Pro-cannabis activist groups are urging the prospective government coalition led by the Move Forward Party (MFP) not to put cannabis back on the narcotic drugs list.
The Cannabis for the People Association, led by its coordinator Ratthapon Saenrak, submitted complaints on the matter to the MFP’s office yesterday before having a discussion with the party regarding its cannabis-related policies.
According to Mr Ratthapon, the association has worked on cannabis usage for at least ten years with the aim of removing the plant from the narcotic drugs list. With that said, they thought they might have a better way to control the plant’s usage than to include it in a pact outlining their working agenda that eight alliance members signed on May 22.
The association’s members said that putting the plant back on the list without any supporting literature might have a wider effect on society than just removing it did.
They said those who engaged in the industry legally from the start might face sudden, unfair accusations later and that it could affect those who rely on cannabis for their business and livelihood.
The members fielded two core complaints, said Mr Ratthapon. One was a call for a discussion about what those who benefited from the plant should do next before any law is potentially passed criminalising the plant. The other called for a law that closes any loopholes allowing for the plant’s widespread recreational use.
MP-elect Woraphob Wiriyaroj said the party would consider a new cannabis law that balances the interests of users of a legal age while also protecting minors, adding it will engage in further discussions with the association.
Members of Thailand’s Cannabis Future Network will also submit a list of their complaints to Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha.
An event commemorating National Cannabis Day was held at the Office of the Public Sector Development Commission in Bangkok yesterday.
It featured a table with a petition calling for cannabis not to be placed back on the list of narcotic drugs, as well as a discussion regarding plans to control the plant’s usage, led by Prasitchai Nunual, the network leader.