jingjai9

I usually see the obstacles in the parking spaces in front of street vendors' carts. They block the spaces so their customers, usually on motorcycles have a place to park. Perhaps they fear if customers cannot find a parking space close by, they will simply go to another shop. I find this less inconvenient than all the cars that double park or park close to intersections so you cannot see the traffic coming through the intersection.

How well developed is the institution of psychiatrics in Thailand? How long has this area of study been available here? How many years have psychiatrists and psychologists been in practice?

Could the bookstore possibly list or photograph titles and sell them online? I would be interested. I do not get to Bangkok often. Up here in the northeast there are really no good bookstores with English language titles.

I think any lawyer could blow these rules out of the water as they appear vague and open to manipulation. number 1 - those with proper permission. number 4 - the lenient period. These are two examples of where the trouble starts. The terms need to be spelled out more specifically. Perhaps this what is left after translation. But it seems that many laws in Thailand are filled with loopholes. Perhaps it is easier here to bribe than litigate. So most folks choose the former. Perhaps it doesn't look so good on paper.

We must remember, changing motor vehicle laws will occur in order to make roads safer, but the heart of the problem is the road culture in Thailand - that will take a generation to change. We need students who pass through the education system with driver's education, for example, defensive driving. Seems this is the only way to get to the cause of the dangerous roads in Thailand. So many people who drive in Thailand simply do not want to wait until the intersection or thoroughfare is safe before moving their vehicle. Few people are willing to yield so that traffic can move along. Couple this with sporadic enforcement of motor vehicle laws and lack of attention to traffic signs and the result is any attempts at regulations on the roads are merely reduced to "suggestions" with drivers expecting little or no consequences for violating traffic codes. As time marches on expect more and more vehicles to be added to the roads and you get more accidents and heartbreaks.

If the Part of the megaproject has yet to be built from the Thai border with Laos, then what is that construction for in Nong Khai Province.? It looks like a huge overpass being built over the main road just outside the Muang district.

Is there any scientific evidence to justify the term, "marijuana addicts?" People may develop a psychological dependence on weed, but addiction suggest physical dependency.

OK thanks

I enjoyed the forum discussion entitled: Cambodia vs. Vietnam. I was wondering if any of you can comment on how safe Cambodia is for tourists, in 2022. For example I read and heard purse snatching is a usual activity in the cities. In the past I have read on multiple forums that you should not embark on the nightlife alone in PP as it is not unusual to be held up. I also read there was a significant number of guns in the country. Additionally several forums mentioned that you should make sure you ride on a Tuk Tuk with a driver who works near your hotel who the staff know as there are many tourists who ride on the Tuk Tuks where the driver sets them up for robbery by taking them on a route where they "accidentally" get held up. I also read on various forums that some of the young adult men, wealthier Cambodians who have connections, brandish weapons and harass tourists in order to break their boredom in the wee hours of the morning at such bars as "Heart of Darkness." I sure hope much of this is no longer true. When I was in Cambodia in 2005 the bars were open 24 hours a day. Is that still the same? Also when I was there I did not find any of the situations mentioned herein to be blatantly false. On the positive side, Sihanoukville was still a quaint town in 2005. I did not see any beggars and I felt safe regardless of what hour it was. I was not a victim of any crime other than perhaps overcharging.

I taught an ESL class in America in the mid-90s. This was before Trump, COVID, cultural wars, etc. In one particular class I had a group of advanced adult students who were quite articulate. As I got to know them we shared stories more and more. Near the end of the term, they as a group told me they were, for the most part lonely in the US, and they wished they could go back to their native countries and take their US jobs with them. I think that statement speaks volumes. The students felt an emptiness in the States. A place where neighbors were just people who lived next to you. There was no connection. Many of these students were not new arrivals. They had been Stateside for several years.

Jerry Mahoney, Are you related to the Jerry Mahoney of the old kids' show "Winchell Mahoney time? I was living in Seattle when the incident you cited happened. It was after that incident that the city of Seattle installed metal detectors so that anyone entering the courthouses in King County had to pass through the metal detectors. I remember that case very well.

It is the norm that elderly farang men will have a Thai girlfriend half their age or less. As normal as it is here, don't expect the same thing if you take the girl back to farang land. It may be awkward for both of you and people close to you will shake their heads. Some ladies within a year of two after arriving in your home country may very well trade you in on a younger man with more dough. Often the family back in Thailand will not deride the daughter for divorcing, they may very well accept or praise the move as good business. In my experiences I think many Thai women look at marriage as a business and think sentiment merely fogs the vision. Many girls face pressure from the family back home to fork over the loot each month, especially when their dear daughter gets a raise. I knew a fellow in the States married to a Filipino woman. The family back in the Philippines know the man's pay date each month and faithfully ring up the daughter to see if the money will be on its way as scheduled. Having said this, would you be any more honorable if your family was poor, your opportunities limited and the onus of support was upon you?

