r/CannabisThailand Newsletter - Issue #25

Saying goodbye to 2022 and looking forward to 2023

Dec 25, 2022

Sawadee Everyone,

We’re heading into the final days of 2022 and, hopefully, we’re ready for 2023.

Given the Covid situation the last few years, here’s to hoping 2023 will be an up year for everyone and we finally have a year with normal levels of drama in the world.

Thailand’s cannabis bill has yet again run into snags. First was the insistence that Section 3 of the bill which stated that cannabis was not a narcotic was axed from the bill.

Suphachai Jaisamut, party-list MP from the Bhumjaithai Party and chairman of the House committee scrutinising the Cannabis Bill, had said previously that the deletion of Section 3 from the bill will not make cannabis a narcotic drug, because an edict from the Ministry of Public Health, issued in June, has already removed cannabis from the Category 5 drugs list and designated it as a controlled herb.

One would think that it would be smooth sailing from there. That would be a tad optimistic.

Then while reviewing the rest of the bill, only 214 of 439 MPs were present, six short of a quorum, which meant they adjourned parliament making no further progress on the bill.

If that wasn’t enough drama, the bill was bumped from consideration so parliament could take up more pressing matters on several other bills and the second reading of the cannabis bill would have to wait until at least Jan 4.

What last minute thing will pop up to derail the bill? Your guess is as good as mine but it sure does seem like the politicians that have been raising hell about the lack of cannabis laws turning Thailand into lawless chaos (that’s sarcasm) don’t seem to be in too great of a hurry to actually pass a law that would do something to curb cannabis use.

Cheers,

u/CannabisThailandMod