16 January 2024
Initially set in motion by community-led advocacy in 2016, the legal amendments about cannabis consumption, distribution, and production in Thailand over the period from 2018 to 2022 created a de facto legalization of cannabis and associated products. Emerging from a harshly punitive drug control policy, Thailand currently champions the world’s most progressive cannabis market. However, the vulnerability of this progress is palpable, marked by burgeoning tensions, proliferating ambiguity, and uncertainty about its future.
Elections in 2023 have brought a new government to power, headed by Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, who declared in late September that his government intends to achieve in the next six months a partial reversal of the reforms, recriminalizing recreational use and leaving the medical market as the sole legal arena.
Through a methodical data collection process involving key informant interviews and literature reviews, this report sheds light on the substantial impacts of such policy changes, especially on the illicit markets and organized crime networks. Informed by these insights, the GI-TOC has formulated preliminary policy recommendations to secure a resilient Thai cannabis market that is as balanced as it is sustainable.
The research identified the following key findings:
■ There appear to be four distinct but interconnected cannabis markets in Thailand: − the local illicit market, established even before the passage of the 1934 cannabis act, which was the main market for cannabis products until the 2022 reforms; − the international illicit market, which is intrinsically linked to the local one, and through which cannabis products are smuggled across national boundaries; − the local medical cannabis market, established in 2019, which was initially dominated by state agencies and is integrated into the national health system; and − the local licit recreational cannabis market, recently established and liberalized in June 2022.
■ The four interconnected markets ‘bleed’ into one another, converging on the recreational cannabis market: the medical cannabis market leaks a supply of cannabis disqualified for medical use; unlicensed local growers can easily sell their product to dispensaries; and vendors can purchase and sell cannabis smuggled into the country from abroad.
■ The recreational cannabis market is particularly vulnerable to the influence of criminal actors. In addition, the legal confusion relating to cannabis in Thailand and the retreat of law enforcement may have further allowed criminal actors to strengthen their base position. In that sense, the resilience of the local illicit market is likely to have increased due to the June 2022 reforms. These reforms may even have created opportunities for criminal actors to operate cannabis dispensaries, thereby expanding their revenues, diversifying their holdings and reducing their operational risks while gaining legitimacy. It is possible that the financial gains and benefits in credibility that illicit actors enjoyed as a result of the loosely controlled licit market far outweigh the losses that these actors faced.
Pascal-Tanguay-Cannabis-legalization-in-Thailand-GI-TOC-January-2024
