Thailand Plans To Ban Recreational Marijuana Use After Coldplay Concert In Bangkok
This comes after attendees of Coldplay's Bangkok concert complained that "the entire stadium smelled like marijuana".
The Thai government will be revising a bill to ban the recreational use of cannabis, or marijuana
The use of cannabis was legalised in Thailand and the drug was removed from the list of controlled narcotics in 2022.
According to Thailand's Health Ministry, the revised bill would only allow the use of cannabis for health and medicinal purposes, and it would also regulate the proper and acceptable usage of the plant, the Bangkok Post reported.
Additionally, the government seeks to reintroduce strict penalties for both possession and use, including hefty fines and up to one-year prison sentences, The Diplomat reported.
Thailand became the first Southeast Asian country to decriminalise cannabis
Since then, numerous cannabis-related businesses, such as dispensaries, weed cafés, clinics, and hemp spas have sprung up across the country, particularly in major cities like Bangkok.
The government has yet to clarify what will happen to these businesses.
This U-turn comes after attendees of British rock band Coldplay's concerts in Bangkok complained on social media that the entire stadium "smelled like marijuana"
Image via @annaleemedia/@coldplay (Instagram)
Thaiger reported that many concert-goers during the band's Bangkok show expressed their dissatisfaction with individuals who engaged in recreational cannabis use within the venue.
They also pointed out the contradictions in security measures, noting that while personal items such as water bottles are restricted, cannabis and electronic cigarettes were allowed in.
Thai actor Copter Panuwat raised the issue on Twitter and urged the government to immediately pass measures to limit the recreational uses of the plant.
In September 2023, Thailand's Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, vowed to restrict the use of marijuana to medical purposes only
Thailand's decriminalisation of cannabis has affected tourists from neighbouring countries:
Cannabis products for medical purposes are allowed as long as they pass regulations:
In 2021, a doctor was spared from the death penalty after it was found that he was selling cannabis oil to patients suffering from cancer:
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