Anutin challenged for decriminalisation of cannabis ahead of appropriate legislation

[Snig27]

6 hours ago, smedly said:

I have no issue with someone partaking in consuming weed in private - but this idiot is trying to get a country addicted

The US authorities have been looking for you for decades. Please present your evidence that cannabis is addictive to the DEA in Washington. You will be well rewarded - or laughed at.

[Bkk Brian]

1 minute ago, Snig27 said:

The US authorities have been looking for you for decades. Please present your evidence that cannabis is addictive to the DEA in Washington. You will be well rewarded - or laughed at.

Heavy marijuana use among youths is leading to more addiction and antisocial behavior.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/cannabis-and-the-violent-crime-surge-marijuana-pot-use-thc-shootings-psychosis-mental-11654540197

[Snig27]

1 hour ago, Gecko123 said:

 

Do you consider articles such as these to be propaganda?

 

https://www.webmd.com/connect-to-care/addiction-treatment-recovery/marijuana/long-term-effects-marijuana-use

 

https://www.healthline.com/health-news/cannabis-use-could-impair-your-ability-to-drive-for-4-hours

 

NB: Drowsiness is cited as a potential side effect. Are fears of an increase in "lap noi" (falling asleep at the wheel) accidents overblown?

 

https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/the-effects-of-marijuana-on-your-memory

 

https://chicago.suntimes.com/2021/10/13/22725095/marijuana-effects-cannabis-academic-performance

How are things in the 1930s? We understand that you are cowering in horror at the idea that an essentially harmless plant that countless Thais already enjoy without any noticeable side effects might be legalised and thus those users freed from possible criminal charges that could ruin their lives but all the above are resolved with a few rules. Make it R20 and illegal to drive with it and done.

Meanwhile, literally dozens of businesses all over BKK are doing fine now, employing staff and business is booming. They are even paying tax and the industry is out of the hands of criminals. Tourists love it, local folk love it , it's a win-win for everyone apart from blinkered grinches like you.

As to whether it's easy to grow here? I'm informed that Thailand and South East Asia are probably the most ganja productive places in the world. It literally grows almost anywhere without much effort - and has done for a very long time. The intense cultivation needed in much of the rest of the world isn't required here.

 

[bobbin]

Topics like this one are catnip (seems to be just like pot, but for cats) for the "OMG! Don't let people decide.. they'll be raping and pillaging all over the country , when they can raise themselves from the pot-induced stupor!"

 

The usual suspects have shown up.. the "bkk boys" and their partners in grime.. Unable to think for themselves, they are dead keen on playing the role of Chicken Little, regurgitating decades-old anti-cannabis propaganda.. much of which has a racist slant.

 

They want to be the "adult in the room" but fail to grasp the fact that not everything that governments say can be believed.. Meanwhile, they have also failed to see that society has changed. When a prohibition policy has been exposed as ridiculous, when it creates more harm than the thing prohibited, society as a whole adjusts to the new reality. Not these guys. They are going down swinging..

 

But the fun part is watching them clutch their pearls, while people who actually know what they are talking about are in the driver's seat now..

 

Buckle up..

[Snig27]

11 minutes ago, Bkk Brian said:

Heavy marijuana use among youths is leading to more addiction and antisocial behavior.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/cannabis-and-the-violent-crime-surge-marijuana-pot-use-thc-shootings-psychosis-mental-11654540197

Again, you and the whoever wrote that need to get on a plane and go to Washington. They have been trying to prove addiction for decades and failed. It has some mild psychological addictiveness but so does coffee, so does TV, so do countless things, but it is not physically addictive. 

Why do people like you think that destroying god knows how many lives by criminalising this because of your confusion is ok? Because that's what you are doing. Go back in your cave.   

[Bkk Brian]

Just now, Snig27 said:

Again, you and the whoever wrote that need to get on a plane and go to Washington. They have been trying to prove addiction for decades and failed. It has some mild psychological addictiveness but so does coffee, so does TV, so do countless things, but it is not physically addictive. 

