Looking back to early 2023, Thailand’s climate surrounding cannabis looked incredibly different than conversations surrounding the plant today. The country made major waves after becoming the first country in Southeast Asia to allow medical cannabis use in 2018, and it received global attention after decriminalizing recreational cannabis in 2022.

Though, the events that followed — including an influx of tourists openly using cannabis in public, the opening of plentiful cannabis cafes and reportedly thousands of pot shops over a handful of months with minimal quality control — quickly had leaders backtracking the historic move. 

Now, nearly two months after Thailand lawmakers made the historic move, the country’s current Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin announced that the country will move to re-list cannabis as a narcotic by the end of the year, Associated Press reports.

Thailand Presses on to Reverse Cannabis Reform Progress

The change in attitude surrounding cannabis is nothing new, as lawmakers recently approved legislation aimed to walk back cannabis reform and ban the use of recreational cannabis. The proposal clarifies that only the use of medical cannabis is allowed, while recreational cannabis is prohibited.

“Without the law to regulate cannabis it will be misused,” Health Minister Cholnan Srikaew said in March, referring to recreational use. At the time, he added that approximately 20,000 cannabis shops had legally registered with the government. The new law would force any unregistered shops, which became far more abundant following Thailand’s decriminalization move, to close. 

Rather, the new comments provide more insight on Srettha’s time table and future plans for recreational cannabis in Thailand.

Earlier this week, the prime minister clarified on social media platform X, formerly Twitter, “I want the health ministry to amend the rules and re-list cannabis as a narcotic,” adding that the ministry should “quickly issue” a rule to limit cannabis usage to medical only.

Thailand Prime Minister’s Broader Crackdown on Drug Use

The comments followed a meeting with the prime minister and agencies associated with narcotics suppression, prompting Srettha to take a hard stance on illicit drugs and order authorities to deliver results and “clear progress” in the next 90 days.

“Drugs is a problem that destroys the future of the country, many young people are addicted. We have to work fast, to confiscate assets (of drug dealers) and expand treatment,” he said.

Initially, the decriminalization move was only meant for medicinal use, though it led to an unregulated market that steadily prompted public backlash and concern over cannabis misuse and potential crime.

Additionally, Srettha asked authorities to be more specific about what constitutes drug possession under the law, from “small amount” to “one pill” in an effort to enforce tougher drug penalties.

While Srettha requested that cannabis be re-listed as a narcotic by the end of the year, it’s still not clear when this will happen and what the process will look like.

Questions Surrounding Cannabis Re-Criminalization

Throughout this U-turn of sorts, numerous advocates and entrepreneurs have opposed the rollback and said that it will ultimately damage Thailand’s economy. According to Reuters, Thailand’s cannabis industry is projected to be worth up to $1.2 billion by 2025 given the thousands of new shops and uptick in tourism throughout the country since 2022.

While it is largely accepted that the country potentially embraced too much too quickly when it comes to cannabis, other Thailand authorities aren’t as optimistic about the policy reversal. 

Prasitchai Nunual, secretary-general of Thailand’s Cannabis Future Network, argued that moving to recriminalize would hurt the economy, small businesses, and consumers. 

“Many people have been growing cannabis and opening cannabis shops. These will have to close down,” he told Reuters. “If scientific results show that cannabis is worse than alcohol and cigarettes then they can re-list it as a narcotic. If cannabis is less harmful, they should list cigarettes and alcohol as narcotics too.”

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Thailand will ban the recreational use of cannabis by the end of 2024, the country’s health minister told Reuters last week. The Southeast Asian nation legalized recreational cannabis for adults in 2022, but the country is now walking back legalization following a change in government leadership.

Thailand has been a leader in cannabis policy reform since it became the first Southeast Asian nation to legalize the medicinal use of marijuana in 2018. At the time, Thai leaders said that they hoped legalizing cannabis would provide new opportunities for the country’s agricultural sector.

To prepare for the change in laws, the nation’s health and agriculture ministries worked together to distribute one million cannabis plants for people to grow at home.

That groundbreaking move was followed by the de facto legalization of recreational marijuana four years later when the country removed cannabis from its list of banned substances. The legislation allowed businesses to sell foods and drinks infused with cannabis, provided they contained no more than 0.2% THC. More potent cannabis products were authorized for medical use only.

Because of weak regulations and a lack of enforcement, however, this legalization of weed in Thailand led to the opening of tens of thousands of cannabis shops, many of them geared toward marketing to tourists. The cannabis industry has already become an economic boon for the country and is expected to be worth up to $1.2 billion next year, according to economic projections.

Critics of Thailand’s legalization of recreational cannabis said that the reform was rushed, with regulations adopted within weeks of legalization. 

“There are no control measures other than word of mouth,” Mana Nimitmongkol, head of the Anti-Corruption Organization (Thailand), said in a June 2022 online post.

In August 2023, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin took office, vowing to revisit the legalization of cannabis to rein in widespread recreational sales of marijuana. A month later he declared a new war on drugs as part of his national agenda, which included provisions to scale back the nation’s cannabis policy.

“A consensus has been reached among the 11 coalition parties as well as all other parties in the opposition that the need to tackle the drugs problem is high on the agenda,” he said. “Let’s make today the start of a new fight to stamp out drug problems from society.”

