Thailand’s cannabis advocacy rally after lawsuit challenges decriminalization

The future of Thailand’s cannabis industry is up in the air after a new legal challenge could shut everything down. In response, the country’s lawyers are mobilizing in Bangkok today to fight back.

An order issued by Thailand’s Health Ministry on June 9 effectively removed cannabis from the country’s Category 5 narcotics list. Under these regulations, the cultivation and trade of marijuana and hemp were legalized. Restaurants and cafes are allowed to sell cannabis-infused food and beverages, but only if they contain no more than 0.2% THC. Products with higher THC concentrations are allowed, but only for medical purposes.

However, the opposition has not fared well and the Thai cannabis industry has been criticized for its lack of basic controls. The opposition argues that Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, by issuing the decriminalization order, caused social problems for the country and violated local and international laws. In response to growing criticism, the Health Ministry announced a new ministerial regulation to better control the advertising and sale of cannabis flower, but the law has not yet come into force.

The Central Administrative Court on Monday accepted a lawsuit led by Smith Srisont of Thailand’s Medical Council and MPs from opposition parties seeking to overturn the decriminalization order. Srisont is a member of the Medical Council and President of the Forensic Physician Association of Thailand. His lawsuit names Charnvirakul and the Narcotics Control Board (NCB) as co-defendants.

Political parties opposed to cannabis include Move Forward, Pheu Thai, Thai Liberal, Thai People Power and Prachachat parties.

However, cannabis advocates in the region will not accept the current legal challenge and are scrambling to speak out.

Cannabis advocates are fighting back

Chokwan “Kitty” Chopaka, one of Thailand’s leading cannabis advocates, announced on Facebook that she and other dispensary owners would gather at the government building in Bangkok at 12pm on November 22 to protest the lawsuit that could end it all .

“Stopping by various pharmacies around Sukhumvit to invite them to participate in the protest tomorrow, which went better than I thought, I think if your company is threatened it can make people quite active,” Chopaka posted on Facebook , translated from Thai.

“My apologies if I wasn’t able to personally invite each dispensary and I would like to take this time to invite all dispensaries to come out and protest the Narcotics Control Board’s renewed criminalization of cannabis. This means that potentially all pharmacies will be closed.”

“Those who don’t want their businesses closed. Those who don’t want their investment are gone. Those who don’t want to hide their growth will grow again. Those who want to sell cannabis legally. Those who don’t want to go back to get pee tested. If you want cannabis to stay legal, come and join us.”

ABC News reports that about 200 people turned out for the rally at Bangkok Government House. “We want to make sure these politicians don’t try to put cannabis back on the narcotics list. If that happens, our years of struggle will mean nothing,” Akradej Chakjinda, a coordinator for Cannakin, a network of cannabis decriminalization supporters, told The Associated Press.

A proposed law, the Cannabis Act, would implement Anutin’s decriminalization policy and will be tabled in Parliament on November 23.

Another advocate, Soranut “Beer” Masayavanich, owner of Sukhumweed Dispensary, announced that another group would gather at the Ministry of Health to discuss the upcoming cannabis law with Charnvirakul.

“We want to create a mutual understanding of the benefits that cannabis will bring,” Beer explained. “We insist that decriminalizing cannabis will benefit multiple sectors, from tourism to business to agriculture.”

Opposition leaders say it’s better to put cannabis back on the country’s banned narcotics list until the proper legislation comes into force.