The ending feels almost tragic, especially for a story that, when it came to adult-use cannabis, once seemed destined to succeed.
In 2022, Thailand made history by becoming the first country in Southeast Asia to decriminalize adult-use cannabis, removing flower from the narcotics list and expanding a liberalization process that had begun in 2018 with the legalization of medical cannabis. The move sparked a frenzy both at home and abroad. Dispensaries on every corner of Bangkok, eye-popping sales figures, international cannabis tourism, and every imaginable form cannabis on the menu. But now, four years later, the Thai government is closing that door.
Authorities confirmed this week that Thailand will move toward an exclusively medical model, effectively eliminating legal adult-use cannabis and forcing thousands of businesses to either adapt or disappear.
What happened, Thailand? You used to be cool…
Under new rules announced by the Ministry of Public Health, traditional dispensaries as we know them today will cease to exist. Some will call it a “policy shift,” others a “ban,” but what’s happening in Thailand reflects a much more complex reality: an ideological reversal driven by a market liberalization that outpaced the state’s ability to regulate it.
Let’s rewind for a second. When cannabis was decriminalized in 2022, the government removed flower from the narcotics list, opening the door to tens of thousands of cannabis retailers. Before long, people were buying pre-rolls in front of historic landmarks, filming themselves smoking on rooftops, and choosing from extravagant strain menus with hundreds of options.
The problem was that the Thai government never built a robust regulatory framework at the same pace. In other words, the opening came before the rules. And then the market did what markets tend to do when demand, opportunity, and regulatory gray areas collide: it exploded.
In just a …
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Author: Camila Berriex / High Times
