Cannabis network accuses health minister of political manoeuvring, vows mass protest on July 7

The Writing Thailand’s Cannabis Future Network on Wednesday issued a blistering statement accusing Public Health Minister Somsak Thepsuthin of weaponising cannabis policy to serve political and monopolistic ends.

This follows Somsak’s announcement to reclassify cannabis as a narcotic within 45 days—just days after the Bhumjaithai Party exited the ruling coalition.

The group said Somsak’s actions were politically motivated rather than fact-based, claiming he had failed to implement any real cannabis-related policies for months, only to now revive his narrative that cannabis is dangerous.

“His sudden revival of anti-cannabis rhetoric is less about protecting the public and more about reclaiming political control and shaping the market to benefit a select few,” the statement said.

The network criticised the new ministerial regulation signed on June 23, which replaces existing safeguards with a medical permit model requiring authorisation from so-called ‘experts’. This, the network warned, could foster corruption and limit access to cannabis—particularly disadvantaging ordinary people.

The previous regulation, which clearly banned sales to those under 20 and students, has been scrapped. The new regulation, the group noted, allows anyone with a doctor’s note to purchase cannabis—including students—undermining the government’s own stated goals.

“Somsak’s approach is not about protecting youth; it’s about controlling access to a multi-billion-baht industry. The goal is monopoly, not public health,” the network declared.

It further accused the minister of bending facts to suit his agenda, using the current political climate to consolidate control over cannabis access by centralising power among hostile ‘experts’ and positioning himself as a defender of medical cannabis to justify bringing the plant back under narcotic laws.

The network also outlined two urgent demands as part of their protest campaign:

1. Amend the June 23 ministerial announcement to reinstate previous principles that allowed public access to cannabis under appropriate regulation. The current draft replaces those principles with a narrow model requiring authorisation by medical professionals, creating a gateway for corruption and undermining access for ordinary citizens.

2. Stop any attempt to relist cannabis as a narcotic. Instead, Somsak should immediately advance the draft Cannabis Act introduced by former Public Health Minister Cholnan Srikaew of his own party. That draft had already undergone public consultation but has since stalled—despite the government’s term nearing its end.

“These delays and diversions make it clear that Somsak has never truly supported cannabis reform,” the network stated.

The group called on the public to join a mass rally at the Ministry of Public Health on July 7 at 1:00pm to push both demands forward and pledged ongoing action until the Cannabis Act is officially tabled and passed by Parliament.