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New Delhi
In what comes as an ironic statement by the Thailand government, pot-smoking tourists are reportedly not welcome in the country. Thailand's health minister Anutin Charnvirakul on Wednesday made the rather surprising statement.
"We don't welcome those kinds of tourists," said Charnvirakul referring to the tourists who land in Thailand with the sole purpose of using recreational marijuana.
As reported by WION, in June, earlier this year, Thailand legalised the growing of marijuana and its consumption in food and drinks, with the aim of boosting its agriculture and tourism sectors.
Cannabis growers were instructed to register on a government app called PlookGanja or grow ganja, another nickname for the spikey-leafed plant. Nearly 100,000 people signed up on the app, immediately after the announcement, health ministry official Paisan Dankhum had remarked back then.
It is pertinent to note that the country had legalised cannabis for medical use in 2018. Thus the decision to legalise it for all and largely decriminalise its consumption was met with global appreciation.
However, some caveats were applied even when opening up the market. Accordingly, smoking recreational susbstances outside, in public spaces can still lead to arrests under "public nuisance" laws rather than drugs legislation.
Offenders potentially face a 25,000 baht ($780) fine, as well as up to three months in jail. And cannabis products with more than 0.2 per cent concentration of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) -- the psychoactive compound that produces the drug's "high" remain illegal.
In Pics | Thousands gather to 'smoke up' at Thailand's first fully legal cannabis festival
However, the volte-face to discourage tourists can backfire as Thailand's tourism sector has just started to pick itself up after devastating waves of the Coronavirus pandemic crippled the sector.
Read More: Thailand becomes first Asian country to legalise consumption of marijuana
According to data, last year the total number of foreign tourists in Thailand stood at 428,000, a steep fall from the record high of 40 million established in 2019.
Analyst reports suggest that over the coming decade the legal cannabis market could be worth anything from $50 billion to $200 billion as countries relax laws around personal and medical use.
(With inputs from agencies)
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