Thailand’s government may be backing away from a promise to ban recreational marijuana use, with one minister suggesting that it will instead seek to regulate the booming cannabis industry.
Speaking to reporters yesterday, Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, the leader of the Bhumjaithai Party, said that Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin had agreed to discuss plans for a draft bill to regulate the sale and use of cannabis, rather than banning it outright.
He added that the government will allow political parties to submit draft bills to parliament for consideration alongside Bhumjaithai’s proposed legislation.
The proposal was set to come before the Narcotics Control Board yesterday, a meeting that was preempted by the meeting with Srettha, Anutin, and Somsak.
However, Thailand took this historic step before there was a law in place to regulate the conditions around the cultivation and sale of cannabis.

Thailand Will Draft Bill to Regulate Cannabis, Minister Says