'It's like the new Amsterdam': The rush to cash in on Thailand's hazy cannabis laws

[JackGats]

Speaking of cannabis, how do you non-smokers out there manage the smoke factor? Inhaling smoke is the main reason to be a non-smoker. I don't want to have to worry about lung cancer because of cannabis. I now read that vaping cannabis has its own high-risk (crazy story related to vitamin E acetate damaging the lungs).

 

The edibles are often a scam, plus they takes ages to kick in.

 

I sincerely hope TH will not backtrack on this liberalisation. It is welcome in this time of despondency due to pandemics and war.

Edited October 6, 2022 by JackGats
grammar

[Denim]

1 hour ago, PJ71 said:

Nowadays you can get whatever 'hit' you want.

 

I know people that use it before working out for focus, as an example.

Yup, takes all sorts.

 

I know people that use it just before lying on the sofa for an hour and staring at the ceiling. Helps them focus.

[stoner]

39 minutes ago, hotandsticky said:

 

He has as much right to dislike it, as you do to like it. 

tit for tat . without the pothead label i wouldn't even of replied with my equal label. 

 

 

[Roosterlips]

1 hour ago, Henryford said:

Be sure to attract all the quality tourists, sitting with a load of potheads smelling their disguting weed.

Man, you need to relax. Move your ass and sit somewhere else then. What’s disgusting is your pomposity. 

[Snig27]

3 hours ago, Geoffggi said:

What I find confusing is the number of cannabis outlets there are yet the price of it per gram is ridiculous, one keeps hearing that Thai people are struggling with financial problems yet more & more sales outlets keep on opening up surely we must be over the sustainable margins and many of these outlets will have to close, I didn't think there were so many tourists here or is it visitors from neighboring countries who have the purchasing power .........

Take a step off the main streets and the local price drops substantially. 

[Bday Prang]

1 hour ago, Wuvu2 said:

I don't believe you. I'm calling BS ????

This is a Thai urban legend promoted by the folks that want to reverse legalization. Exactly where have they been putting weed in your food without your knowledge - and without charging a premium for it? 

 

 

25 years ago several people tried to  "warn" me that the energy drinks like M-150 and lipo contained amphetamine.!!  They were deadly serious,   I also remember rumours that Thai beer contained formaldehyde . That guy seems determined to start his own urban myth, I can see no other reason for his post  

[stoner]

48 minutes ago, HaoleBoy said:

this is for imported top-shelf strains of good weed.

a lot of the imports flying around are not even close to top shelf. a good chunk of it is outdoor or greenhouse being passed off as indoor and aaa nug.

 

a lot of the local population doesn't know or cannot tell so it's a free for all. 

[Geoffggi]

12 minutes ago, Bday Prang said:

25 years ago several people tried to  "warn" me that the energy drinks like M-150 and lipo contained amphetamine.!!  They were deadly serious,   I also remember rumours that Thai beer contained formaldehyde . That guy seems determined to start his own urban myth, I can see no other reason for his post  

Many years ago I met some people who worked for a brewery in the UK, they had taken some Singha beer back & tested it & found it did contain formaldehyde also a high content of lead which could have come from old brewing pipes etc. See below for a further interesting article.

 

Chinese brewery giant Tsingtao has confirmed the safety of its product, saying the per-liter formaldehyde content of its product is much lower than the standard set by the World Heath Organization (WHO). The Tsingtao Brewery Co., Ltd. made the remarks in a statement it issued Friday in response to earlier domestic media reports putting Tsingtao beer’s formaldehyde content under suspicion. China’s State Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (SAQSIQ) also said that Chinese beer, including big-name Tsingtao beer, is safe to drink.

[robsamui]

2 hours ago, Gknrd said:

I know a few people here, every uncle , aunt, extended family is growing it. I stopped at a few Guest housed and they are growing it.. In Laos same. But, you go to jail here if they want.. But, the GH I was in had at least 100 plans growing.. Crazy..

They all think it is going to get them rich..

Unfortunately it's actually a very labour-intensive business, growing cannabis, and needs specialised knowledge. For a great many years the Thai farmers prided themselves on the quality of their government-sponsored  crops - which were sadly behind the rest of the world. The Thai "top" strain (Tana Kan Khaw WA1) contains only around 10% of THC (the ingredient that gets you stoned) whereas the cannabis 'pharmacies' are mainly selling imported stuff from Canada, Bolivia (and some states in the US). These have THC  levels of up to 28%.