Why do people like you think that destroying god knows how many lives by criminalising this because of your confusion is ok? Because that's what you are doing. Go back in your cave.   

You asked the poster this "Please present your evidence that cannabis is addictive to the DEA in Washington. You will be well rewarded - or laughed at"

 

I provided a credible link that informs you they probably already know so @smedly does not need to inform them. Got it?

[DUNROAMIN]

I wonder how big the  brown envelope was for him to push this policy.

[recom273]

3 hours ago, inThailand said:

The cat is already out of the bag. 

 

Every farmer is already growing ganja. There is going to be a lot of weed here soon. They have jumped on the bangwagon for its going to be a cash cow. And cash is King here. 

I’m glad to see everyone is partaking in the same as Anutin. 
 

Very soon there will be a massive glut of <deleted> weed, sticks and seeds. I’m seeing stacks of bricks from Laos on Facebook. So much that, within a year it’s going to be worthless - it will be a good thing to see people develop and refine their techniques but for the most part, it cannot succeed as a method for national prosperity. 

Edited July 20, 2022 by recom273

[bobbin]

4 minutes ago, Bkk Brian said:

You asked the poster this "Please present your evidence that cannabis is addictive to the DEA in Washington. You will be well rewarded - or laughed at"

 

I provided a credible link that informs you they probably already know so @smedly does not need to inform them. Got it?

This one?

 

https://www.webmd.com/connect-to-care/addiction-treatment-recovery/marijuana/long-term-effects-marijuana-use

 

You do realize that is not a Government website, but a lightly disguised advertisement for the for-profit services claiming to get "sufferers" back on the straight and narrow..

 

 

 

[coolcarer]

16 minutes ago, bobbin said:

 

But the fun part is watching them clutch their pearls, while people who actually know what they are talking about are in the driver's seat now..

 

Buckle up..

Hardly, legislation is on its way, you are only a backseat driver here.

[DUNROAMIN]

5 hours ago, Gecko123 said:

Would really like to see the studies supporting claims that hemp and cannabis seed cultivation are going to dramatically raise farm incomes. What infrastructure is planned to support hemp fiber and cannabis seed oil processing? What studies have been done to evaluate the impact on Thailand's ground water resources? Hemp fiber production produces a lot of waste biomass. How is that going to be disposed of? Burned, perhaps?

 

Article on hemp production from farmer's perspective:

https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/blogs/stateline/2021/07/09/the-hemp-boom-is-over-what-now

 

As far as who is most likely going to financially benefit from cannabis flower production for medicinal and recreational use, isn't this a fairly capital intensive industry requiring strict adherence to regulatory production standards? Because of the capital investments, technical knowledge, and conformance to regulatory standards which will be required, does this not present many barriers to entry to this commercial market which will largely favor large well-financed entities?

 

Video highlighting the capital intensive nature of cannabis flower production:

https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/blogs/stateline/2021/07/09/the-hemp-boom-is-over-what-now

 

In other words, are claims that farm income and income inequality will be improved through decriminalization a bunch of empty, poorly researched lies and hype? The Thai people deserve answers to these questions.

 

Only pushed by Anutin and his cronies to rake in cash from their private weed farms.

[Bkk Brian]

4 minutes ago, bobbin said:

This one?

 

https://www.webmd.com/connect-to-care/addiction-treatment-recovery/marijuana/long-term-effects-marijuana-use

 

You do realize that is not a Government website, but a lightly disguised advertisement for the for-profit services claiming to get "sufferers" back on the straight and narrow..

 

 

 

? what are you talking about, I never posted that link. Try following the string of posts.

[bobbin]

4 minutes ago, Bkk Brian said:

? what are you talking about, I never posted that link. Try following the string of posts.

Did I say that you posted that link?

 

You were vague however about which link was the "smoking(555) gun"

[coolcarer]

56 minutes ago, stoner said:

could you please back up these claims. i am quite interested in reading the published information. 

thanks.

