They’ve moved to cross new laws banning hashish for leisure use in a significant reversal 18 months after the nation grew to become the primary in Asia to decriminalize the plant, as reported by CNN. The newly appointed coalition authorities that got here to energy final 12 months aimed to tighten the principles and solely enable hashish for medical use.

The relaxed legal guidelines noticed a profitable hashish business catering to locals and foreigners alike increase throughout the Southeast Asian nation, in line with CNN. Thailand’s well being ministry launched a draft invoice on Tuesday, stating hefty fines or jail sentences for as much as one 12 months for offenders, or each. It additional welcomed suggestions from the general public.

Hashish and cannabis-related merchandise might be restricted to medical and well being functions solely, the invoice states, echoing Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin’s pledge in September that his new authorities will “rectify” legal guidelines on hashish inside the subsequent six months.

Even with the relaxed legal guidelines, smoking Marijuana in public was unlawful, however the proposed new legal guidelines will ban promoting and advertising and marketing campaigns for hashish bus extracts, and different hashish merchandise, as reported by CNN. Nevertheless, earlier, a draft invoice didn’t win parliamentary approval in November.

Thavisin has been vocal about banning leisure hashish and said in a number of media interviews that drug abuse is “an enormous drawback for Thailand.”

Notably, Thailand grew to become the primary nation in Asia to totally decriminalise hashish in June 2022, a transfer years within the making and a rarity in a area the place many nations give lengthy jail phrases and even demise sentences for folks convicted of marijuana possession, consumption or trafficking, in line with CNN.

In Hong Kong, even non-psychoactive cannabidiol (CBD) is outlawed.

Furthermore, Singapore maintained the demise penalty for trafficking medicine, and residents travelling to Thailand are warned they may nonetheless be prosecuted on return in the event that they smoke weed abroad.

Medical marijuana has been authorized in Thailand since 2018, however decriminalisation in 2022 took a significant flip, making it now not against the law to develop and commerce marijuana and hemp merchandise or to make use of any components of the plant to deal with diseases.

Since then, hundreds of hashish dispensaries have sprung up throughout Thailand, in addition to different cannabis-themed companies like weed cafes, hemp spas and wonder remedies, CNN reported.

Nevertheless, cities like Chiang Mai and the capital, Bangkok have even held weed festivals, and decriminalisation has set a significant downside for vacationers.