BANGKOK: Thailand , will work towards legislating marijuana for medical use, a deputy prime minister said on Tuesday ( Jul 23 ), signalling a U-turn on plans to re-criminalise the plant and another change in the government’s hazy position on cannabis.
Thailand  became one of the primary Asian nations to decriminalise marijuana in 2022, going without a law or strict rules in place to halt its outdoor use.
However, the choice caused a rise in outdoor use and the opening of tens of thousands of cannabis cafes and retailers, which prompted open concern about its misuse.
Anutin Charnvirakul, the deputy prime minister, whose gathering was instrumental in supporting the legalization of marijuana, claimed that Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin had now decided that legislation was the best course of action.
Anutin thanked the prime minister for taking this topic into consideration and choosing to issue an act.
The government has maintained recreational use of cannabis was hardly allowed and Srettha, who belongs to a different party, had said , he had re-criminalise , it due to concerns over misuse, with an exception for medical use and study.
According to Prommin Lertsuridej, secretary-general of the prime minister, “it will be a matter of law and debated in parliament where there is already a document rules.”
” Whether it is a narcotic or not is up to congress”.