 

The typical 'throw and grow' approach of the farmers just won't cut it in the face of this kind of competition, where everything is mostly grown under lab conditions with controlled nutrients, high-intensity lighting and exacting drying and curing techniques. The Thai cannabis is selling for around 100-150 baht a gram, in contrast to the vastly superior imports (sold as 'exotic' strains) that the 'pharmacies' are putting out at an average of 500+ baht per gram - some of this I've seen being sold in tourist areas for more than 1,000B p/g.

 

I'll be soon coming up to the first harvest of the new cannabis regime and a huge number of Thais are going to find themselves disappointed, as all their low-grade harsh-tasting 'landrace' product hits the public at the same time, probably next month and December.  

And I suspect that the import tax on imports from abroad will suddenly take a hike too, when the government realises what's happening..

 

Edited October 6, 2022 by robsamui

[Gknrd]

I fear no beer, I fear no joint,  I am bit Leary of a bar girl though...

[Gknrd]

27 minutes ago, Bday Prang said:

25 years ago several people tried to  "warn" me that the energy drinks like M-150 and lipo contained amphetamine.!!  They were deadly serious,   I also remember rumours that Thai beer contained formaldehyde . That guy seems determined to start his own urban myth, I can see no other reason for his post  

M-150 and the rest of the caffeine loaded drinks are toxic killers.  I had an employee in the states that started drinking that rot guy caffeine candy. Horrible.

[robsamui]

16 minutes ago, Gknrd said:

I fear no beer, I fear no joint,  I am bit Leary of a bar girl though...

Leary of a bar girl? Yep - some of them can be pretty shifty, I suppose . . . ????

Edited October 6, 2022 by robsamui

[micmichd]

3 hours ago, kwan said:

Amsterdam considers banning ‘cannabis tourists’ from its coffee shops

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/oct/01/amsterdam-considers-banning-cannabis-tourists-from-its-coffee-shops

Then you learn to speak Dutch, no problem for me. 

[PJ71]

1 hour ago, josephbloggs said:

I used to feel the same.  But having tried the new stuff it is amazing - you can feel euphoric and energetic and focused, so different.  Different strains have different effects.

Totally agree, i've not smoked it for 20 years + but now there's edibles available here happy days.

 

Smoking it is too intense for me.

[Gknrd]

3 minutes ago, robsamui said:

Leary of a bar girl? Yep - some of them can be pretty shifty, I suppose . . .

Leary of you now!

 

leary

 adjective

 

less common spelling of LEERY

: SUSPICIOUS, WARY  —often used with ofleery of strangers

 

Edited October 6, 2022 by Gknrd

[PJ71]

1 hour ago, JackGats said:

The edibles are often a scam, plus they takes ages to kick in

The edibles i've tried have been great, from various places throughout thailand.

 

Yes, they take a while to kick in but so what?

[PJ71]

2 hours ago, Henryford said:

Be sure to attract all the quality tourists, sitting with a load of potheads smelling their disguting weed.

Strange comment

[Randy99]

2 hours ago, Bangkok Barry said:

It's the Thai way. Everyone jumps on the bandwagon and then many of the businesses fail because sales are spread too thin. You see it all the time along the highways, with a dozen stalls within a kilometre all selling exactly the same stuff. It happened in my area too with sugar cane. Everyone grew it but the price plummeted because of over-supply. Exactly the same thing happened with growing rubber trees. Thais have absolutely no idea about business methods, supply and demand and so on. They just follow what others do, like sheep, and then get burned.

Nonsense.  This is how new industries begin across the planet.  Survival of the fittest.  The innovative and competetive shops will survive.  This effect is amplified in Thailand because margins tend to be very tight.  Overheads here are much lower than in the countries most tourists come from.

[JackGats]

3 minutes ago, PJ71 said:

The edibles i've tried have been great, from various places throughout thailand.

 

Yes, they take a while to kick in but so what?

I was sold oil but the effect was puny. I guess what they call oil here is not the infamous THC oil they sold in Holland, where just a drop on the tip of a cigarette would knock you down unconscious under the table.

[PJ71]

1 minute ago, JackGats said:

I was sold oil but the effect was puny. I guess what they call oil here is not the infamous THC oil they sold in Holland, where just a drop on the tip of a cigarette would knock you down unconscious under the table.

Oils - not heard of that for years........ i remember it being very potent as you say.

 

The edibles i enjoy coz you can still go about your business normally.

[Jack Hammer]

2 hours ago, Gknrd said:

I know a few people here, every uncle , aunt, extended family is growing it. I stopped at a few Guest housed and they are growing it.. In Laos same. But, you go to jail here if they want.. But, the GH I was in had at least 100 plans growing.. Crazy..

