anutin will see the problem in the way that I see it … to build a better future for our children.”
“The party only supports the use of cannabis for medical purposes,” spokesperson Trichada Sritada added.
“We don’t want any more weed. We’re done with it,” Pheu Thai secretary-general Prasert Chanruangthong was quoted as saying last week by VOA.
“Pheu Thai is for medicinal marijuana, not recreational. Do you remember brothers and sisters, the party which sold you Ganja as a magic pill to cure every illness and a cash crop for whoever grows it to become rich? The only people who got rich from it are the capitalists.”
Pheu Thai candidate for District 10 in Buriram, Jamras Wiangsong, told CNA, “Today, there are kids walking around with bongs. I think it’s such a huge risk. If the government doesn’t cut this issue out quickly, it will become a social issue for the youth who are the future of this country.”
The Move Forward party, which is looking to supplant the Bhumjaithai as the second-largest party, has also criticised the bill.
“There should have been a sandbox concept … certain areas slowly first and controlled,” its face Pita Limjaroenrat told This Week in Asia.
Satit Wongnongtoey, a lawmaker from the Democrat Party, a Bhumjaithai coalition partner, said the decriminalisation of cannabis without proper legislation was a mistake and vowed to address it after the election.
His party only supported its medical use, he said.
Bhumjaithai remains undaunted
But Bhumjaithai is, however, planning to submit the same draft bill to restart the process in the next Parliament after the upcoming elections, senior party member Supachai Jaisamut said.
“If there is a cannabis law, we can regulate it 100 per cent,” he said. “But with what we have, we can already regulate it 70 per cent.”
“There’s no such a thing as too fast, too soon when it comes to legalizing weed. The whole world has already done it,” Jaisamut told VOA News.
“Politicians who are now against the legalisation are the same ones that voted for it to pass [first reading] in parliament. But now they’re speaking out against it because it’s one of our policies.
Anutin, meanwhile, remains defiant.
He has vowed that his party will not join a coalition that does not support cannabis regulation legislation, as per SCMP.
“Whoever wants to form the government with us must support the cannabis policy,” Anutin said in April, as per VOA. “We can’t keep holding the Thai people hostage like this.”
Anutin told Time Magazine in April the drug had been stigmatised for many years and it would take time and effort to change the perception of people.
“What happened is that we’ve got a new “cash crop” or industrial crop. And like other industrial crops, it comes with economic opportunity. In the near future, we can maximize the opportunity by positioning Thailand as the leader in the market and becoming the source for products and know-how,” Anutin was quoted as saying.
Cannabis growers and dispensary owners are waiting and watching.
Worapot Kotcharat, a rice and cannabis farmer in Buriram, told CNA, “Right now things are not looking good because lots of people are trying to use the political situation to take cannabis hostage. That is why cannabis in Thailand is very fragile and a very sensitive topic now.”
“The concept of making it illegal again does not make sense. No one will get rid of marijuana, but it’s about how strict the laws will be. This will be a challenge for the farmers who will have to adapt to the situation,” local farmer Siwasan said.
“A major party clearly says it wants marijuana to be back on the narcotics list, but in reality, marijuana laws have progressed far beyond that, and I don’t think they would dare to go up against the new wave of entrepreneurs who have jumped into this business,” Siwasan added.
“There’s not really a chance for the law to go backwards,” said Chokwan Chopaka, who runs a dispensary, told VOA.
“But there’s a high chance of rule-making that would bar people from entering the industry. Think of it like beer … alcohol … it won’t be illegal, but it will be extremely regulated.”
But experts say anything could happen after the polls.
“Everyone will do whatever it takes to win. And once the election process is over, it will stand on the basis of what benefits each party the most,” Sathaporn of Buriram Rajabhat University told CNA.
“Bhumjaithai Party used to be a part of the Thai Rak Thai Party for a while, so it’s not difficult for them to return to the same place they were before – like a river with many streams that in the end all ends up in the same place.”
With inputs from agencies
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