Thailand鈥檚 health ministry issued an order yesterday prohibiting the sale of cannabis for recreational use. (EPA Images pic)BANGKOK: Thailand鈥檚 government is moving to re-criminalise cannabis, plunging into limbo an industry estimated to be worth over US$1 billion that has boomed since the substance was taken off the country鈥檚 narcotics list in 2022.The push to impose new controls on recreational use of cannabis comes after the Bhumjaithai Party, which championed its legalisation, withdrew from the ruling coalition last week following Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra鈥檚 apparent mishandling of a border row with Cambodia.Late yesterday, Thailand鈥檚 health ministry issued an order prohibiting the sale of cannabis for recreational use and making it mandatory for any retail purchase to require a doctor鈥檚 prescription.The new rules will come into effect once they are published in the royal gazette, which could happen within days.鈥淐annabis will be classified as a narcotic in the future,鈥 health minister Somsak Thepsuthin said yesterday.Three years ago, Thailand became one of the first countries in Asia to decriminalise the recreational use of cannabis, but without any comprehensive rules to govern the sector.Since then, tens of thousands of shops and businesses selling cannabis have sprung up across Thailand, many of them located in the country鈥檚 tourism hubs.Thai Chamber of Commerce previously estimated the industry, which includes medicinal products, could be worth US$1.2 billion by 2025.Unregulated access to cannabis has created serious social problems, particularly for children and young people, said government spokesman Jirayu Houngsub.鈥淭he policy must return to its original goal of controlling cannabis for medical use only,鈥 Jirayu said in a statement.The re-criminalisation push has left some cannabis industry members like Punnathat Phutthisawong, who works at the Green House Thailand dispensary in Bangkok, stunned.鈥淭his is my main source of income,鈥 Punnathat, 25, told Reuters.鈥淢any shops are probably just as shocked because a lot of them invested heavily.鈥漈he cannabis sector could have transformed Thai agriculture, medicine and tourism, but uncertainty and policy reversals have stymied any sustainable growth, said cannabis activist Chokwan Kitty Chopaka.鈥淭he cannabis industry has become a hostage to politics,鈥 she said.Today, there was still a steady trickle of customers 鈥 mainly tourists 鈥 coming into cannabis shops in Bangkok鈥檚 Khao San Road area, among them Daniel Wolf, who is visiting from Australia.鈥淭here are shops everywhere, so how do they reverse this? I don鈥檛 think they can,鈥 he said.鈥淚t鈥檚 absolutely insane.鈥