By Panarat Thepgumpanat, Chayut Setboonsarng
BANGKOK (Reuters) -Thailand is planning to introduce a requirement for medical certificates to be shown when buying cannabis, a senior official said on Thursday, in a move to tighten control of marijuana use, three years after it was decriminalised.
Thailand was one of the first countries in Asia to decriminalise marijuana but did so without a law to govern its sale, production or usage. That led to an instant boom, with tens of thousands of retailers popping up across the country, particularly in tourist hotspots in Bangkok and the resort island of Phuket.
The new regulation, which is expected to be announced within 40 days, will ensure cannabis is used for medical purposes and not recreationally, said Somruek Chungsaman, who heads the health ministry’s department of traditional and alternative medicine.
“Anyone who wants to buy cannabis flowers to smoke, Thai or foreign, must have a doctor’s prescription for medical use,” he told Reuters.
“We don’t want people saying they came to Thailand just to smoke cannabis. That gives a negative impression.”
Thailand’s health minister previously said recreational use of marijuana would be banned by the end of last year, but no curbs have yet been placed on the industry, estimated to be worth more than $1 billion annually.
Authorities have so far issued piecemeal regulations banning cannabis from schools and requiring retailers to provide clear information on usage of cannabis in food and drinks to try to bring the industry under control.
The health ministry is drafting a comprehensive cannabis law, which would need cabinet approval before it is sent to parliament for debate.
Marijuana advocates say the latest requirement of a physician’s note was unnecessary because cannabis use was already in decline after an initial surge.
“Cannabis is not popular among youth. In fact, the number of smokers has not increased at all, which has caused many shops to shut down,” said Prasitchai Nunual, secretary-general of Thailand’s Cannabis Future Network.
(Reporting by Chayut Setboonsarng, Panarat Thepgumpanat, and Napat Werhcaster Editing by Martin Petty)
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