Surge in cannabis smuggling prompts Thailand to tighten rules

Thailand aims to clamp down on easy access to cannabis by mandating medical prescriptions amid rising instances of tourists attempting to smuggle out large quantities of weed.

Dispensaries will be allowed to sell cannabis only to those with licences or with prescriptions from medical professionals, including traditional medicine practitioners, when proposed changes to existing rules take effect in about 40 days. The amount sold will also be limited to 30 days of use, according to the Ministry of Public Health.

The new rules, which will be binding on local residents and foreigners alike, come after Thai authorities intercepted 73kg of cannabis earlier this week at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport.

Weed smuggled out of Thailand has reached the United Kingdom, India, Pakistan, Hong Kong and many other destinations, Public Health Minister Somsak Thepsuthin said. Thailand will now make it harder to access cannabis except for medical reasons, he added.

Thailand was the first country in Asia to decriminalise cannabis in 2022, but has so far struggled to regulate and contain its free use.

A legal vacuum, without a cannabis law in place, has allowed more than 10,700 cannabis dispensaries to open nationwide, with many in popular tourist areas and business districts in Bangkok and beyond.

The South-east Asian country has also made several policy U-turns after recreational smoking became a hot-button issue owing to wider societal concerns over addiction.

Mr Somsak’s ruling Pheu Thai Party had vowed to re-list marijuana – derived from the cannabis plant – as a narcotic to restrict its use to medical purposes, but opposition from Bhumjaithai Party, the second-biggest group in the ruling coalition, has forced Pheu Thai to walk back its pledge and keep the plant legal.

While cannabis can be consumed within Thailand, it has been smuggled out of the country in tourists’ luggage