I did not see any mention of the quality of infrastructure in the comparisons, things such as the infamous hanging telephones wires of Thailand or the terrible smells from open sewers. Ever try to eat a meal at a sidewalk eatery in Thailand and gag from the sewer smell? How about the unlevel foot paths (sidewalks). How many trips have you taken? What of the Soi dogs? The unruly road culture? I would venture to say these affect quality of life markedly. Perhaps the western countries are more expensive because the infrastructure is cleaner, maintained better, and road traffic is more predictable. You have to pay for that somehow. What about the extent of the corruption? I am here in Thailand and my home country is the US. I think the US and Thailand have an equal number of problems, maybe 75% of the problems are the same and the other 25% unique to each country. So dollars or pounds cannot tell the whole story.

A teacher should be allowed to hit a child only if it is in self defense. The conventional wisdom seems to be that violence by teachers in a classroom sets a bad example and can teach children that violence is a viable solution for solving problems. Some people on this forum recalled their own experiences being hit in school and reported that it never did them any harm. Does that make corporal punishment OK? Every time a teacher hits a student there is the risk of injury.

"As usual a thought bubble becomes law before it's thought through but in Thailand money is number 1" This is the heart of the problem. How can anyone expect a positive outcome when a substance that has been banned and disparaged for years is suddenly decriminalized? The use of cannabis needs to be codified regardless of how you feel about it.

Can foreigners legally refuse to take a drug test or do they face legal action? ?

What arouses my curiosity is the fact that the survey is done by the government. " (Health Service Support) Department had conducted an online survey among 7,507 participants regarding their individual preference for voluntary mask wearing after the mask mandate cancellation between 17 and 30 June." How did they choose their participants for the survey? Is this a large or small sample size for this kind of inquiry? Are there any independent polling agencies in Thailand? With the government conducting its own research they of course undermine their own credibility as they can easily be accused of collecting data simply to support any narrative they want to push forward due to the fact they can include or omit any part of the data they choose. Is the purpose of this survey an effort to gather "evidence" should the government choose to close entertainment venues once again if the number of COVID cases surges higher in the coming weeks? "According to the results, people would remove their masks when they were visiting entertainment venues. Such behavior could be at risk of spreading Covid-19. And if they were sharing the same glasses, it could be risking behaviors of getting infections as well,” Dr. Thares said. This entire effort could be sincere, but why not an independent polling agency? "Statistics don't lie but people lie who use statistics."

Isn't it a crying shame when the article states: But the police were not involved in allowing illegal activity to go on under their watch, said Pol Maj-Gen Jirasan Kaewsaeng-ek yesterday. They have to clear the police because the public feels corruption is business as usual.

He's more interesting than the Big Joke

Why wouldn't the USA be good?

That is interesting. What are the hubs like in Canada?

That is my point, the information is there. They need to articulate it as they move forward to regulate. The officials seem to commingle the effects of THC with alcohol.

Can someone explain to me what the government's objective with cannabis is? I understand that the government wants to attract tourists to Thailand and they think cannabis will serve as an attraction. Do they think people will come here to take medicine together (less than 2% THC)? Does cannabis make food taste better? What does the government think the attraction will be for cannabis tourists? When government officials say legalizing cannabis will bring people to Thailand it sends the message that you can come here to party. Then when they say you cannot use it for recreation, it becomes confusing. What is their objective, for residents of SE Asia to come here to buy medicine because they cannot get it in their native countries? When trying to decide how to regulate cannabis have they considered the effects THC has on people. I think they commingle the intoxication of cannabis with alcohol. I have never seen people get rowdy or aggressive from smoking pot. Sure, some people might get out of hand, but I would bet it is the rare exception rather than the rule. How are the effects of cannabis different from alcohol? Once this is established then rational guidelines can be set in place. There are plenty of published reports on the effects of cannabis from other countries who have legalized it which could be used to research guidelines for regulation (number of hospitalizations, cases of overdose, crimes committed when under the influence of THC, road accidents, etc.). The Netherlands has had a policy of toleration of over 30 years. The USA would be a good place to study because even though it is one country, each state has set its own guidelines and laws. This would be a good way to compare and contrast what seems to work or not work. Then Thailand could apply what they learned to institute and maintain guidelines that fit Thai culture. Are there any cannabis hubs in other countries? Thailand has a great opportunity to come up with something new. Cannabis could transition Thailand from LOS to LOBS (land of bigger smiles). Or it could eventually trigger the old crackdown routine again.

It is hard for me to believe that we will not see vendors selling pot by the joint via word of mouth. I was in Amsterdam in the late 1980s and as I recall pot was not advertised. You found the sellers by word of mouth. I think that is where Thailand is heading once the government devises laws controlling sales, etc. It seemed to work in Amsterdam.

A new toy for the police