More than 60 per cent of Thais fully agree that cannabis should be reclassified as a drug

A recent poll in Thailand found that 60.38 percent of people "fully agree" with the reintroduction of cannabis as a controlled drug.

The poll by the National Institute for Development Management was conducted on May 14-15 among 1,310 Thai people over the age of 15, the Nation reported. Of these, 68.93% had never used cannabis and 31.07% had used cannabis in some way.

According to the poll, 14.5 percent "completely disagree" with reclassifying marijuana as a drug, and another 8.93 percent "strongly disagree."

When asked about their views on cannabis, 53.74% said it was a drug, but also useful; 33.59% also thought it was a drug, but it was of little use.

As to whether the government should compensate cannabis growers and traders after the reclassification of cannabis as a drug, 46.95% said it should not be compensated, 35.03% said it should be compensated, and 10.08% said it could be compensated to growers.

In addition, 74.58 percent said the government should allow the use of cannabis for medical purposes, while 19.39 percent said there should be no policy to support the cultivation or manufacture of cannabis products.

After the Thai government approved cannabis for medical and research use in 2018 and decriminalized it in 2022, there are now nearly 8,000 cannabis shops open in Thailand, and more than 1 million households have registered with authorities to grow cannabis.

Thailand's Prime Minister said May 8 that marijuana will be reinstated on the list of Schedule 5 controlled drugs by the end of the year, and reiterated a strong commitment to combating drug abuse, but will allow marijuana to continue to be used for medical and health purposes.