Future of cannabis in Pattaya a crucial issue in the Thai election

From Pattaya MAil

By Barry Kenyon

The opposition Pheu Thai party is the leading contender both in Chonburi province and nationally to head the next government after the May 14 poll. However, the party’s long-standing policy promise to recriminalize cannabis as a narcotic is reducing its popular appeal locally where there are 300 retail outlets, mostly clustered in the Pattaya area. The owners and managers of the seaside shops, cafes and dispensaries envisage their precious investments going down the drain. This financial panic is mirrored by the farmers, both commercial entrepreneurs and private plant growers, who keep the good times rolling.

Although the 10 Chonburi House of Representatives seats, including Pattaya, are being contested by a multiplicity of parties, big and small, the main adversary of Pheu Thai is the United Thai Nation (UTN) party whose chief strategist is transitional prime minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha. UTN has invested heavily in the pro-cannabis Pattaya sentiment and is keen to benefit from widespread business concerns about making recreational use of the weed illegal once again. Other competing parties which wish to keep the ganja joints open are Bhumjaithai (which piloted the decriminalization through the Thai parliament) and the Palang Pracharath Party (headed by deputy prime minister General Prawit Wongsuwan). The Move Forward Party wants much stricter controls in return for legality, whereas most other political groupings agree with Pheu Thai that smoking pot should be a no-no.

Supporters of marijuana recreational use say it is less harmful than cigarettes and an excellent boost for international Thai tourism. Opponents claim that most Thai citizens are against liberalization and that youths are being lured into unsavory practices. Last year, the health ministry introduced a parliamentary bill to regulate access to and use of the weed, but it was stuck in committee and has become lost in the runup to the general election. Public smoking remains illegal which may explain why most weed outlets in Pattaya appear quiet on the inside. The smoking is done in private with motorbike taxis even delivering to your home address. Pattaya’s investments in Puff Haven, High Noon Harvest, Grateful Growers and Beautiful Buds will hang in the balance for sure next month. The concern is that they’ll go to pot.