If alcohol were illegal, would you still live here?

[fusion58]

Quote

If alcohol were illegal, would you still live here?

At first glance, the idea of an alcohol-free Thailand looks very appealing.

Imagine the mass exodus by drunk idiots, the decline in alcohol-related road accidents, etc., etc.

 

However, enforcement is always the issue, isn't it?

And history shows prohibition doesn't usually go as planned.

 

[manarak]

1 minute ago, fusion58 said:

At first glance, the idea of an alcohol-free Thailand looks very appealing.

Imagine the mass exodus by drunk idiots, the decline in alcohol-related road accidents, etc., etc.

 

However, enforcement is always the issue, isn't it?

And history shows prohibition doesn't usually go as planned.

 

ninnies dictating to everyone else a compusory lifestyle doesn't look appealing at all.

[fusion58]

7 minutes ago, manarak said:

ninnies dictating to everyone else a compusory[sic] lifestyle doesn't look appealing at all.

Hence the note re: the futility of prohibition.

[55Jay]

10 hours ago, Berkshire said:

Hmmmm....since no one else will say it, here goes.  What a ridiculous question.  Why ponder something that will never happen?  It's like asking "what if they banned fast food".....or "what if they banned air conditioning"....or "what if they ban farangs from dating Thai women."  I hope the OP is not losing sleep over this because it's really an absurd notion. 

This is the Farang Pub, after all.  Might also just be teasing out the personal drinking habits of others to see where he stands in the crowd, ranging from teetotalers to hard core alkies who calm the shakes with a Chang for breakfast.

[Suradit69]

 

Quote

 

If alcohol were illegal, would you still live here?

Sounds like a positive, not the negative you imply.

 

i occasionally have a glass or two of wine, but would gladly forgo that for the absence of drunken tourists.

Edited March 7, 2019 by Suradit69

[Suradit69]

diplicate

 

Edited March 7, 2019 by Suradit69

[kickstart]

Coming from the UK, the home of real beer, if it was illegal here in LOS, I do not think I would miss it, Thai beer is is awful, the odd Sing goes down well, that is about it. 

Thai lent lasts 3 months here and a lot of people give up alcohol for the 3 months, I have done it now for 6 years, why, I have my reasons, and even now I do not drink a lot.

But if it was illegal where would the government get the extra tax from to compensate from the tax loss, 5 baht on a Lita of gasohol.

[StreetCowboy]

I think it’s good to be able to choose not to drink.  If that choice was taken away from me, I would feel like an alcoholic.  

It would certainly make it easier to take a job in KSA.

[Cryingdick]

18 hours ago, Berkshire said:

Hmmmm....since no one else will say it, here goes.  What a ridiculous question.  Why ponder something that will never happen?  It's like asking "what if they banned fast food".....or "what if they banned air conditioning"....or "what if they ban farangs from dating Thai women."  I hope the OP is not losing sleep over this because it's really an absurd notion. 

I bet you are fun at parties. This is the pub section so let it go. You can always take your absurd outrage up into the world politics forum.

[Captain 776]

Once in a while, on a hot day........that FIRST Beer Lao Dark.........really tastes GOOD.

But like someone said above.........beer and alcohol just doesn’t really have a good taste.........especially Spirits.

 

If you are Honest........can you really say it has good taste?  I can not.

 

We drink it cuz we are out with friends to have a good time , or you want to feel the “buzz” .........but it just doesn’t have what I would call......A GOOD TASTE

[richard_smith237]

1 minute ago, Captain 776 said:

Once in a while, on a hot day........that FIRST Beer Lao Dark.........really tastes GOOD.

But like someone said above.........beer and alcohol just doesn’t really have a good taste.........especially Spirits.

 

If you are Honest........can you really say it has good taste?  I can not.

 

We drink it cuz we are out with friends to have a good time , or you want to feel the “buzz” .........but it just doesn’t have what I would call......A GOOD TASTE

 

If I am honest... Yes...  

 

An Ice cold beer after a hot day - tastes great and is refreshing (especially a good IPA)

A cracking Pinot with a steak or a fruity Marlborough Cabernet with a fresh fish - Yum

A glass of port by the fire on a Winters night, or gently sipping on a quality Whisky in the evenings with a good movie. Or a Gin & Tonic in the late afternoon by the beach... 

 

Yes... I think they all have a good taste... 

[Percy P]

On 3/6/2019 at 2:21 PM, Aussieroaming said:

Alcohol is over rated

I didn't realise alcohol had a rating. Never mind.

But it's something which is used in first add to sterilize wounds . I carry a bottle in my first add kit and made use of it many time. Whisky can also be used to sterilize items bit expansive though.

Edited March 8, 2019 by Percy P

[ThomasThBKK]

On 3/7/2019 at 11:38 AM, Jimbo2014 said:

I like a relaxing drink in the evening.  This would be a case of over nanny - tourism would die with the exception of Arabic countries.  Wouldnt be much to stay for.  Cant see it happening.  Too many Thai's drink.

i spend a fair amount of time in dubai. I know many many turkish and arabs in berlin as i grew up there...