I don’t think it’s possible for him to back up those claims and I also think it’s impossible to confirm them. However the poster is not wrong in repeating the rhetoric that is coming out of the right wing in the US. While deflecting from the difficult issue of gun control and especially mass shootings in the US, rather than tackle gun control laws, the right wing media with people like Tucker Carlson and friends blame weed for mass shootings. 
 

Quite a stretch with no evidence as far as I’m aware.

[Scott]

An off-topic, baiting post removed. 

[Gecko123]

I must say that the endless putdowns and name calling on the part of the decriminalization partisans make for very tedious reading and do little to bolster the merits of your arguments. In fact, it seriously detracts and distracts from the points you are trying to make.

 

@Snig27, you claim marijuana is an "essentially harmless" drug. Few medical professionals would agree with this lay assessment.

 

If, as an earlier poster indicated is the case, a 300,000 baht licensing fee is required in order to secure the right to commercially grow medicinal marijuana, on top of the capital investments required to start up operations, it's obvious that the commercial rewards are going to go to a small handful of people with the capital and connections to enter the industry. That's where the real money's going to be made. All this talk about lifting the masses out of poverty? Give me a break.

 

As far as hemp fiber and cannabis oil production from seed is concerned, beyond climate (which, by the way, is changing) there are a host of other issues facing farmers including irrigation resources, harvesting equipment, drying/curing of hemp fiber, baling, grading, and processing; whether the infrastructure to support all this even currently exists, and probably most importantly of all, whether there are domestic markets for fiber and cannabis oil products which can be profitably sustained over time. When they bandy about a figure of 70,000/baht per kilo, that's not all going to the farmer. There are very high labor and processing costs; I suspect the farmer's only going to get a small fraction of that.

 

The article I posted earlier points out that in the US there was a similar 'gold rush' to cash in on hemp farming only to discover it was unmarketable or could only be sold at a loss. I'm seeing cannabis flavored this and cannabis flavored that all over the place. What's next, cannabis flavored baby formula? All joking aside, there is a limit to the number of products you can add cannabis to.

Edited July 20, 2022 by Gecko123

[overherebc]

4 hours ago, inThailand said:

The cat is already out of the bag. 

 

Every farmer is already growing ganja. There is going to be a lot of weed here soon. They have jumped on the bangwagon for its going to be a cash cow. And cash is King here. 

Big question?

What does Thailand have more of, Ganga farms or 7/11 stores?

[Stevemercer]

I disagree with many things Anutin has done or said, but think he has done an amazing job effectively decriminalising cannabis in such a conservation country as Thailand.

 

It will certainly bring in the tourists. If you are a young westerner (or Indian, Chinese, Middle East etc, for that matter) choosing between Bali and Thailand, you will choose Thailand every time because you can buy and smoke weed.

[bobbin]

42 minutes ago, Gecko123 said:

I must say that the endless putdowns and name calling on the part of the decriminalization partisans make for very tedious reading and do little to bolster the merits of your arguments.

We are not making arguments for legalization or decriminalization ( a half-baked attempt to maintain the status-quo). That argument, in this country, has been resolved... In Cannabis' favour.

 

What we are pushing back on are the attempts to keep regarding cannabis consumers as second-class citizens. The War on Drugs was/is essentially a Civil War.

 

Some of your other points re infrastructure and marketing have merit.

Edited July 20, 2022 by bobbin

[CraigInBangkok]

2 minutes ago, bobbin said:

We are not making arguments for legalization or decriminalization ( a half-baked attempt to maintain the status-quo). That argument, in this country, has been resolved... In Cannabis's favour.

 

What we are pushing back on are the attempts to keep regarding cannabis consumers as second-class citizens. The War on Drugs was/is essentially a Civil War.

Honestly mate, its like banging your head against a wall in this forum. Oldies still living in times that are long gone...better crack another beer lads!

