Hundreds of cannabis supporters gathered in Bangkok to protest against the government’s marijuana policies

Hundreds of entrepreneurs, farmers and marijuana advocates reportedly gathered in Bangkok on Tuesday to protest the government’s recent decision to reclassify cannabis as a drug. Bloomberg.

The rally took place in front of the headquarters of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific. Supporters carrying “Stop villainizing cannabis” placards managed to collect nearly 2,000 signatures on a legal petition against the government’s move.

Thailand in May Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin announced his intention recriminalize cannabis by the end of 2024, reversing the country’s 2022 decision to decriminalize power plants. The 2022 decision made Thailand the first country in Southeast Asia to legalize recreational marijuana and the third in the world after Canada and Uruguay. Since then, cannabis shops in Thailand have expanded due to a lack of regulation.

New public pressure to roll back cannabis laws comes after a concert by British rock band Coldplay, where attendees complained on social media that “the whole concert smelled of marijuana.” In February, Minister of Public Health of Thailand Cholnan Srikaew said a new bill banning recreational marijuana is being urgently sought and is expected to be considered at the next cabinet meeting.

“The new law will be amended from the existing one to allow the use of cannabis only for health and medicinal purposes.” Srikaew said, “It’s time.” “Abuse for fun is considered inappropriate.”

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Another rally was planned

Jerawat Tanyaprirom, the owner of a cannabis company said a complaint was to be filed with the Central Administrative Court against Prime Minister Thavisin. the petitioners were asked to disclose the expected financial losses they would suffer if cannabis were reclassified.

“If the government had backed down, we wouldn’t have had to file this petition,” Tanyapirom said. “But we want to have it as ammunition.”

‘If we apply drug laws, we will put cannabis back in prison and only allow it to be grown by certain groups of people’ – advocacy group Writing about the future of cannabis in Thailand he stated on Tuesday.

The group is also calling for another rally on June 9, the second anniversary of the decriminalization of cannabis in the country.

Naren Tolani, owner of All-Time High Cannabis Dispensary, highlighted the impact of the cannabis industry on the country’s economy, writes Thaiger. “This industry has made a huge contribution to the Thai economy and driving the market back underground will have an extremely detrimental impact on people’s livelihoods and health, and of course will place a heavy burden on the criminal justice system,” Tolani said.

Under the proposed reclassification, marijuana for medical purposes would remain legal.

See also: Cannabis phase-out intensifies in Thailand: Advocates want government to provide scientific justification for recriminalizing marijuana

Photo: Courtesy of Nelson Antoine via Shutterstock