unsaveSave
share-arrowShare
expand-left
full screen Image from a shop selling cannabis in Thailand. The country decriminalized the drug in 2022. Photo: Sakchai Lalit/AP/TT
Thailand’s Ministry of Health has presented a bill to ban cannabis use, writes Bloomberg.
The proposal comes after Thailand became the first country in Asia to decriminalize the cultivation, sale and consumption of cannabis in 2022.
The decriminalization caused a huge cannabis boom in Thailand and subsequent complaints from the tourism sector about an increase in debauchery. Since then, more and more voices have been raised that the industry should be regulated.
According to the bill, recreational use of cannabis will continue to be punishable by a fine of 60,000 baht (about SEK 17,000). Selling cannabis in Thailand is proposed to lead to a sentence of up to one year in prison or to a fine of up to 100,00 baht (about SEK 29,000).
The bill is the latest attempt by Thai authorities to regulate the industry after failing to get parliamentary support for an earlier bill.