New Thai PM vows to end free use of cannabis a year after lifting all controls

Srettha Thavisin, Thailand's prime minister, during a Bloomberg Television interview in New York, US, on Sept 20, 2023. - Bloomberg

BANGKOK (Bloomberg): Thailand’s new prime minister vowed to restrict the use of marijuana for medical purposes after thousands of weed shops opened across the country since the nation became the first in Asia to decriminaliSe cannabis a year ago.

The government will seek to "rectify” its cannabis policy and rampant sprouting of dispensaries that freely sell the drug within a six-month time frame, Srettha Thavisin said in an interview with Bloomberg Television’s Haslinda Amin on Wednesday (Sept 20) in New York.