High time to ease up on marijuana

[webfact]

High time to ease up on marijuana 

By The Nation

 

 

Thailand lags well behind the developed world in decriminalising a minor narcotic, but at least its medical use is to be explored

 

The Office of Narcotics Control Board (ONCB) has hinted at the possibility of allowing people to grow marijuana for medical use. ONCB secretary-general Sirinya Sitdhichai said in a recent interview that permission could be granted in three years’ time. He acknowledged that marijuana could be useful in medical research.

 

It’s not clear why it will take so long, but Sirinya suggested the necessary legislative changes would be complicated. Nevertheless, the Cabinet has given its approval to reconsidering the notion of medical marijuana.  The ONCB chief stressed that the government would not allow marijuana to be used for “entertainment purposes”, though it’s understood he was referring to casual recreational use.

 

Rangsit and Mahidol universities are already taking the lead, presenting proposals and seeking permission to grow marijuana for research into cancer therapies and pain relief.

 

Several countries have legalised marijuana for medical use in the belief it helps people cope with neurological conditions, terminal cancer, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. It is not clear why Thailand has taken so long to follow suit.

 

Much of the modern world has made great progress in this initiative. Private investment in the business has been welcomed and the industry has boosted national, regional and municipal economies around the world. Libraries are being built with taxes generated from the marijuana trade and some American cities are paying their police officers’ salaries from the same income source. 

 

In Thailand, people have been consuming “ganja” for centuries for its medicinal and psychological benefits – including its ability to ease stress. It has always been an inexpensive and readily available narcotic. This will make it difficult for Sirinya, as the country’s counter-narcotics chief heading an agency that’s long classified marijuana as illegal and dangerous, to engineer its transition to being officially acceptable and beneficial. 

 

 The government has been telling us marijuana is hazardous and evil for so long that it will need the help of an independent committee of experts to explain why it might be just the opposite.

 

It will have to promote a greater understanding of marijuana among the more conservative citizenry to overcome the stigma attached to it over the decades. 

 

There is no need to gallop to the moral high ground regarding the coming changes. The active ingredient in cannabis is an intoxicant and gets users “high”, but marijuana is no more harmful than tobacco or alcohol, and according to most available evidence, it is far less harmful.

 

Given the number of road accidents and lawlessness associated with alcohol, there would be a strong case for banning alcohol if we applied the same reasoning as used with marijuana. It’s common enough to see drunks brawling, but extremely rare for cannabis to be a factor in fights. 

 

And, more anecdotally, it is common to see drunks morose in mood and shunning food, and common to see marijuana users giggling with joy and seeking out snacks to sate their “munchies”. 

 

Given the political tensions of our times, maybe allowing citizens to indulge in the occasional “hit” of ganja would be a sound idea.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/opinion/30346065

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-05-23

[cornishcarlos]

Oh this should be good... I wonder how many posts until someone claims that ganja leads on to heroin, raping and pillaging !!!

Then there will be the beer defenders and the smokers telling us that "mine is different" 

 

Pop corn time ?

[Samui Bodoh]

9 minutes ago, webfact said:

It will have to promote a greater understanding of marijuana among the more conservative citizenry to overcome the stigma attached to it over the decades. 

Just do it.

 

The medical benefits are known.

Tourists will love it.

Tax revenues will rise.

Numbers of people in jail will be reduced.

 

Just do it.

 

The arguments are clear; why wait until your neighbours take the step? Thailand; this is your time to play a leadership role and actually become a "Hub".

 

Just do it.

 

[stanleycoin]

Legalize all drugs world wide.

You can control them then,

unlike now,   where the criminals have total control over it all

Money,  People , Lives and a whole bunch more. 

 

[bartender100]

America spent decades telling countries not to do it, that did it or we will cut aid

 

Now half the States in the USA its legal

[faraday]

11 minutes ago, stanleycoin said:

Legalize all drugs world wide.

You can control them then,

unlike now,   where the criminals have total control over it all

Money,  People , Lives and a whole bunch more. 

 

All drugs..... really?

 

[cornishcarlos]

15 minutes ago, stanleycoin said:

Legalize all drugs world wide.

You can control them then,

unlike now,   where the criminals have total control over it all

Money,  People , Lives and a whole bunch more. 

 

 

I kind of agree but either way someone, not you or me, has control... Be it the criminals or the criminals politicians !!

[YetAnother]

39 minutes ago, webfact said:

The ONCB chief stressed that the government would not allow marijuana to be used for “entertainment purposes”,

the underlying conservatism in the generation of thais in current decision-making roles would never let that happen; subtle backsliding damage that military governments leave as their legacies

[yougivemebaby]

Three more  years ? This must be a joke. People are suffering err like me. From.  Ummmm back pain. And. Stuff. 

[Juan B Tong]

Yeah!  And I like it.

[orientalist]

All these recent articles are missing the point that CBD (Cannabidiol) - which is extracted from the hemp plant - has valuable medical uses but does not contain THC, the chemical that makes people high. Legalising CBD has nothing whatsoever to do with the "entertainment" use of marijuana. I believe THC also has some medical uses, but legalising it could be a second step after CBD.

