Bday Prang

And some people still believe it's true It really is astonishing

People can already decide for themselves, in fact they have always been able to as consumption has never been compulsory. Things are fine as they are, If one does not want to smoke then simply don't. Sales to under 20's are banned so no need for anybody to keep harping on about "the children" How can there possibly be a referendum when so many are uninformed or misinformed by years of propaganda that is basically a lie

It faded away

I prefer the word networking, but you can call it what you want, Either way It is a lot more enjoyable and infinitely more productive than limiting yourself to associating with the usual bitter and twisted old expats in their "farang watering holes"

I'm no fan of Tax but I would not object to legalising and levying a 5% tax on meth to help cope with the meth issue , why should weed smokers have to pick up the tab for that ? its nothing to do with us As for access by minors ? what part of not for sale too those under 20 do people not understand ? its a easy enough law to implement. And its not as if they couldn't get their hands on it easily enough before the change in legislation We will probably end up with a whole range of farcical regulations dreamed up by the same people who dreamed up the ridiculous alcohol laws. "not to be sold between the hours of .." or my favorite " only to be sold in quantities of 10 liters or more lol and only applying to 7/11 etc From what I can see most of these prohibitionists have absolutely no Idea what they are talking about, acting on their irrational fears which are only the direct result of their exposure to age old propaganda As you say this subject is receiving a disproportionate amount of attention but in reality it is only from a very small but very vocal minority

"medicinal purposes prescribed by a doctor" " for a bona fide Issue" Sounds like something the women's institute would come out with. No regular long term users would bother going down that route, its too much hassle. there will simply be a return to the free for all street trade that has existed since prohibition was commenced.

Is there a massive tax revenue from other prescribed drugs ? There will also be cash in hand opportunities for quacks dishing out prescriptions do you honestly think they will miss out on the opportunity. Most if not all long term users will simply revert to buying it from their previous suppliers or perhaps simply grow their own There are plenty of ways to shut down illicit "british boiler room barrow boys" without reverting to the previous ridiculous archaic prohibition, It's been 12 months already and the only problem encountered so far is a bit of hysteria from people like chuwit and a small section of the media. Contrary to what some idiots predicted society has not collapsed and the sky has not fallen in

It's absolutely unbelievable that people can write this rubbish.... Which streets do you class as "our streets" ? "addicts on every corner" what on earth are you talking about? "destroyed city centers" well at least try to give an example (you can't can you) " eyes popping out" thats a new side effect I have never personally experienced And best of all you want to collect signatures who do you think you are ? Chuwit ? Try it and see what happens I suggest you pour yourself another drink and try reading what you have written

very rarely see dead pigeons same with rats, amazing considering how many there are

I don't see why he needs to broadcast his intentions, he's already won his seats, the elections over, he can't win anymore seats, so there's no need to carry on broadcasting his intentions to garner appeal from the public or anybody else. There must be more important things for him to be doing Its especially unwise of him to be so vocal about things that may be seen as somewhat controversial by certain more conservative people (of influence) Anybody stating its a done deal that the next PM is going to be Pita is spouting rubbish Anybody expecting things to improve dramatically for either themselves or Thailand in general within our life times is very likely going to die disappointed There's an awful lot at stake(the establishment its self) and there's some very important people, who will do whatever it takes to keep things exactly how they are! Nobody will be giving up their place at the trough without a struggle If push comes to shove the tanks could, eventually, be out again there may be some resistance, but once a few have been shot enthusiasm will wane And don't think for a moment they will care two hoots what the "international community" thinks of whatever they end up doing. Bit like a spoilt kid having a tantrum

I think something has been lost in translation here, I could not find the original article in Thai to check, but I'm pretty sure he meant that its harder to become addicted to cannabis than it is to cigarettes or alcohol. Otherwise the rest of his statement does not make any sense at all