All young people drink, thats why they come to thailand, because its easy here to do it. They wouldnt come either if alcohol is banned, then they just go to Spain or Greece or whatever. So maybe it wouldn't bother some older religious muslims but they would be bothered too as the streets here would be empty and boring.

 

If i can't get a steak here with a glas of wine,

or a gin tonic on a rooftop bar

or a beer at the beach...i would be out of here that's for sure.

 

I don't like nanny states, not to mention that the whole gastro/hotel industry would be screwed here anyway...

[Jimbo2014]

33 minutes ago, ThomasThBKK said:

i spend a fair amount of time in dubai. I know many many turkish and arabs in berlin as i grew up there...

All young people drink, thats why they come to thailand, because its easy here to do it. They wouldnt come either if alcohol is banned, then they just go to Spain or Greece or whatever. So maybe it wouldn't bother some older religious muslims but they would be bothered too as the streets here would be empty and boring.

 

If i can't get a steak here with a glas of wine,

or a gin tonic on a rooftop bar

or a beer at the beach...i would be out of here that's for sure.

 

I don't like nanny states, not to mention that the whole gastro/hotel industry would be screwed here anyway...

Very true - I have never seen drinking like I have in Pakistan, Afghanistan.  Drink like fish.  Yes your right.

[Enki]

On 3/7/2019 at 7:06 AM, phuketsub said:

The real issue we need to address is just why the quality of Thai alcohol, and beer in particular, is so lame. But on that note, as in so many other realms, the black market always comes to the rescue.

 

 

I like all there big Thai brands, Chang, Leo and Singar. No idea what you think is wrong with them. I prefer Chang, it reminds me to the German Jever. There is a brand called "Lao" perhaps you want to try that one.

[Enki]

On 3/7/2019 at 1:33 PM, manarak said:

freelance prostitution is not illegal in Thailand. time to put that urban legend to rest.

Yes it is: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prostitution_in_Thailand

[Puwa]

A more precise but still hypothetical question would be if you would stay were alcohol unavailable, rather than merely made illegal by some kind of ban. That is, if you couldn't drink and neither could anyone else; i.e., you live an alcohol-free life.  For me, the answer is yes, no problem.

[RocketDog]

I think many have missed the point the OP was making. He used alcohol as an example. 

 

So to comment on his point :

One of the reasons I find life here preferable to my home country is the relative freedoms I enjoy here. 

If alcohol was banned I would consider it a lead-in to future restrictions similar to the burgeoning and multi-layered nanny-state repressions I see in America now.

 

It is notable that though some laws here are regressive and repressive they are generally ignored by most of the populace, a kind of mass social disobience/protest against laws they find unjust or unreasonable. My countrymen could take a lesson from that. 

 

That said, I think the Thai peoples' almost universal disregard for traffic laws is self-defeating and simply insane. 

 

So yes, I would start considering alternatives to LOS. Personally I think my next stop would be Mexico. 

[soalbundy]

If alcohol was banned everywhere crime would drop drastically and the health of the public would improve. Prohibition in America didn't work well because of rampant corruption among police, politicians and judges. During the 12 year depression which started in 1929 and affected all Western nations it was shown that the health of the general public in America and Europe actually improved because due to poverty there wasn't the money to buy alcohol.

[manarak]

5 hours ago, Enki said:

Yes it is: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prostitution_in_Thailand

wikipedia's article is not correct

[brewsterbudgen]

Yes, it's far too simplistic to say that prostitution is illegal here. Aspects of it are, such as soliciting, brothels, trafficking and underage providers, but paying someone privately for sex is not illegal. The Entertainment Places Act regulates places like gogo bars and massage places, so that they can operate legally.

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[Inn Between]

The action of banning alcohol says something so profound about a culture that I couldn't live in such a country. It's the removal of individual rights and choices that would be the scariest aspect of something like that -- not the absence of alcohol. Does Sharia Law follow that? 

[Enki]

14 hours ago, soalbundy said:

If alcohol was banned everywhere crime would drop drastically and the health of the public would improve. Prohibition in America didn't work well because of rampant corruption among police, politicians and judges. During the 12 year depression which started in 1929 and affected all Western nations it was shown that the health of the general public in America and Europe actually improved because due to poverty there wasn't the money to buy alcohol.

That is incorrect. Due to the alcohol ban people made their own booze, they died to the thousands every weekend in the big cities due to methanol or other poisons in the beverages. Go read some books ...

[madmen]

I would and make my own and have wild moonshine parties

[SheungWan]

The only conceivable circumstances that would result in the banning of alcohol would be the imposition of Sharia Law. I think I would be leaving.

[balo]

On 3/10/2019 at 11:15 PM, Enki said:

Due to the alcohol ban people made their own booze, they died to the thousands every weekend in the big cities due to methanol or other poisons in the beverages.

First time I heard about this , care to share a link ? 

[Nyezhov]

On 3/6/2019 at 2:23 PM, Boomhauer said:

be nice to have a cold pint at the end of a long day though? no?

I do confess to enjoying a cocktail, perhaps a Pims Cup oir a Mojito, or an occasional brewski, but I havent had a drop since the morning in January when the Angelus Mortis attempted to remove me from this world, booze no mix with the meds Im told. 

 

420 is enough then.