Cannabis to become illegal again in Thailand

With Thailand's election winners pushing to reinstate cannabis as an illegal drug, the future of marijuana growers and sellers is uncertain.

On Monday, May 22, Thailand's Move Forward party announced that it will re-list cannabis as a controlled substance if it is able to form a government following its surprise victory in the May 14 election .

Cannabis regulation is among the 23 agenda items unveiled Monday by Move Forward, which won the most seats in the lower house elections, and its seven coalition partners.

So when the Move Forward party and its allies form Thailand's next government in August, and even if they don't, it is inevitable that steps will be taken to reclassify cannabis as an illegal narcotic.

But that doesn't mean the country should automatically return to the good old days of mass imprisonment of Thais and foreigners, willy-nilly, for smoking weed anywhere on public or private property.

The devil, as always, will be in the details of a parliamentary bill.

Thongchai Somprasart, a spokesman for the Thai Freedom Group, which represents some farmers and growers, said billions of baht in investment are at stake, as well as billions more in lucrative recreational sales of the plant.

"We already know that medical marijuana use will not become a crime again, so the emphasis should be on partial criminalization rather than outright prohibition."

He added that legal smoking of cannabis could be allowed in 24-hour tourist towns, such as Pattaya , provided it is done in listed cafes.

Thongchai cited Holland as an example of a country where such a policy works well.

Another answer lies in Israel, where smoking weed is considered a public health problem, like cigarettes, rather than a criminal issue.

Citizens or visitors are not prosecuted for possession of less than 15 grams at home, while more serious offenders are subject to fines rather than imprisonment, unless they are serious repeat offenders.

If this policy were adopted in Thailand, adults would pay for marijuana-related offenses as they do for minor traffic offenses, with a point system to assess the severity of the offense.

Another option is already available in some US states where adult use of marijuana for medical and non-medical purposes is not prosecuted in "private spaces" or "out of public view."

In this version, smoking would only be prohibited outdoors, in public buildings or in clubs, bars and restaurants.

There is no doubt that Thailand needs urgent legislation to address the cannabis problem.

But simply going back is not the best solution.

There is some hope, if only because the Move Forward party has not been very coherent.

Its MPs supported the medical use of cannabis and did not oppose the removal of cannabis from the list of narcotics in June last year.

Some members of Move Forward's coalition with other parties have been similarly ambiguous in the past.

Source: Pattaya Mail