News:2026-07-05/Policy/thai-pm-anutin-warns-thailand-may-shut-down-its-cannabis-industry-after-overseas-seizures

5 July 2026

Policy

Thailand

Thai PM Anutin warns Thailand may shut down its cannabis industry after overseas seizures

Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul told reporters on 5 July 2026 that Thailand may have to reassess its cannabis policy after a series of overseas seizures traced to Thai sources. He said he was prepared to shut down the cannabis sector if authorities judged it to cause more harm than benefit. "No matter how strict our measures are, if people can still smuggle drugs out, we need to go back and reassess our approach," Anutin said, adding that Thailand needed to prevent other countries from blaming it as the weak link. Thai Examiner reported the seizures behind the statement as 1.2 tonnes in Germany across two shipments with a street value above US$13 million, about 3.37 tonnes of cannabis buds in East Java and two arrests in Hong Kong involving roughly 13 and 10 kilograms, alongside arrests of British nationals carrying cannabis in luggage. Cannabis was delisted from Thailand's narcotics list in June 2022. The change under discussion would reschedule it as a controlled narcotic, restoring police powers of seizure and arrest.

https://www.thaiexaminer.com/thai-news-foreigners/2026/07/06/cannabis-industry-on-the-brink-anutin-threatens-to-reschedule-the-drug-after-huge-seizures-worldwide/ Source

2026-07-05 Policy Thai PM Anutin warns Thailand may shut down its cannabis industry after overseas seizures Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul told reporters on 5 July 2026 that Thailand may have to reassess its cannabis policy after a series of overseas seizures traced to Thai sources. He said he was prepared to shut down the cannabis sector if authorities judged it to cause more harm than benefit. "No matter how strict our measures are, if people can still smuggle drugs out, we need to go back and reassess our approach," Anutin said, adding that Thailand needed to prevent other countries from blaming it as the weak link. Thai Examiner reported the seizures behind the statement as 1.2 tonnes in Germany across two shipments with a street value above US$13 million, about 3.37 tonnes of cannabis buds in East Java and two arrests in Hong Kong involving roughly 13 and 10 kilograms, alongside arrests of British nationals carrying cannabis in luggage. Cannabis was delisted from Thailand's narcotics list in June 2022. The change under discussion would reschedule it as a controlled narcotic, restoring police powers of seizure and arrest. https://www.thaiexaminer.com/thai-news-foreigners/2026/07/06/cannabis-industry-on-the-brink-anutin-threatens-to-reschedule-the-drug-after-huge-seizures-worldwide/ Thailand