Anutin Charnvirakul, Thailand’s minister of public health, has issued a warning to World Cannabis Day organizers not to use cannabis in public places or risk facing legal consequences. Today, Thursday, is World Cannabis Day.
At 4.20 p.m. today, the organizers want to celebrate the occasion known as “Weed Day” by holding a cannabis smoking “parade” along Bangkok’s Khao San Road.
According to Time magazine, “Weed Day,” also known as 420 (four-twenty), originated in 1971 at San Rafael High School in Marin County, California, when a group of five students started meeting at 4.20 pm to smoke marijuana.
The minister urged the event’s organizers to rigorously abide by the Public Health Ministry’s cannabis regulations, noting that it is illegal to consume cannabis or hemp in public and that it should only be used for health and medicinal reasons.
He stated that he did not want anyone taking part in the procession to ingest cannabis because they could risk jail time in addition to fines.
The minister added that those who oppose the legalization of cannabis for medical purposes will have their arguments strengthened if people smoke marijuana during the procession.
The Bhumjaithai Party, led by Anutin, has made cannabis legalization its main policy priority.
The deputy director-general of the Health Department, Dr. Attapol Kaewsamrit, stated that the parade’s organizers must take precautions today.
He said that in order to ensure that the law is rigorously upheld, officials will be keeping a careful eye on the situation.