He speaks a lot of sense, certainly more than Chuwit

I must admit though whilst sitting in the dentist's chair or sitting on a thai smile aircraft I often wonder if their qualifications were gained the traditional way or not I suppose that's the other side of the coin . No problems so far, Apart from one time , I experienced a hell of a rough landing at Khon Kaen airport I genuinely thought he'd forgot to drop the landing gear ! A few women screamed and there was a sort of gasp went through the plane similar to what you might hear after a near miss at a football match ! Once the plane stopped the pilot apologised I used to live in Khon kaen in amphoe Nong Rua about 25 years ago I built a house on the road to Phu Wiang I had a few issues with the P.E.A. who were refusing to connect me up , At the time I was staying at a Thai friends house and one night we attended a party to celebrate the opening of the new "or bor dor" office where my friend introduced me to a guy called "Somsak Khun ngern" I'm sure you've heard of him. Anyway during the evening the problems regarding my electrical supply came up in the conversation , he told me not to worry, The next day a manager from the PEA came to see me with a big Wai and about an hour or so later I was connected !. they didn't even charge me for the two extra posts they put in for me as my house was going to be built 100m from the road ,neither did I have to have the "special" meter whilst it was being built. Definitely a positive outcome and well worth the bottle of single malt I brought back for him on my next visit Ever since then I have always been a firm believer of cultivating friendships with Thais whenever possible and to be honest I've lost count of the number of times it's helped me out. Conversely I generally avoid westerners, (apart from a few long term friends), I find them to invariably be a source of problems, and I really can't stand moaners I eventually fell out with the (ex) mrs and ended up in Surin with a new one, but I still visit there regularly and am always made to feel welcome, in fact it gets a bit embarrassing, for example, when I'm unable to put my hand in my pocket to pay my way at a restaurant There is a lot of truth in the saying "its not what you know but who you know"

well all the geckos at my house have long since disappeared but I know exactly where they have gone and so does my cat. He got rid of the tuk-kaes within a couple of weeks of taking up residence here, one was nearly as big as him !

Cannabis is nowhere near as addictive as cigarettes, where do they get this misinformation from? And what difference would a prescription make ? It certainly hasn't helped the millions who are addicted to valium and other antidepressants that the quacks hand out like toffees "medical" cannabis is a relatively new thing how many of these quacks are even qualified or experienced in prescribing it at all After smoking it for over 40 years with no ill effects , no depression , no suicidal thoughts and no schizophrenia I certainly don't need a guy in a white coat or anybody else to "advise" me about cannabis and will continue to "self medicate" until I go to meet my maker

Similar experience 62 and life long smoker had a dose of covid in the early days before vaccines were launched no worse than a cold, took the two "almost compulsory" jabs in 2021 March 2022 caught covid here presumably omicron and felt nothing at all, except the pain of paying for 10 days in a quarantine hotel 17000 baht for 7 days , of crap food 1 x-ray and 10 paracetamol ( which I still have) I won't be shooting any more vaccines into my arm unless things take a turn for the worse and they become a requirement again

Of course it wasn't why would they issue a warning in Thai to foreign nationals ? Can you read Thai ? obviously not. If you could you would have read the linked article in Siam Rath and seen that it is a report of the results of their endeavours to date. Blowing their own trumpet (with the usual vinyl posters) about their perceived efficiency and primarily focussing on their efforts in combating chinese call centre gangs. The apprehension of a few overstayers is just another feather in their cap . Nowhere does it say anything that could be construed as a warning to anybody Whoever translated it appears to have been reading between the lines , used some " poetic licence" and added a little bit of their own context. Effectively putting their own spin on it Look who was attended the "Briefing" it was ... "various high-ranking officials, including the Commissioner of the Immigration Bureau, his deputies, and other members of the force." Had it been meant as a warning to "us" would you not have expected them to invite a few officials from various embassies or consulates, maybe somebody from the TAT. ? and asked them to pass the message on ? Nobody was their in any such capacity whatsoever. There is nothing in the Siam Rath article (unless I missed something) that translates as " giving a clear message to all foreigners residing in Thailand to respect the country's immigration laws and regulations" Neither could I find anything in the link that would translate as "This includes a ban from re-entering Thailand for a certain period, depending on the length of the overstay." Unless immigration have specifically asked this forum to present the article on here as a warning perhaps as part of their " Rigorous public information campaign," it is not a warning from Immigration, it is a warning from the translators working for this forum a "heads up" for want of a better word Although it was hardly necessary as quite a few TVF stalwarts appear to have assumed the self appointed role of "immigration volunteers" and relentlessly spew out warnings and express their "outrage" What sort of people would do this? the same sort that become tourist police volunteers (although at least they get a uniform), those on here can only dream of that No Sand in my eyes , what have you got in yours ? guess that depends on were you have had your head stuck

looks self explanatory to me . Why are people still so scared of just this one virus,? maybe they are suffering from a different condition? Personally I'm more concerned about (not in any specific order) Malaria, Rabies, Dengue fever, Syphilis. and Hepatitis to name but a few. But I'm sure if I read a few "peer reviewed" reports , I'd have a lot more things to worry about

