Thailand: Cannabis supporters plan legal challenge of policy u-turn

Hundreds of cannabis entrepreneurs, farmers and activists rallied in Bangkok and threatened legal action against the government as it pushes ahead with a plan to reclassify marijuana as a narcotic just two years after decriminalising it.

At Tuesday’s rally in front of the United Nations Economic and Social Commision for Asia and the Pacific headquarters in the capital, nearly 2,000 signatures were collected in support of a legal petition to stall the government’s move. Cannabis advocates held posters with messages like “stop villainising cannabis.”

The petition would be filed with the Central Administrative Court against Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, said Jerawat Tanyaprirom, a cannabis business owner who collected the signatures. The forms required petitioners to specify any financial losses they would suffer if the government goes ahead with the u-turn.