Thailand starts banning the sale of cannabis without a prescription

BANGKOK — Thailand has started banning the sale of cannabis to those without a prescription, three years after becoming the first country in Asia to decriminalize the plant.

The new order, signed by Health Minister Somsak Thepsutin earlier this week, came into effect Thursday after it was published in the Royal Gazette. It bans shops from selling cannabis to customers without a prescription and reclassifies cannabis buds as a controlled herb.

Sellers that violate the new order could face a maximum one-year jail term and a 20,000-baht ($614) fine.

The Department of Thai Traditional and Alternative Medicine, in charge of enforcing regulations related to cannabis, held an online meeting Friday with officials across the country to prepare them for the change.

Officials said during the meeting that shops that are currently licensed can continue to operate but they must get their products only from pharmaceutical-grade farms that are certified by the department, and must declare sources of their products to authorities every month. Those farms must also acquire a license for selling cannabis. The order says shops can only sell a limited amount of cannabis to those with a prescription, enough for personal use in 30 days.

They also said the department is setting up clear guidelines for the prescription of cannabis and enforcement of the new regulations. They said they will give time for the shops to adjust, but did not say exactly how long that timeframe would be.

Chokwan ''Kitty'' Chopaka, a cannabis advocate who used to own a dispensary in Bangkok, said there is still a lot confusion about the new rules, with some officials themselves apparently unsure what to do.

''Owners are freaking out, a lot of them are scared,'' she said.

The move to decriminalize in 2022 had boosted Thailand's tourism and farming industries, and spawned thousands of shops.

But the country has faced public backlash over allegations that a lack of regulation made the drug available to children and caused addiction.

Treechada Srithada, spokesperson for the Health Ministry, said in a statement Thursday that cannabis use in Thailand would become ''fully for medical purposes.''

She said shops that violate the order will be closed and the ministry will also tighten requirements for approval of a new license in the future. She said there are curently about 18,000 shops that hold a license to sell cannabis.

Chokwan argued that the rules were already in place, but what was lacking was the enforcement. She also said the abrupt change was politically motivated.

''We know we need regulation. We need control. The existing rule that is in the announcement previously needs to be enforced. Can we enforce that first? Before we move on to something that is harder and people don't understand what's going on,'' she said.

The ruling Pheu Thai Party previously promised to criminalize the drug again, but faced strong resistance from its former partner in the coalition government, the Bhumjaithai Party, which supported decriminalization.

Bhumjaithai quit the coalition last week over a leaked phone call between Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra and former Cambodian leader Hun Sen. Health Minister Somsak signed the new order just days after Bhumjaithai left the government.

The move to restrict cannabis sales came after officials last month revealed that cannabis smuggling cases involving tourists had soared in recent months. Somsak told reporters Tuesday he would like to relist cannabis as a narcotic in the future.

Thailand's Office of the Narcotics Control Board said a study conducted by the agency last year found the number of people addicted to cannabis had spiked significantly after it was decriminalized.

A group of cannabis advocates said they will rally at the Health Ministry next month to oppose the change and any attempt to make it a criminal offense again to consume or sell cannabis.