Thailand's newly elected prime minister, Srettha Thavisin, spoke out on Friday against the recreational use of cannabis, which is widely available in the Southeast Asian kingdom following its controversial decriminalization last year.

Thavisin took the top job despite his party not holding the most seats in the Thai parliament after the leader of the Move Forward Party (MFP) was barred from serving as prime minister.

Thailand's experiment with decriminalizing cannabis

"Cannabis policy will be medical cannabis. On recreational use, I do not agree with that," Srettha Thavisin said in an interview with Thai news outlet, The Standard.

"If this problem spreads in society, it may cause wider narcotic drug problems," he added.

Under the former coalition government, Thailand — which is known for its stringent drug laws — removed parts of the marijuana plant from its narcotics list in June 2022.

Thailand was the first country in Southeast Asia to decriminalize cannabis, a move which was seen as being lucrative for the tourism-heavy economy severely hit by the pandemic.

The University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce predicted last year that the market may be worth $1.2 billion (€2.34 billion) by 2025.

Blocked PM challenger resigns as party leader

Meanwhile, on Friday, Pita Limjaroenrat, whose reformist party won the most seats in the country's May elections, resigned as its leader.

Pita had led his MFP to the top spot in the ballot but was blocked from becoming prime minister by conservative lawmakers appointed by the powerful military. He was later suspended from the parliament.

The leader of the Thai opposition must be a sitting member of parliament.

"I resigned as the MFP's party leader to pave the way for an MP that is able to have a voice in parliament, be the opposition leader," Pita said in a statement on Facebook, adding that he would remain closely involved with the party.

dvv/ab (AFP, Reuters)