The fightback is already quietly underway according to this Time report
Thailand’s move to reclassify cannabis as a narcotic threatens to trigger street protests and class-action suits by owners of thousands of dispensaries which sprung across the country in the wake of decriminalization two years ago.
A complete re-criminalization ordered by Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin on Wednesday will also push the cannabis trade underground, said Rattapon Sanrak, owner of Bangkok-based dispensary Highland Cafe. Writing Thailand’s Cannabis Future, an advocacy group, said it will hold a protest against the move in Bangkok on May 16.
Cannabis currently enjoys the status of a “controlled herb” in Thailand and there is no outright ban on its recreational use, allowing nearly 8,000 dispensaries to open since it was decriminalized in 2022. Srettha’s directive to re-label cannabis as a “category five” narcotic will make it a crime to “produce, sell, import, export, or possess” the plant and use it, according to Thai drug laws. Cannabis for medical and health purposes will still be allowed, according to the premier.
“We’re all doing everything by the book but then suddenly the book is going to change,” Rattapon said. “We’re gearing up to protest and preparing to file lawsuits in the event it happens.”
The policy volte-face is another blow to Thailand’s nascent cannabis industry after decriminalization was pitched as a way to boost agricultural income and wellness tourism. Liberal use of cannabis became a hot-button political issue ahead of the Thailand’s national election last year. With efforts to establish regulations around the marijuana industry failing, concerns grew about the social impact of addiction from easy availability of the drug.
https://time.com/6976768/thailand-cannabis-criminalization-law-protests-lawsuits/
