A proposal by Thailand’s election-winning Move Forward Party (MFP) to reclassify cannabis as a narcotic a year after it was made legal is sowing panic in an industry that is projected to be worth up to US$1.2 billion over the next few years.
Thousands of businesses have sprung up since the legalization of the consumption and cultivation of the drug, with numerous shops in Bangkok and other tourist areas offering “Best Buds” to delighted tourists and Thai smokers.
Now the prospect of a new government rolling back the free-wheeling market is making business owners nervous, despite promises by MFP to protect cannabis business.
A proposed bill to set out the rules failed to get through parliament, allowing a massive recreational marijuana business to take advantage of the legal vacuum in Thailand, which for years had a reputation for being tough on narcotics.
MFP has formed a coalition with other opposition parties including the Pheu Thai party, which, responding to worries about health and abuse by youngsters, made a campaign promise to ban the recreational use of marijuana.
MFP and its allies published their political agenda over the past week that includes a proposal to “reclassify marijuana as a controlled substance with new laws regulating and supporting its beneficial uses”.
That is stirring consternation in the pro-cannabis lobby, including among the sort of progressive younger people who helped the opposition parties sweep to victory.
MFP appears to be treading carefully as it plots the future of a business that, according to a projection by the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, could be worth US$1.2 billion by 2025.
On Thursday (25 May), party official Sirikanya Tansakun defended the plan to reclassify marijuana, saying it was necessary to end the legal vacuum.
She nevertheless promised that businesses would get support as the party pushed regulation through parliament.
