Thailand unveils new draft bill to regulate cannabis industry

Thailand’s new government has introduced a bill aimed at regulating the cannabis industry without explicitly criminalizing recreational marijuana.

The Ministry of Health, under the new government of Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, has released a draft bill open for comment until September 30. The bill aims to regulate the cannabis industry, avoiding criminalizing recreational marijuana but not explicitly regulating its use.

This represents a welcome U-turn in marijuana legislation in Thailand, as marijuana has been embroiled in political contention since its decriminalization.

Cannabis in Thailand has undergone many legal changes. Medical use was legalized in 2018 and recreational use was decriminalized in 2022, but unregulated. This has led to thousands of stores using the lack of regulation as a loophole to sell cannabis products, creating an unregulated cannabis market. Former Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, elected in 2023, promised to recriminalize recreational marijuana by reclassifying it under the narcotics law. However, the new government led by Prime Minister Paetongtarn, elected by parliament after Srettha was removed from power by the Constitutional Court for failing to meet ethical and moral standards, is now seeking to regulate the cannabis industry without recriminalizing recreational use, but without even regulating it, potentially creating further challenges for businesses and consumers.

The new bill aims to regulate the use, cultivation and sale of cannabis and hemp, which are not classified as narcotics under the country’s drug laws. The bill aims to address the health, economic and social concerns of the widespread use of cannabis and hemp, while striking a balance between public health concerns and medical, agricultural and economic benefits.

A significant aspect of the bill is the establishment of a “Hemp and Marijuana Commission” to oversee and enforce the regulations. The Commission will be responsible for developing policies, issuing regulations, and promoting the responsible use of hemp and cannabis in medicine, industry, and agriculture.

The Act also regulates licensing, detailing requirements for the cultivation, production, import, export and sale of cannabis and hemp, and protects consumers by restricting the advertising of cannabis and hemp products, prohibiting sales to minors, pregnant women and nursing mothers, and regulating sales near educational institutions, introducing penalties, including imprisonment and fines, for unlicensed cultivation and violations of the rules. For example, the Act states that anyone using cannabis or its extracts for unauthorized purposes will be subject to a fine of up to 60,000 baht ($1,803). Retailers who sell cannabis or its products for unauthorized uses can be sentenced to up to one year in prison, a fine of up to 100,000 baht ($3,013), or both.

Additionally, the bill establishes guidelines for the use of marijuana and hemp for medical, research and educational purposes, includes safety measures for consumption such as drunk driving, and establishes enforcement mechanisms to ensure compliance with the regulations.

The Act does not explicitly allow recreational use of marijuana. It places severe restrictions on the consumption and sale of marijuana for non-medical purposes, prohibiting its sale outside of specified uses, such as treatment, research, and industrial use.

Therefore, while the new draft law would allow the use of cannabis and its extracts in medical treatments, scientific research, as well as in herbal, food and cosmetic products, it may still pose a problem for growers, manufacturers and stores in Thailand that sell a wide range of cannabis products.

Because current law limits THC content to 0.2%, the new rules could curb cannabis use in Thailand, where there has been a boom in cannabis shops across the country, including in popular tourist areas.