Search the Community

https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/Thailand-scrambles-to-control-cannabis-sales-and-curb-abuse?utm_campaign=GL_asia_daily&utm_medium=email&utm_source=NA_newsletter&utm_content=article_link&del_type=1&pub_date=20230207123000&seq_num=9&si=44594 Thailand scrambles to control cannabis sales and curb abuse Buyers must show ID under new measures following decriminalization A customer holds a piece of cannabis at a dispensary in Bangkok following its legalization last year. © Reuters KOSUKE INOUE, Nikkei staff writerFebruary 7, 2023 05:54 JST BANGKOK -- Thailand is tightening the country's marijuana regulations, issuing new guidance and measures intended to curb a rapid rise in recreational use of the drug since its decriminalization last year. The topic is likely to be a major issue in general elections scheduled to happen by May. The government said last month that showing identification will be required when buying cannabis flower buds, which are rich in hallucinogenic compounds. Bangkok aims to incorporate buyer information into a national database to track and analyze cannabis sales and purchases. Businesses that fail to comply risk having their sales license revoked. Authorities also have intensified surveillance of dealers, arresting more than 30 people by January in places like Bangkok and the resort city of Pattaya for selling without a license, local media report. Efforts to prevent abuse by foreign tourists also have been strengthened. The Public Health Ministry last month released 10 guidelines for travelers on using marijuana in Thailand, including conditions for purchasing and growing. The guidelines also warn that people who smoke marijuana in a public place can be jailed for up to three months or fined 25,000 baht ($740). In June, Thailand struck medical marijuana from a list of narcotics banned for use or distribution and made cannabis legal for medical and culinary uses. Recreation is not included in the permitted uses, but the country's laws have been unable to handle the spread in its use. Weed dispensaries are not allowed to display signage advertising their wares, said Anutin Charnvirakul, the public health minister who pushed for the decriminalization. Despite that declaration, several shops continue to display signs featuring cannabis leaves. Some sellers in Bangkok give purchasers information on nearby smoking areas. The average monthly number of cases involving impaired consciousness and other issues due to marijuana use has quadrupled since the legalization, the health ministry said. The regulation of marijuana is stoking tensions within Thailand's ruling coalition. The Bhumjaithai Party advocated for decriminalization, but a bill to tighten control of the drug's use failed to pass in September after opposition from a coalition member, the Democrat Party, which said it had too many loopholes. Relations are fraying between the two parties with the elections on the horizon.