Thailand’s blunt reversal on legal cannabis leaves local entrepreneurs at a loss

They say they are fed up with what has been a bungled political experiment, one that has mainly benefited foreign investors – including illegal cannabis importers – and the rich, rather than inspire a thriving local industry of farmers, wellness businesses and cannabis aficionados.

“I’ve lost a few million baht already starting a store. There are too many big businesses – white or ‘grey’ – who have too much more capital to invest, so they cut the price and small people like us can’t compete,” says Piyatida Jantra, a small cannabis plant grower in Korat.

“They drive the prices down and buy at 40 baht (US$1.10) per kilo from us at the farm, but sell at 400 baht per kilo at their shopfronts.”

It is a far cry from the multimillion-dollar dividends promised to ordinary Thais when Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul first pushed for cannabis decriminalisation several years ago – a move that surprised many considering Thailand’s long history of harsh punishments for drug-related offences, including cannabis possession.

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Thailand to outlaw marijuana in stunning U-turn just 2 years after drug was decriminalised

Farm gate prices have now collapsed as supply outstrips demand, something local cannabis entrepreneurs attributed to the excess buds from giant US grow rooms illegally entering the Thai supply chain.

Srettha this week said he will order the Health Ministry to list cannabis as a narcotic again by the end of 2024, ending the two-year recreational free-for-all that ensued after the drug was decriminalised without any adjoining legislation to regulate its exact usage.

The ministry will reclassify cannabis as a “category five” narcotic, which makes it a crime to possess and consume, Srettha said in a post on social media platform