curlylekan

I live in the Netherlands. I am a daily smoker. The last time I went for an operation, they asked me to stop smoking only 1 day before. I would bet that a lot of the problems they have is not from the marijuana, but from the pesticides and herbicides used, and other unnatural things. Do people in Thailand know the side effects of any of the drugs they use from the pharmacy or the pollution cause from burning so much coal and other stuff. This is where most effort should be placed to help public health.

Thank you for the article. A nice reprieve from often negative news.

What happened to using Grab, or have I been away from Thailand for too long?

I'm all for the legalization of sex workers. It should've never been illegal in the first place. Congrats to Thailand for looking in a new direction, perhaps? The question here is how is anyone going to judge something as subjective as making sure they're not stigmatized by society

And it was told that the military needed to take over to crate peace and make the changes needed in society. In the end, it seems they too are like every other government/hi-so in society

"Several medical associations and civic networks also believe cannabis should be banned again before its recreational use gets out of hand. Estimates indicate that last year alone, up to 11 million Thais used cannabis for recreational purposes following decriminalization. This includes not just smoking pot, but adding it to beverages, foods, etc. The figure jumped by more than 900% from 2021." This doesn't mean it is all one way or the other. You don't need to ban it, just make laws and enforce them, like you do with alcohol.

About the same with every country. Only select people are fans of fusion food.

TBH, most foreigners love Thai food. Have you read the comments. It is only this dish that most foreigners including myself do not like 1/4 of the food I cook each month is Thai. Thai restaurants are crazy popular throughout the world. You'd be hard pressed to find just as many other SEA restaurants around the world, except maybe Vietnamese.

Very untrue about the US being the first. Individual EU countries and other countries across the world were all looking at doing this or that for Chinese arrivals, with scientists around the world giving varying opinions about the Chinese traveling and how harmful zero Covid could be to the rest of the world. The only area that has fallen behind is a common approach by the EU bloc.

Cause this works so well in every country in the world who STRICTLY enforces drug policies (Sarcasm.) I'm still shocked they lock people up for using drugs. This seems like such an archaic way of doing things. Marijuana is the drug to worry about least. Alcohol is way worse - someone can actually die from total withdrawal due to the DTs, but no one discusses that. People can die from alcohol poisoning, but only fall asleep from too much weed, or possibly some negative thoughts from its psychoactive properties, but I'd still argue alcohol is way worse - amplifying whatever feelings they are currently going through, like depression.

I was willing to take the side of the Thai authorities, until I read the part that they asked to come in and they were allowed. If they went in without asking to make sure it was ok and stared reporting on the issue, then they are for sure in the wrong, but from what this article states, if they were allowed in after asking, that falls on the Thai authorities for probably doing something they should not have. After reading about what has happened to them as a result of their actions, I would say that there is more going on here then you and I will ever know. I'm not going to speculate, but military regimes generally like to make sure that they control any narrative.

And the government or more people should acknowledge that a person can actually die from alcohol withdrawl - the DT's, but they cannot die from smoking too much

There definitely seems to be certain people out there who wish to demonize weed, yet they won't say anything about alcohol. Even in countries where marijuana is accepted, it is often still seen in a negative light. This article misses a main point that should be brought up: why did these people go to the hospital? Ingesting marijuana from food is often much more potent than most people realize and it can easily make people paranoid, or possibly feel a bit insane, in other words, they freak out and if it is mixed with marijuana, the effects can be even worse. I'm a smoker, though it has taken trial and error to learn what I can and cannot tolerate when it comes to ingesting it and smoking it. For me, the biggest problems are I become too lazy - so I only smoke it at night and I ALWAYS give in to the munchies, so I try not to smoke it very often. Also, marijuana is made a lot stronger these days than in the past. I would be curious to know what people grow in Thailand. For newcomers, most of the stuff these days is too strong. There are definitely negative effects of it, but too often, and it seems to really be the case here, the media, the government is not explaining enough of the negative effects of alcohol and is not taking the time to educate the public about marijuana, but it seems they are finally getting to that point. This is all par for the course. I'm glad to hear that the Thai government is keeping an open mind and seems to be learning about what steps to take in an effort to educate the public. I only hope they don't go too far and demonize it too harshly.

...and this is how authoritarian governments stay in power and the people watch democracy die

Wonderful excuses for governments; especially, authoritarian governments worldwide to continue to consolidate power since the pandemic, without thought or regard that it might be an ineffective state which contributes to certain countries being more inclined to international crime.

