Wed Jul 02 23:51:51 UTC 2025: **Thailand Reverses Course on Cannabis, Sparking Industry Outcry**
**Bangkok, Thailand** – Thailand’s government is dramatically reversing its stance on cannabis, imposing strict new regulations just three years after decriminalizing the plant and unleashing a lucrative billion-dollar industry. Citing social ills and a need to refocus on medical use, the government now requires a doctor’s prescription for cannabis bud sales and plans to relist the plant as a controlled narcotic, alongside heroin and cocaine.
The move has sent shockwaves through the burgeoning cannabis industry, with shop owners reporting a steep decline in customers and fearing closure. Many argue that the new rules will simply drive the recreational market underground, making it harder to control.
“Yesterday, I could not sell anything,” said Faris Pitsuwan, who owns five dispensaries. Nanuephat Kittichaibawan, an assistant manager at Wonderland Cannabis, said that traffic has fallen from 10 customers an hour to one or two.
The government claims decriminalization led to a spike in cannabis-related health problems, especially among children, and increased smuggling. The government spokesman Jirayu Houngsub said the new rules are designed to contain Thailand’s cannabis industry to the medical market. However, critics argue that the issues stem from a lack of enforcement of existing regulations, not from decriminalization itself.
Many in the industry see the policy shift as politically motivated, a move by the ruling Pheu Thai Party to undermine the Bhumjaithai Party, which spearheaded decriminalization.
Farmers are also worried, as they must now obtain Good Agriculture and Collection Practice (GACP) certification. This will be difficult, especially for smaller farms, and can cost a significant amount of money.
Farmers and shop owners warn that the government’s attempt at confining cannabis to the medical market will not simply make the recreational supply chain vanish.Rattapon Sanrak, a cannabis farmer and shop owner, warn that those producers, having poured in millions of dollars and put thousands of people to work, will go underground, where they will be even harder to control.
The Writing Thailand’s Cannabis Future Network plans to hold a protest in front of the Ministry of Public Health on Monday in hopes of changing the minister’s mind.A class action lawsuit against the government is also planned, while industry figures brace for an uncertain future.
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