Proposed Law Includes Ban On Recreational Weed

In January, the government issued draft legislation to regulate cannabis in Thailand and asked for public comment on the proposal. The proposal clarifies that only the medical use of cannabis is allowed and that recreational marijuana use is prohibited.

In an interview with Reuters last week, Health Minister Cholnan Srikaew said that the proposed legislation would go to the cabinet for approval in March. The measure would then head to parliament, where approval of the legislation is expected sometime before the end of the year.

“Without the law to regulate cannabis it will be misused,” Cholnan said last week, referring to recreational use, according to a report from Reuters.

“The misuse of cannabis has a negative impact on Thai children,” he added. “In the long run it could lead to other drugs.”

Cholnan said that approximately 20,000 cannabis shops have legally registered with the government. Under the new legislation, unregistered shops will be forced to close. The proposal also discourages home cultivation of cannabis.

“In the new law, cannabis will be a controlled plant, so growing it would require permission,” he said. “We will support (cannabis cultivation) for the medical and health industry.”

The proposed legislation sest a fine of 60,000 baht ($1,700) for the recreational use of cannabis. Those selling cannabis for recreational use or marketing or advertising cannabis flower, extracts, or smoking paraphernalia face sentences of up to one year in jail, a fine of up to 100,000 baht ($2,800) or both. Driving while high on weed would be punishable with a fine of up to 20,000 baht ($560), or one year in jail.

The bill also tightens regulations on cultivating cannabis without a license, with those convicted of such offenses subject to jail terms of one to three years and fines from 20,000 baht ($560) to 300,000 baht ($8,000). Importing, exporting and commercial use of cannabis will require a permit under the legislation.

Because Thailand’s cannabis industry has already become an economic success for the country, the proposed legislation gives businesses time to comply with the new regulations. Cannabis shops that are currently registered with the government will be allowed to continue doing business until their licenses expire. Such businesses will also be permitted to convert to legal cannabis clinics if they comply with all relevant regulations.

Cholnan said that he did not expect the new regulations to impact Thailand’s tourism industry. 

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The Southeast Asian nation of Myanmar is now the world’s largest producer of opium, according to a recent report from the United Nations. Myanmar’s new dominance in the international opium market follows the decline of production of the drug in Afghanistan, which had previously been the largest producer of the crop worldwide.

Afghanistan’s drop in production follows a ban on opium farming issued by the ruling Taliban in 2022, although that year’s harvest was exempt from the ban. Since then, the South-Central Asian nation has seen a 95% decline in opium cultivation. The Taliban retook control of Afghanistan in 2021 as the United States military largely evacuated the country following two decades of American occupation and war. 

Before the ban, Afghanistan was the world’s largest producer of opium. According to a 2022 survey by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Afghanistan’s opium cultivation increased by 32% over the previous year to 233,000 hectares (about 575,755 acres). The southwestern parts of the country accounted for 73% of the total area under cultivation and saw the largest crop increases. In Helmand province, one-fifth of the arable land was dedicated to growing opium poppies.

The report also states that the 2022 harvest was the most profitable in years, with prices soaring, even as a political and economic crisis engulfed the country. The income made by farmers from opium sales more than tripled from $425 million in 2021 to $1.4 billion in 2022. The primary markets for Afghan opium are Iran, Pakistan, and Central Asia. 

Decline of Opium Production in Afghanistan Leads to Surge in Myanmar

Earlier this month, a new report from UNODC showed that the drop in production in Afghanistan has led to a surge in poppy farming in Myanmar. The increase in poppy cultivation in Myanmar is also fueled by the social, political and economic distress following a 2021 military coup that drove many to poppy farming, according to the report.

“The economic, security and governance disruption that followed the military takeover of February 2021 continue to drive farmers in remote areas towards opium to make a living,” UNODC Regional Representative Jeremy Douglas said in a statement earlier this month.

Because of the decline in the opium supply brought about by the Taliban prohibition in Afghanistan, farmers in Myanmar can now earn about 75% more by farming opium than they could previously. The average price of a kilogram of opium flower has reached $355 per kilogram, according to the report.

The amount of land in Myanmar has increased from an estimated 40,100 hectares (about 99,000 acres) to 47,000 hectares (about 116,000 acres). The most growth in opium cultivation occurred in border regions in northern Shan State, followed by Chin and Kachin states. The UNODC report also noted that more sophisticated farming practices adopted by Myanmar’s opium growers have led to an increase in efficiency, with the average yield of the crop climbing 16% to 22.99 kilograms per hectare.

Myanmar, previously known as Burma, is an independent country in Southeast Asia. It shares borders with China, India, Thailand, Bangladesh, and Laos. Covering an area of 261,228 square miles, Myanmar is one of the largest countries in Southeast Asia. As of 2014, its population stood at about 51 million inhabitants, with estimates reaching 54 million people by 2017.

From 1962 until 2011, the country was ruled by the armed forces, enduring almost 50 years of oppressive military regimes. In 1989, the ruling military changed the country’s name from Burma to Myanmar.

In 2011, Myanmar transitioned away from full military rule, sparking hopes of democratic reforms. However, the military retained significant control over the government and, following the military’s proxy party’s defeat in the 2020 elections, a coup in 2021 returned power to military leaders. 

Douglas of UNODC said that an increase in armed conflict between ruling military forces and armed ethnic minority groups would likely further accelerate the growth of opium cultivation in Myanmar. The country’s ruling military junta did not respond to a Reuters request for comment on the report.

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