A century ago, cannabis was completely legal in Thailand, widely used in food and medicine and to make hemp fibre. The same is true today – though perhaps not for much longer.
Recent developments indicate Ganja, as the herb is known locally, may be reclassified as a narcotic, just as it was for most of the last century.
Herb with history
Historical evidence shows humans have been using cannabis for thousands of years. The weed is thought to have arrived in Thailand from India, where it is used in religious rites and traditional medicine.
Thais have used ganja for various purposes over the centuries, including soothing tired muscles and pain relief.
However, amid growing concern over its intoxicating effects, Thailand passed a law banning the possession, sale and use of cannabis in 1934.
The country’s stance against weed toughened over time as Thailand signed three United Nations Conventions, the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances, and the 1988 Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances.
In 1975, Thailand issued a law on psychotropic substances that covered, among others, cannabis. Seven years later, it clamped down even further when the Narcotics Act came into force.
Under these laws, those caught using, possessing or trafficking in cannabis were punished with jail terms and fines.
When Thailand decriminalised marijuana in June 2022, no less than 4,075 prisoners convicted of cannabis-related offences were released from jail.
Journey to legalisation
Five years ago, few could have imagined that marijuana would once again become legal in Thailand. Even Decha Siriphat, director of the Khao Kwan Foundation for sustainable agriculture, got in trouble for handing cannabis oil to cancer patients in palliative care. Decha had studied the palliative benefits of cannabis after witnessing his cancer-stricken mother suffer through her final years.
Yet, hope grew that Decha would avoid a jail sentence after the Bhumjaithai Party promoted the legalisation of marijuana as its core election policy.
Under the policy, each household would be permitted to grow up to six cannabis plants to combat both pain and poverty.
When Bhumjaithai joined the coalition government after the 2019 election, its leader Anutin Charnvirakul was handed the post of public health minister to realise his flagship policy.
Under Anutin’s direction, the way was paved for marijuana to be decriminalised. Cannabis for medical use was legalised even before the end of 2019.
COVID-19 struck a few months later, stalling efforts to introduce the Marijuana and Hemp Act. Cannabis was finally decriminalised under an amendment to the Narcotics Code on December 9, 2021.
Anutin also signed a ministerial regulation to remove ganja from the narcotics list, making pot perfectly legal.
The cannabis market exploded, with shops and dispensaries mushrooming across the country and the herb was used in everything from food to cosmetics.
Returning to the narcotics list?
But in the absence of effective controls, the unrestrained use of recreational marijuana triggered alarm. Several medical networks warned of rising ganja consumption and abuse.
The Public Health Ministry responded by issuing two regulations: a ban on smoking cannabis in public and restrictions on the sale of cannabis buds, the psychoactive part of the plant.
The ruling Pheu Thai Party has long expressed its opposition to marijuana legalisation.
In May, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin told the Public Health Ministry to put marijuana back on the narcotics list and restrict its use to medical purposes only.
On July 5, the National Narcotics Committee passed a resolution to relist marijuana as a narcotic. The National Narcotics Control Board is due to hold a meeting on the issue soon.
If the board gives the green light, cannabis will once again become illegal.
However, Anutin – now a deputy prime minister and interior minister – is pushing back to prevent marijuana from being recriminalised.
Meanwhile, the status of cannabis in Thailand hangs in the balance.
By Thai PBS World’s General Desk
