The New Thai Government Re-Listing Cannabis as Narcotic is a Hypocritical Move, Says Cannabis Activist

PHOTO: Matichon

National —

Pita Limjaroenrat, who leads the prospective coalition government, is hypocritical trying to designate cannabis as a narcotic again when he once said in Parliament that the plant helped him overcome epilepsy, said Decha Siriphat, a Thai prominent figure who fought for the legalization of cannabis.

Mr. Decha Siriphat, also known as the creator of Decha’s Cannabis Oil, revealed to Thai media on May 27th that he disagrees with the new government’s decision to reclassify cannabis as a narcotic, similar to before.

He stated that he personally uses cannabis oil every day because he knows its medical benefits. He believes that after being re-listed, there will be too many regulations surrounding cannabis usage that even doctors will have a hard time prescribing it to patients. He also does not believe that police and law enforcement would not crackdown on users and businesses hoping for money and that the entire situation would become a massive disaster and encourage corruption.

“Alcohol and cigarettes have no benefits at all, only harms. They are used solely for recreation. They cause numerous diseases, accidents, and crimes, yet they are freely sold. But something good like cannabis, which helps people quit alcohol and cigarettes, why does the government try to restrict it? They are hindering the good and promoting the bad,” Mr. Decha questioned the new government with Thai media.

He continued that he is confident millions of cannabis growers in Thailand will not back down on the reclassification, threatening he will stage a series of major street protests if the government carries out such a move.

Regarding Mr. Pita Limjaroenrat, leader of the Move Forward party and coalition partners, Mr. Decha commented that he is a “hypocrite”.

He claimed that during the time when Mr. Pita ran for elections in 2019 as a candidate for the Future Forward Party, he advocated for removing cannabis from the list of narcotics and allowing its full use for medical purposes and recreational purposes.

Mr. Pita even mentioned his experience visiting Jamaica, going to Bob Marley’s house, and how Bob Marley’s estate allowed him to enjoy cannabis for a price of 2,000 baht, which he then used the money to help underprivileged children.

“At that time, Mr. Pita spoke in this manner. Now, in the present, he claims that cannabis is a narcotic. Back in 2019, when I campaigned for the legalization of cannabis, Mr. Pita joined me and fully supported legal cannabis. Look at the photos,” Mr. Decha showed to Thai media the photos of him with Pita.

“Furthermore, Mr. Pita once mentioned that when he was studying in America, he had epilepsy. He said he could survive the illness because of cannabis. Other medications couldn’t treat him, he said. The only thing that helped was cannabis. He owed his life to cannabis,” Mr. Decha added.

The activist questions the coalition leader’s stance with the plant, urging him to not go with the wind. He said, “Cannabis helps people consume less alcohol, use fewer drugs, and smoke fewer cigarettes, isn’t that already good enough? You need to have a stance.”

The original version of this article appeared on our sister website, The Pattaya News, owned by our parent company TPN media.

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Tanakorn Panyadee
The Latest Local News Translator at The Pattaya News. Aim is a twenty-two year old who currently lives and studies in his last year of college in Bangkok. Interested in English translation, story-telling, and entrepreneurship, he believes that hard-working is an indispensable component of every success in this world.