How could you possibly "know" the magnitude of corruption in your home country?, From mainstream media ? Or did you make a request under the freedom of information act ? Or are there figures published regularly in newspapers ? You have absolutely no idea , You only hear about the ones that get caught. There will plenty of corruption occurring even as we speak, but the people involved don't generally boast about it on social media or anywhere else. The only difference between here and the UK , the rest of Europe, USA etc is that its so ingrained here that they just don't feel the same need to hide it. That, coupled with the fact that here, it is still present at every level in society, means we also get exposed to it personally a lot more, whereas in "civilised" countries it is now somewhat restricted only allowed to be practised by those at the highest level, and most of us rarely experienced it personally there or could even afford it Offer a cop in the UK £500 you've got a problem. Offer the Prime minister a "loan" for £800,000 and you've just become the best man for a very privileged job It will never be stopped, anywhere, its human nature, a trait of the species, and as long as you live here you will come into contact with it a lot more than back home If it really really got to some highly principled people, and no doubt it has, they would move on, and I don't doubt that some already have Those are the only people who can stand tall on this and virtue signal. Those of us that are left have all come to the conclusion, consciously or otherwise, that it Pi$$es us off a bit less than whatever it was that caused us to relocate and move here in the first place. So we have all chosen to live with it , In that way alone we are all condoning it, funding it, enabling it. There's no point in anybody trying to virtue signal its just hypocritical The only truly morally correct action would be to leave, and as we haven't, we are all basically immoral. Is anybody really going to say that faced with a DUI conviction for example or possible deportation or imprisonment for any reason. that they would rather face the full consequences of justice . than pay some money for it to all go away. For those thinking about claiming they would , don't bother, I won't believe you, and neither will anybody else

"Legend" Hardly just a fully grown adult who has managed 62 years so far without your assistance So please tell me why you feel "qualified" to give me advice now, and why you feel the need to scaremonger others with your misrepresentation of figures, or was it , as another member has speculated , a simple mistake that you don't like to admit to?

I get where you are coming from. Although not the best example the red bull guy (or his family) are reputed to have paid somewhere in the region of 3 million baht to the family of the policeman he killed. How much would they have received if he had been run over by a poor farmer who may only have had "por ror bor" insurance ( or no insurance) Ok had that been the case the poor farmer would no doubt have received some jail time but would that have put food on the table or paid for their kids education etc if I was the dead policeman looking down from above I think I would be more concerned about my family's financial well being, rather than exacting earthly revenge in the form of a few years jail time on the perpetrator of my death. Somebody using corruption against me in a different way , is as you say, a possibility, but on the balance of probability I'm quite happy to be here as opposed to the "totally incorrupt" UK

Totally flawed actually , you are trying to say that 2.4% of covid cases results in death, and that is clearly not correct. The figures quoted in the op refer to the percentage death rate amongst hospitalizations . If you knew how many people in total had been infected your "simple maths" may have been used to provide a relevant mortality rate , but you don't , so your figures are irrelevant In fact the post you replied to , ( were the poster said 99.999% of people won't die ) was in all likelihood closer to the truth than your figure of 2.4% I am not a covid denier I have had it twice that I know of, possibly more Neither am I denying that covid can be fatal. But lets keep things in perspective I certainly don't need you or anybody else telling me to take care of myself

The first rule of corruption ... is never talk about corruption Actually other than a little tea money for minor "alleged" traffic offences I don't generally partake. But I like the fact that the option exists should I ever need it I also think that reporting police or anybody else for taking bribes could bring a whole lot more problems to a whistleblower . I would not go down that road

There is a flaw in your logic, 64 deaths out of 2632 hospitalizations may well equal 2.4% but that does not take into account the vast majority of people who were not admitted to hospital. maybe you should think again

I don't use agents but I fully condone corruption, that's why i came here, and I'm very happy here. Looks like I made the right decision. Furthermore I couldn't care less what other people do