Anutin Charnvirakul, leader of the Bhumjaithai Party, on Tuesday expressed confidence that the party's pro-cannabis policy would be adopted by the new government so it can pick up in implementing it from where former prime minister Srettha Thavisin left off.
In July, Mr Srettha compromised with Mr Anutin on the cannabis issue by ordering a draft bill to regulate the plant's use for medical and research and development purposes. This marked a U-turn in the government's bid to relist cannabis as a narcotic drug.
Pushing to pass the cannabis control bill to strictly regulate cannabis use to promote people's health and for research purposes is one of the six policies Bhumjaithai was submitting to the ruling Pheu Thai Party to have incorporated into the coalition's main policies, which will be declared later in parliament, Mr Anutin said on Tuesday.
This policy was worded as the research and development of Thai herbs, including cannabis, he said.
Asked if the Democrat Party, which has strongly opposed Bhumjaithai's cannabis control bill, would be a problem now that it has become a new coalition partner, Mr Anutin said the former opposition party might not have sufficient votes to stop the bill even if it remained opposed to it.
"This new Democrat team isn't the same [as the previous one], and I believe in Democrat leader Chalermchai Sri-on's team spirit and his apparently better understanding of the needs of the public," said Mr Anutin.
As for the government's intention to push for an entertainment complex project, including a legal casino, Mr Anutin said Bhumjaithai, as a key coalition party, would support this as long as it is not abused to benefit certain groups.
"Actually, I'm not worried about this project because we have an ethical code which has a fairly broad scope to follow, and everyone seems to be extra careful about respecting that code now," he said.
Other policies proposed by Bhumjaithai include decentralisation, equal access to education, better water management and clean energy, he said.
