Thailand first legalized medical cannabis in 2018 and decriminalized broader cannabis use in 2022. Licensed and unlicensed shops flourished across the country similar to the early days of New York’s legalization where illicit sales went mostly un-enforced. In tourist and expat-dominated areas, you practically come across a new shop every block. In June of last year, the government reversed course forcing all cannabis back under a prescription-only, medical regime. There’s a funny detail in all of this: Thailand’s Prime Minister, Anutin Charnvirakul, a former business executive who leans conservative, was one of the early leaders of the push to legalize cannabis in the early 2020s.
