Thailand will seek to regulate its fast-growing cannabis industry through legislation, potentially shelving a plan to reverse the country’s landmark cannabis decriminalisation policy following opposition from within the ruling coalition.

The government will discuss plans for a draft bill to regulate the cannabis industry and wider uses of the plant, or political parties may submit their drafts to the parliament, said Anutin Charnvirakul, leader of the Bhumjaithai Party, the second-biggest group in Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin’s government. 

Anutin’s Bhumjaithai Party spearheaded the decriminalisation push by the previous military-backed government after making it a flagship election campaign. 

Although details are not yet clear, the move in favour of a bill could mean a halt to Srettha’s controversial plan to outlaw cannabis just two years after its historic ecriminalization. While the policy u-turn was already set in motion, it had yet to clear the Narcotics Control Board. As a member of the board, Anutin had vowed to vote against the plan.

  - Bloomberg