MFP reassures cannabis businesses amid plans to re-list as narcotic
The Move Forward Party (MFP) reassured registered marijuana growers and cannabis business operators that their interests will be safeguarded in the future, even if the drug is reclassified as a narcotic.
Deputy MFP leader Sirikanya Tansakun explained that the party’s primary objective in re-listing cannabis as a narcotic is to enable state officials, including the police and the Office of Narcotics Control Board, to fully control drug abuse.
Sirikanya Tansakun stated that new laws will be implemented to regulate the use, production, cultivation, import and export of the drug, which the caretaker government had not addressed. She emphasised that registered cannabis business operators and marijuana growers will continue to be protected and allowed to operate as long as they have the necessary permissions, reported Bangkok Post.
This statement comes in response to concerns raised by cannabis-related business operators and growers after the MFP pledged to re-list the drug as a narcotic in a memorandum of understanding signed with seven potential coalition partners.
Sirikanya assured that further discussions on the matter will take place among coalition partners when the new coalition is formed before any changes to the current legal measures controlling cannabis are proposed and implemented.
Prasitchai Nunual, secretary-general of a civic group called the Network Writing Thailand’s Cannabis Future, posted an open letter on Facebook addressed to MFP leader Pita Limjaroenrat. The group urged Limjaroenrat to approach the issue democratically, arguing that re-listing the drug as a narcotic would negatively impact medical cannabis.
Prasitchai called for the newly elected government to engage in more open and serious discussions about cannabis, as public perception has been affected by aggressive anti-cannabis campaigns from two popular political parties. He also suggested that all relevant parties should be allowed to participate in discussions to determine the most suitable legal mechanisms for better cannabis control.
