Thai marijuana boosters rally to keep drug decriminalized

By CHALIDA EKVITTHAYAVECHNUKUL
Associated Press

BANGKOK (AP) — Around 200 backers of Thailand’s liberalized marijuana regulations have rallied in Bangkok to protest the possible rollback of the drug’s recent decriminalization. Marijuana for medicinal purposes was made legal in June, but the absence of a special law specifying the conditions for its cultivation and sale allowed the growth of a recreational marijuana industry. The demonstrators don’t want rules that would restore tight restrictions on the drug. Sale and use of marijuana was effectively decriminalized when the Health Ministry dropped it from its list of what it deems “narcotic” drugs. The move was a key policy of the health minister, who foresaw huge economic potential in the medical marijuana market. Marijuana shops have sprung up in many Bangkok neighborhoods.