Thai PM to get tough on drugs, especially cannabis

Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin has vowed to crack down on illegal drugs, saying on May 8, 2024 that possessing “even one pill” should be punished, and ordering officials to press ahead with plans to recriminalise cannabis. Photo by Lillian Suwanrumpha/AFP

BANGKOK – Thailand’s Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin has ordered government agencies to have stricter measures against drugs, especially cannabis.

Srettha said the drug problem is a national agenda that all agencies must work together to eradicate.

He urged the Public Health Ministry to issue clear regulations allowing the use of the plant for only medical and health-related purposes.

“Drug problems are a top priority of the government as they destroy the future of the nation and everyone must work together to eradicate them. I request that there be clear progress reported back within 90 days,” he said in the social media platform X, formerly Twitter.

Srettha on Wednesday chaired a meeting with Thailand’s Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, Public Health Minister Somsak Thepsutin and Justice Minister Tawee Sodsong, as well as executives of related agencies, to discuss drug problems across Thailand.

He said the Justice Ministry, the Office of the Narcotics Control Board, and the Narcotics Suppression Bureau must work together to arrest drug dealers and seize their assets, and to shut down drug networks.

Cannabis was legalised in Thailand in 2022, although public smoking, its sale to children and pregnant women have been banned.

The ambiguous usage terms and possession limit of cannabis have been subjects of debate ever since. – BERNAMA