The group “Writing Thailand’s Cannabis Future” has spoken out against the new coalition government’s plan to re-criminalize marijuana. In light of the Move Forward Party’s de-monopolization strategy for alcohol, the organization is currently holding a protest to demand explanation from the coalition it leads over the effects of cannabis.
The group’s response comes after the Move Forward Party (MFP) and other coalition partners announced they had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the creation of a new administration.
The Memorandum of Understanding includes a provision that seeks to categorize marijuana as a narcotic, but with supporting rules for its beneficial usage.
The group claims in a Facebook post that medicinal marijuana provides a cost-effective therapeutic option, especially for those who are financially vulnerable and those who are not benefiting from conventional hospital procedures.
The group wants the MFP to make a comparison between the negative effects of marijuana and those of alcohol and tobacco. It also stated that it was prepared to support the party’s decision to once again make marijuana illegal if that substance was out to be more hazardous than the other two.
The group is also urging the party to compare the effects of alcohol de-monopolization to those of cannabis legalization, claiming that the latter will result in more widespread health problems and increased alcohol-related traffic accidents.
The organization also demands that MFP provide truthful information regarding cannabis that is backed up by academic studies, reliable data, and other supporting arguments.
The group has stated that although they may not concur with all of the MFP’s goals and actions, they nonetheless support the coalition’s establishment and pledge to use protests to inform the public honestly.
