When Thailand last June made a historic U-turn in its drug policy and legalized cannabis, the populist party Bhumjaithai was driving the issue, arguing that it would boost tourism and the economy.
But a year later, the promising cannabis riches seem to have gone up in smoke.
In many of the thousands of cannabis shops in Bangkok, the tone is no longer so positive. The industry had expected a profit of between $885 million and $1.5 billion in 2023.
– It is not possible today because of the delayed laws and the large illegal cannabis import, a shop owner told Reuters.
“Cannabis is technically illegal”
The big problem with legalization is that, after being decided by the government in 2022, it never fully passed parliament before it was dissolved in March ahead of the upcoming election. Now the country’s cannabis market is described as a legal vacuum.
This has divided politics with the Bhumjaithai party seeing it as their point of contention while the other major parties are more skeptical and want to see legalization redone.
Come along to cannabis-smoking Bangkok and hear the political scientist’s analysis of the situation in the video above.