[Cancerian]

8 out of 10 overdoses are from perscription pills. People need to pull there head out of the sand and look at facts. The weed is by far the least harmfull of all drugs including tobacco. And when it is eaten the harmfull affects are virtually nill. It is also non addictive. 

[connda]

6 hours ago, cornishcarlos said:

Oh this should be good... I wonder how many posts until someone claims that ganja leads on to heroin, raping and pillaging !!!

Then there will be the beer defenders and the smokers telling us that "mine is different" 

 

Pop corn time ?

I'm a firm believer that breast milk and infant formula and perhaps milk are all gateway drugs that leads to beer drinking and drug abuse. 

Edited May 23, 2018 by connda

[cornishcarlos]

1 minute ago, connda said:

I'm a firm believer that breast milk and infant formula and perhaps milk are all gateway drugs that leads to beer drinking and drug abuse. 

 

You are probably spot on there, also leads to a fixation with tits !!

[stanleycoin]

20 minutes ago, cornishcarlos said:

 

You are probably spot on there, also leads to a fixation with tits !!

we're all suckers in the end. 

[stanleycoin]

7 hours ago, faraday said:

All drugs..... really?

 

Yes , why not ?

Or should we just let the Drug Cartels, run the show, as they have

for soooooooooo long now, getting more rich and powerful, inflicting

so much pain and suffering on people. 

[Guest Jerry787]

Thai Gov shall legalize Cannabis and Kratom asap, for the good health of people for reduce stress and tension

[Jane Dough]

14 minutes ago, stanleycoin said:

Yes , why not ?

Or should we just let the Drug Cartels, run the show, as they have

for soooooooooo long now, getting more rich and powerful, inflicting

so much pain and suffering on people. 

Indeed. Those who doubt the possibility of such a move should look at Michael Moore's film and his visit to Portugal. Everywhere - not just the US and Thailand - has a lot to learn from some of the enlightened countries of mainland Europe. 

[DefaultName]

There is a simple reason why governments across the world don't want to legalise weed.  It isn't taxable.  Alcohol takes time and equipment to make, tobacco needs fairly specific conditions and processing, for weed, a few seeds, some soil, and you have an easy, recurring, supply.

[Richard Pumpaloaf]

3 hours ago, DefaultName said:

There is a simple reason why governments across the world don't want to legalise weed.  It isn't taxable.  Alcohol takes time and equipment to make, tobacco needs fairly specific conditions and processing, for weed, a few seeds, some soil, and you have an easy, recurring, supply.

You obviously have no idea what's involved with growing and processing cannabis.

Its a little more than than throwing some seeds in the dirt and collecting your weed.

[GTgrizzly]

13 hours ago, cornishcarlos said:

 

I kind of agree but either way someone, not you or me, has control... Be it the criminals or the criminals politicians !!

In other words, the same people will be in control

[teatree]

5 hours ago, DefaultName said:

There is a simple reason why governments across the world don't want to legalise weed.  It isn't taxable.  Alcohol takes time and equipment to make, tobacco needs fairly specific conditions and processing, for weed, a few seeds, some soil, and you have an easy, recurring, supply.

Colorado Cannabis Sales Hit $1.49 Billion In 2017: Taxes Up To $247 Million

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/colorado-cannabis-sales-hit-1-181635148.html

 

This is in a state with a population of around 5 million and no way near the number of visitors Thailand would attract if it legalised weed.

 

It is reasonable to say that Thailand could receive over a billion USD in tax per year.

Edited May 23, 2018 by teatree

[JimmyJ]

14 hours ago, faraday said:

All drugs..... really?

 

 

"Ten Years Ago Portugal Decriminalized All Drugs. What Happened Next?

By Tony O'Neill 07/13/11

When the drug-drenched nation legalized all drugs within its borders, most critics predicted disaster. Instead drug use has plunged dramatically."

 

"Glenn Greenwald, the attorney and author who conducted the research, told Time: “Judging by every metric, drug decriminalization in Portugal has been a resounding success. It has enabled the Portuguese government to manage and control the drug problem far better than virtually every other Western country."

 

https://www.thefix.com/content/decrim-nation-portugal-ten-years-later

 

 

[JimmyJ]

These reader comments from the above article summarize nicely some associated issues:

 

somethingelse • 6 years ago

 

"Alcohol kills 8 x times as many people as all illegal drugs combined, nicotine kills 100 x times as many people as all illegal drugs combined, so what is the real psychological reason that there is no war on the most destructive drugs, alcohol & nicotine?
The war on "drugs" is an unconscious hate crime / disguised as a law to preserve "society's" morality by a rabid majority sect in our society (conservative Christians) against a minority sect (the godless hippies).

 

Somethingelse somethingelse • 6 years ago

"it also is worth noting that many of the laws were created during the nixon admin when hippies were labeled an enemy by nixon for protesting the war, so it was all too easy to whip up a little subconscious secular hysteria against the bad hippies "

 

−

Phreebass  • 6 years ago

The War on Drugs also allows the US to profile minorities in the name of law enforcement, transfers vast amounts of national wealth to the For-Profit prison industry, and creates a welfare state for those employed at the DEA, FBI, ATF, DHS by means of politically popular funding request made by pro-law-enforcement office-holders."

Edited May 23, 2018 by JimmyJ