I thought a large reason for brewing their own alcohol is so that the domestic economy in Thailand could open up, instead of relying only on tourism for profits. I read too many parallels between this and the marijuana idea they had which went from 2 plants to only male plants for CBD and hemp purposes. I can already see this idea being cut back more and more over time like they've done with "Marijuana" IMO, these things only help the domestic Thai economy, rather than relying on tourism to control the economy. But, as a non-Thai maybe their are cultural reasons for this that we don't understand

I am very curious how many people will choose to visit Thailand for this reason. At the beginning, I thought, finally Thailand is doing something more other than building another temple. It is sad that the powers that be don't see that other things like craft beers will help out domestic society. I smoke, but this does not attract me to Thailand at all if I am not able to feel anything from it. Good to get medical marijuana off the floor though.

If the government and the people really want to move away from a tourist dependent economy, this is one of the best ways to do it. The governments actions really just say to me that they don't want to move away from this tourist dependent economy and they don't want to continue building on their culture, but simply rely on their old culture to draw tourism. I think this is pretty sad. This is how you kill your country and you assure people start going to neighboring countries. I would love to travel around Thailand, going to different craft breweries. In this way, I do not only get exposed to new beers, but new places, new people, new culture. The type of beer that the local people of a country or even a smaller locale make, says a lot about those people and their culture too. I think the government really doesn't see how much this could add to the Thai economy and the Thai culture through domestic spending and international spending. It's be great to travel to places other than the same old temples

I think they will take whichever position China, or other "Strong" governments similar to them take. The current administration and possibly a little earlier, are students of the CCP.

This would be a great way to boost the domestic economy and get it away from such heavy dependence on tourism. As usual, governments love to say one thing (We are here for the people), but their actions, which in this case are to not discuss helping out the local economy, are the opposite.

Then you must not have tried many or any of the craft brews in the USA. I would compare craft brews to those in Belgium. I like Belgian beers better, but my point is, many craft brews in the USA, like the many breweries in Belgium try different things with there beers, thus there is so much variety - many different tastes, something for everyone. Like in Thailand, the main breweries in the USA - Bud, Miller, etc., are rather plain tasting beers

If they didn't charge foreigners so much at the hospitals, there might not be a problem. It is crazy that when you want to go to a hospital in Thailand, as a foreigner, you pay as much as a rich country would charge you if you didn't have insurance. Most people do not figure this into their budget when traveling to Thailand - they don't expect it. Second, I doubt this money will go to a " tourist attraction development fund" unless that fund is to build more temples. I'm not sure if those in charge of these things in Thailand understand that once most foreigners have seen a few temples, they've seen them all and don't care to see more. If it were not for a Thai gf, and finding people I call family in Thailand, I would not come back. After a few times of going there, the country doesn't have anything new to offer and any museums they have are not well done, well preserved, or thought out. I don't think many Asians understand why westerners like museums so much, thus they don't see the value in them. Somehow, they see the value in continuing to build more temples, yet they don't see the value in teaching people where Buddhism can be good and why monks ask for food, and what monks can offer the lay person. All the building of temples, I think makes most foreigners think that Thailand's Buddhism is a religion like anywhere else and one to make money. Most (western) foreigners want beautiful parks and/or beaches without litter and they don't want to pay 10x the price of a Thai person to get in - at least that is what I want.

I'm glad we don't read about these stories daily. I stayed at my share of places I've rated them less than 6 and I never encountered this problem4. From now on, I'll be waiting till I return to my original country to start writing reviews. And hotel owners: These reviews are partly there to help you make the guest experience better for the next person. You can't please everyone, but I'm sure there is always room for improvement. Plus, a 6 out of 10 really is not that bad. On the other hand, the reviewer from last year went a bit overboard in his review, though no one should be shamed and made to pay money for writing what they think is the truth.

After staying at the same location for many years when arriving in BKK and complaining to the tenet about the loud music next door going sometimes until 5am, she told me that they often operate illegally (Later than established hours) until someone calls the police to enforce the law about stopping the music at the pre-determined time, so some of it is normal Thai behavior and the other is businesses truly trying to survive, people trying to live.

Couldn't have said it better myself. I agree with each point. Chinese citizens needs to understand this too then they might understand why not everyone in the world loves the Chinese government as much as they do and why the world questions the Chinese government as much as they do