tonypattaya

9 hours ago, webfact said:

 

In a pivotal meeting attended by the Prime Minister and three senior ministers, PM Srettha Thavisin announced that cannabis shops in Thailand are to be shut down by April 1, 2025.

 

He has called for the reclassification of cannabis as a scheduled narcotic substance by the end of 2024. This comes as part of a larger strategy to clamp down on drug usage in Thailand.

 

The Prime Minister has advocated for stricter police action and treatment measures for drug addicts.

 

Thavisin earlier expressed strong opposition to cannabis liberalisation in an interview with France 24. His remarks alarmed then Minister of Public Health Cholnan Srikaew, who questioned whether the PM’s views were in line with government policy. This disagreement may have led to Cholnan's subsequent removal from the cabinet. 

 

The planned reclassification of marijuana will likely unsettle the burgeoning cannabis industry, as it effectively nullifies the 2022 statute proposed by former Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul.

 

The law had exempted police from criminal proceedings related to marijuana. Thavisin’s proposed changes would permit action against individuals selling and using cannabis. 

 

In a recent development, newly appointed Minister of Public Health Somsak suggested public consultation on the matter, while a bill is being drafted to regulate marijuana use as a non-scheduled substance.

 

However, any confusion or ambiguity in drug regulation is exactly what Srettha wants to avoid. He sees the cannabis trade as a threat to the country and argues that it brings more economic negatives than positives.

 

TOP File photo for reference only courtesy of Wikipedia

 

-- 2024-05-09

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Giving the wife's family is all part of the Thai culture, as it is in many parts of the world. However in India it is the reverse the bride's family has to pay a dowry to the groom, which it is why, sadly, some families kill their daughters at birth.
The amount you pay is relative to the amount that the daughter is financially worth to the family. If it was, for example, a famous actress, then the dowry would be millions of baht. 

Quite often the family will ask for a lot more than they expect to receive and will agree to give you the excess back. They need to show off to their relatives and friends that their daughter was considered to be more valuable.
You say that you never saw any of the money; well it was NOT a loan, it was a payment to the parents, for them to do whatever they like with it.

If you dislike the Thai culture, then better you find a Western wife but, be warned, it will cost you a lot more in the long run. lol.

1 hour ago, Enzian said:

What's the punishment for noncompliance? Having to listen to a recording of Anutin giving a speech in Thai for an hour?

Or a compulsory renewal of a Thai driving licence! 

Of those who drink, Thailand attracts the beer drinking tourists

For those who like dining with good wines and champagne, Thailand is a no no place for tourists.

Vietnam (and practically anywhere else) a much better choice.

I wonder if the dealer who sold them the the e-unicycles explained that they weren't allowed on the Thai roads?

12 minutes ago, mr_lob said:

The a*hole who killed one of our drivers and 2 French customers because of his dangerous driving received a 5000 baht fine and no jail time. Fair? 

You do not give details of the incident or a view of where the blame lies. It can therefore be assumed, from the penalty, that the poor souls who lost their lives were at fault.

12 minutes ago, mr_lob said:

The a*hole who killed one of our drivers and 2 French customers because of his dangerous driving received a 5000 baht fine and no jail time. Fair? 

Common decency should be adhered to. It is not, what they were wearing, but where. On the beach, OK; in a Gogo bar, anything goes, but not in a public area/park in the centre of town.

It is just as bad as when a low class male farang goes into a bar or restaurant without wearing a shirt.

This gofundme nonsense is an invitation for people to ignore taking their own responsibility. If all his family of 8 siblings, plus other close relatives, cannot raise his hospital fee of 3,000 Euros, then they shouldn't be taking foreign holidays.

So sad and so tragic.

I cannot believe that the facts are literally as reported. If they were then I "give up" on mankind.

Some one said to me recently that it is I who ought to learn Thai. I had to explain that me learning Thai would only help me in Thailand, whereas a Thai learning English would help him in every country. English, like it or not, is the international language for communication.

Cambodians and Vietnamese, at young ages are leaps and bounds in front of Thais for their English.

The government could help by passing a law that all signs, writings and whatever, in Thai, has to show the English translation.

4 hours ago, sirineou said:

That's not how this works,

The below is a over simplified explanation. 

Two terms that come into play are "Propensity to spend" and the multiplier effect. 

Propensity to spend is the percentage of this amount that is spend on the average. In Thailand I am sure is is close to 100%

The multiplier effect : is how many times that  10,000 baht will circulate in the economy . 

So I spend 10.000bht buying shiny beads, Now the shiny bead store owner  has 10.000 with which to buy beer, the beer store owner has 10.000 to buy som tam and so on and so on.

at each transaction (or most of then) a 7% tax is collected. After about 15 cycles the goverment has recouped the 10,000 and more , and the economy is stimulated. 

That's the theory. 

Of course there are some problems. The stimulus could be saved and not spend at all, or it could be spend outside the country. 

 

Do not the shiny bead retailer, the beer store owner and the som tam seller, not have any cost for the products they sell, or do they get these somewhere free?. Who gives the 10,000 baht in the first place; the taxpayer. The taxpayer therefore has 10,000 less to spend. Maybe the taxpayer, if he is a foreign company chooses another country for his business.
You see, Mr 2baht, it is not as simple as you understand. 

A boost to retail shops, closing on-line competition!

This has reverberations for all of us expats. It must not be easy for our hosts, The Thais, to see this in the same amusing way as we might see it.

Consider how we would feel if foreigners behaved the same way in our country.

10 hours ago, dingdongrb said:

Well, the family of the student that was in that recent fire extinguisher incident received less than $7k USD for his death so I think the loss of a leg would get you around $1k USD.

 

....sad.....sad.....sad

A family's financial compensation for the loss of a loved one is a lot lot less than the compensation to an individual surviving a major accident. In the case that you mention, if the student had survived but, for example, blinded the compensation would have been $100m plus. This, particular case, in America, would entail $20m + compensation.