They all think it is going to get them rich..

It will be the same as the Tulip bulb boom in Holland in the years 1636- 1637.   Over supply, from boom to bust 

[sansaihashbars]

I am still kind of stunned and shocked by seeing cannabis shops everywhere. Most definitely the New Amsterdam and I remember last several years Thai gov't/university studying the cannabis plant and good for them! What continues to fascinate me is the reaction to it all which I would label uneventful from a cannabis shop/clinic/restaurant/dispensary/stand..it seems to have just blended in as another business accepted by the people. 

[Gknrd]

1 hour ago, robsamui said:

Unfortunately it's actually a very labour-intensive business, growing cannabis, and needs specialised knowledge. For a great many years the Thai farmers prided themselves on the quality of their government-sponsored  crops - which were sadly behind the rest of the world. The Thai "top" strain (Tana Kan Khaw WA1) contains only around 10% of THC (the ingredient that gets you stoned) whereas the cannabis 'pharmacies' are mainly selling imported stuff from Canada, Bolivia (and some states in the US). These have THC  levels of up to 28%.

 

The typical 'throw and grow' approach of the farmers just won't cut it in the face of this kind of competition, where everything is mostly grown under lab conditions with controlled nutrients, high-intensity lighting and exacting drying and curing techniques. The Thai cannabis is selling for around 100-150 baht a gram, in contrast to the vastly superior imports (sold as 'exotic' strains) that the 'pharmacies' are putting out at an average of 500+ baht per gram - some of this I've seen being sold in tourist areas for more than 1,000B p/g.

 

I'll be soon coming up to the first harvest of the new cannabis regime and a huge number of Thais are going to find themselves disappointed, as all their low-grade harsh-tasting 'landrace' product hits the public at the same time, probably next month and December.  

And I suspect that the import tax on imports from abroad will suddenly take a hike too, when the government realises what's happening..

 

Anyone and their dog can grow this stuff..  

Edited October 6, 2022 by Gknrd

[daveAustin]

6 hours ago, ukrules said:

I won't be smoking any of that stuff, makes me tired - and I hate that.

You've been doing the wrong stuff bro. Get a bit of Jack the Ripper up in ya. ????

[Walker88]

From a business point of view, I think opening a weed shop is a bad idea. I walked from Soi 4 to Soi 8 and counted 7 weed shops in that five minute walk. A lot of money had been spent sprucing up whatever the place was before, so with so much competition within smoking distance, ROI looks to be pretty bad and the payback period way too long.

 

As for using it, I'm not a fan. I don't find people buzzed on ganja to be any less boring than people buzzed on booze. I like a beer or two or a few glasses of wine, but because I like the flavor, not the buzz. I do not grab a beer or a glass of wine with the intent of getting a buzz, and if I feel one coming on, I switch to water. There are those who claim ganja enhances creativity, but one has to have the ability to be creative in order for that ability to be enhanced. Most people are incapable of creativity, so under the influence they just become turbo banal. For those who enjoy ganja, knock yourselves silly. To each his own.

 

If I were to predict where this goes, I would say that the liberalization is going to be pulled back, and all the current dispensaries turned back into 7-11s, massage parlors, or Indian Tailors. I don't think the powers that be knew what they were unleashing. Already many in higher levels of govt or society are embarrassed that Thailand has a reputation as the World's Brothel. I don't think they will be any happier if Thailand becomes East Stoner-istan.

[marcusb]

23 minutes ago, Gknrd said:

Anyone and their dog can grow this stuff..  

Thats true, but the difference between a proper grow and "anyone" growing it is huge.  Hence the different grades. From 4 baht a gram to 800 baht per gram.   
You can give 4 people the same seeds and have 4 different outcomes.  I guess its the same principal as "anyone" can make wine. 

[bendejo]

2 hours ago, HaoleBoy said:

this is for imported top-shelf strains of good weed

Imported from where?  Legally?

 

 

[hotandsticky]

2 hours ago, stoner said:

tit for tat . without the pothead label i wouldn't even of replied with my equal label. 

 

 

LOL!   that is where you lowered yourself to his level......????

[KannikaP]

2 hours ago, JackGats said:

The edibles are often a scam, plus they takes ages to kick in.

Tell that to the guy in another thread who said he put leaves in his tea and was immediately high for three hours.

[KannikaP]

50 minutes ago, Gknrd said:

Anyone and their dog can grow this stuff..  

I do it without the wife!