Thailand’s cannabis lovers face comedown amid legalisation U-turn

Bangkok, Thailand– On Ganja TV in Thailand, cannabis enthusiasts have followed the drug’s fast-paced journey from banned narcotics, to legal plant for medicinal use, to recreational high.

Now, a year after Thailand decriminalized cannabis, the Facebook page’s approximately 90,000 followers watch in bewilderment as rival politicians threaten to make pharmacies and open consumption illegal again – or at least tightly controlled.

At the center of attention is Pita Limjaroenrat, the prime minister-in-waiting whose Move Forward Party (MPF) took first place in last month’s general elections.

While MFP is widely regarded as Thailand’s most liberal political party, cannabis advocates say it is the driving force in curbing recreational use, casting a shadow over the country’s multibillion-dollar cannabis industry.

“Why have you changed so much?” Ganja TV said in a recent post accompanying a video of the MFP leader praising the potential of cannabis companies to fund schools and provide “immense opportunities” for Thailand.

Pita now says the cannabis boom must be paused to curb widespread recreational use until the new government can pass a proposed cannabis law to set clear limits on where the drug can be sold and consumed.

That lines up with the views of Pita’s alliance of eight parties, some of which are from Thailand’s conservative Muslim-majority southern provinces, which are seeking to form a government in the coming weeks.

To form a governing coalition, with Pita as prime minister, they must secure 376 seats to have a parliamentary majority. Currently they have 313.

The alliance’s stance on cannabis has angered Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, who has pushed for liberalization and refuses to support a government seeking to roll back the laws – even temporarily. Anutin’s Bhumjaithai party has 71 seats, giving it potential king status in determining the composition of the next government.

As the politicians squabble, cannabis advocates become increasingly upset about the clouds gathering over their industry.

“I started this [Ganja TV] in 2019, hoping to be a media platform to educate people about the benefits of medical marijuana,” K Lert, the editor of Ganja TV, told Al Jazeera.

“Now everyone is concerned about children being exposed to cannabis, but they have not passed the Cannabis Act to prevent that. It does not make any sense.”

For investors, legal uncertainty has undermined confidence in an industry that has thrived in the year following decriminalization.

“I have already invested about $1 million. If it becomes illegal again, I would have to stop the investment and find a market elsewhere,” Aphichai Techanitisawad, 49, founder and CEO of cannabis retailer Grasshopper, told Al Jazeera.

“Reversing the law would have a ripple effect not only in the cannabis industry, but in many others, including real estate – there are over a thousand pharmacies in Bangkok alone – so that means a lot of revenue disappearing for landlords. Not to mention other supported equipment for growing etc.

Cannabis has become strikingly visible in Thailand since the kingdom – which once had harsh penalties for possession – suddenly transitioned into one of the most liberal environments for sale and use in the world.

Taking advantage of the legal vacuum created by the failure to pass the Cannabis Act, Thais and tourists alike are smoking openly in the streets and illegal imports – mainly from North America – have flooded the market, providing ample ammunition for critics of libertine cannabis culture.

“Legalization has opened up opportunities; it’s been great.

But I am very disappointed with the political game we are in without the Cannabis Act,” Faris Pitsuwan, owner of the Siam Land of Smile dispensaries in the popular resorts on the island, including Phi Phi and Koh Lanta, told Al Jazeera. “It has to come with regulation.

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For Kobboon Chatrakrisaeree, a small grower in a suburb of Bangkok, the initial euphoria that followed the decriminalization has subsided.

“If we don’t have a law to regulate it, it starts to get smeared and contaminated by shoddy entrepreneurs who sell to kids and people who just pull out a bong and smoke it on the street like they’re in Canada,” Kobboon told Al Jazeera. “It’s all still new in Thai society.”

Reflecting on Thailand’s years of experimentation with decriminalization, Kobboon said he believes Pita wants to reset the cannabis scene for the safety and economic benefit of Thais.

“Ganja is a beautiful creation not only for people to get rich,” he said.