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Visitors checking out plants at Royal Queen Seeds’ Bangkok shop. Photo credit: Royal Queen Seeds
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Rosarin Salaria at her farm. Photo credit: Nature farmer 420
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Bangkok’s inaugural Asia International Hemp Expo & Forum attracted scores of visitors in November 2023. Photo credit: Thomas Schmid
Thailand’s struggle with regulating cannabis may see the re-criminalization of recreational use.
Thailand legalized medical cannabis in 2018. However, the big whammy only arrived in June of 2022, when the Southeast Asian country completely decriminalized the herb practically overnight and took it off the narcotics list. It triggered a scramble that was a sight to be believed. Cannabis shops and even online stores shot up like mushrooms, all of them fully stocked, of course (which raised more than a few eyebrows). Countless locals set up commercial farms, and even the government’s tourism promotion authority enthusiastically predicted the free-for-all bonanza would attract mil-lions over millions of visitors from abroad. Oh, and literally thousands of prisoners who had been convicted of cannabis sentences were pardoned and released. So far, so good.
But, there also was discontent among certain political parties who had strongly opposed decriminalization all along. Furthermore, the police were at first utterly clueless how to handle the situation. It took a few weeks for some rudimentary ministerial regulations to filter down. Sales to people under 18 years and pregnant women were prohibited, for example. Cannabis shops were not allowed to open in the vicinity of schools and universities. Recreational use, though “not encouraged,” was to be treated under the same rules as tobacco products. And eventually, online sales and advertising were outlawed as well.
However, the country to this day still hasn’t managed to promulgate a formal regulatory framework, with political wrangling and squabbling causing a concise rule book to be delayed repeatedly. But that cue has now been picked up again by Thailand’s new government. Although speculation is rife at this point, it is widely expected that a regulatory act at last will pass parliament either by the end of 2024 or in early 2025. Yet as the government has always put an emphasis on medical cannabis only, most stakeholders, including cannabis shop proprietors and farm operators, believe that the act will criminalize recreational use again.
Re-criminalization would be “worrisome”
“For shops like ours, the effect of criminalizing relaxational use of cannabis is worrisome,” said Lex de Groot, director of Royal Queen Seeds, a popular dispensary in downtown Bangkok. “Such regulations are likely to introduce significant hurdles for cannabis businesses, potentially shrinking the cannabis economy. By making it more difficult for adults to access cannabis legally for personal use, we’re not only limiting the rights of individuals but also impacting the viability of businesses within the industry. These businesses have invested significant resources with the expectation of a return on their investment and the opportunity to operate within a legal, regulated market.”
“Furthermore, restrictions that specifically target [foreign] tourists, such as requiring them to submit personal data, could have a dramatic effect on sales. Tourism has been a significant driver of growth in the cannabis industry… and limiting access for these individuals could deter them from visiting and purchasing from legal establishments,” opined de Groot, a Dutch national who manages Royal Queen Seeds alongside his Thai wife as the legally registered business operator. He added that restrictions not only could seriously affect the bottom lines but also push consumers – local and foreign alike - towards the illicit market, which lacks the safety, quality control, and legal safeguards the regulated industry can provide.
In dire need of sensible regulations
Not everybody shares de Groot’s concerns, though. Rosarin Salaria is managing director of Nature Farmer 420 Co., Ltd., currently Thailand’s only cannabis farm that grows its plants under strict Vedic principles. Salaria acknowledged that her home country was in dire need of a sensible regulatory framework. “There presently exists an imbalance of cannabis use in Thailand due to unstructured policies such as zoning locations, purchasing policies, quality control, medical standards, and so on, all of which is affecting the personal lives of the local Thai population,” she told Tobacco Asia. “All of that has somehow prompted the government to rethink the whole matter. In the end, control policies and laws will be the solution for supporting the billion-dollar cannabis tourism and the future of the industry as a whole, rather than suppressing it.”
Renewed push for “medical cannabis”
Though if local press reports are to be believed, the government definitely wants to push exclusively for “medical cannabis.” If true, that doesn’t leave much leeway for “recreational cannabis,” of course. Lex de Groot said the medical cannabis initiative constituted a very nuanced topic. “The implications for cannabis shops in Bangkok and elsewhere hinge on the specifics of how this policy will be implemented,” he said. “Drawing parallels with the American model, it seems this move could largely be about exerting control. Governments often aim to regulate industries under the guise of public interest, which in the case of cannabis translates to restricting its use to medical purposes only.”
De Groot suggested that Thailand’s shift towards medical use could well mean a tight regulatory framework that potentially involves strict licensing and compliance requirements, as well as rigid supervision controls. “For cannabis shops, especially those that are not already operating within the medical cannabis sector, this could spell significant changes,” he cautioned. “Adapting to a medical-only model would likely require shops to navigate new legal and bureaucratic hurdles, secure relevant certifications, and possibly even overhaul their product offerings to meet medical standards.”
In addition, transitioning to a medical-only model could constrain the broader cannabis market, affecting profitability for shops accustomed to serving a wide range of consumers. This, in turn, could impact employment within the industry as businesses will be forced to scale back or even close down if they’re unable to comply with regulations. “The ripple effects,” warned de Groot, “might extend to related sectors, too, such as real estate, where fewer cannabis shops would mean less demand for commercial spaces.”
Moreover, de Groot pointed out that there also was a social dimension to consider. “Restricting cannabis use to medical purposes could limit access for individuals who benefit from cannabis but may not qualify under stricter medical criteria.” He said this could inadvertently drive consumers towards the unregulated market, undermining the safety and quality controls that legal regulations aim to provide.