Thailand looks set to crack down on legal pot market with ban on 'recreational' use

BANGKOK (AP) — Two years after Thailand made pot legal, the country appears set to crack down on its freewheeling drug market with a ban on “recreational” use.

Legal cannabis has fueled Thailand's tourism and farming trades and spawned thousands of neon green shops, but it's facing public backlash over perceptions that under-regulation has made the drug available to kids and caused crime.

The Cabinet is expected to consider a law that would ban recreational cannabis use while allowing medical as soon as Tuesday. If approved, it would go to parliament, where support for more restrictions is widespread.

A draft version of the law that was circulated for public comment in January would make using cannabis “for entertainment or pleasure” a crime punishable by a 60,000 baht (about $1,700) fine. It would allow medical marijuana, but didn't give details of how it would be controlled.