[Moon6966]

8 hours ago, smedly said:

I have no issue with someone partaking in consuming weed in private - but this idiot is trying to get a country addicted, a government promoting this is very careless and will not end well, the medical use excuse has been abandoned - they need to get control of this now before it gets out of control otherwise the basket case ratio in Thailand will rocket, weed has long lasting well documented mental side effects when abused

O do you have same things to say about alcohol a cigarettes 

I wonder 

What planet are you coming from? 

[Moon6966]

Cannabis Legalization is 1 surprising good thing Thailand did 

And anybody who has complained about it don't understand anything about it 

And being a hypocritical 

Home made poison alcohol is all over the place and alcohol in general promoted everywhere 

And tabbaco 

And people complain about cannabis 

What a joke 

It sure can help the country 

A better people use that then alcohol who only cause violence crime accidents addiction etc for those who abuse it 

Even if you abuse cannabis you not going to get into s fight or die or damaged your liver 

Max you go sleeping few hours 

 

[Pumpuynarak]

4 minutes ago, Moon6966 said:

Cannabis Legalization is 1 surprising good thing Thailand did 

And anybody who has complained about it don't understand anything about it 

And being a hypocritical 

Home made poison alcohol is all over the place and alcohol in general promoted everywhere 

And tabbaco 

And people complain about cannabis 

What a joke 

It sure can help the country 

A better people use that then alcohol who only cause violence crime accidents addiction etc for those who abuse it 

Even if you abuse cannabis you not going to get into s fight or die or damaged your liver 

Max you go sleeping few hours 

 

BINGO

[Slip]

2 hours ago, Bkk Brian said:

Heavy marijuana use among youths is leading to more addiction and antisocial behavior.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/cannabis-and-the-violent-crime-surge-marijuana-pot-use-thc-shootings-psychosis-mental-11654540197

If you look carefully at the top of that article you may be able to make out it says in quite large font- "Opinion".

Edited July 20, 2022 by Slip

[Bkk Brian]

7 minutes ago, Slip said:

If you look carefully at the top of that article you may be able to make it it says in quite large font- "Opinion".

If you actually read the article it also gives sources with real studies and statistics that informs those opinions

[mikebell]

4 hours ago, Andycoops said:

What did anyone expect from a corrupt incompetent clueless dumb billionaire.

Check out what he's got growing on his land.

[Bkk Brian]

A little sense coming in from his new statement and new OP:

 

BANGKOK (NNT) - Deputy Prime Minister and Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has reaffirmed that cannabis legalization is expressly for medical purposes and not recreational use.

 

https://aseannow.com/topic/1266460-health-minister-defends-cannabis-policy-during-censure-debate/

 

[Gecko123]

36 minutes ago, Bkk Brian said:

If you actually read the article it also gives sources with real studies and statistics that informs those opinions

Right wing media like Fox & Co. are trying to deflect gun control efforts by claiming that gun violence is a mental health issue rather than a gun control issue. I strongly suspect there are political motives behind the efforts to link marijuana to mass shootings. With that said, I don't think there's any question that drug use, including that of marijuana, can exacerbate behavioral problems in young people which in the extreme can lead to gun violence.

 

In other words, while there is a likely correlation between drug use and behavioral problems, and while most mass shooters have behavioral problems, I'm not sure if it's safe just yet to conclude that there's a direct correlation between marijuana and mass shootings.

Edited July 20, 2022 by Gecko123

[moogradod]

12 minutes ago, Gecko123 said:

..........................................

In other words, while there is a likely correlation between drug use and behavioral problems, and while most mass shooters have behavioral problems, I'm not sure if it's safe just yet to conclude that there's a direct correlation between marijuana and mass shootings.

You can make up any correlation you like on various items if you have enough imagination:

 

[Captor]

16 hours ago, mark131v said:

Anutin the gift that keeps giving, he is a glowing example of all his ilk, a dim over privileged <deleted> who is too thick and arrogant to understand his own incompetence, unfortunately the government and senate is full of clown's just like him...

But he has his doctor's shirt on! So all good! ????