Emergency Room admissions for cannabis up 566% as parties call for it to again be criminalised

[anchadian]

Spat between deputy prime ministers Anutin Charnvirakul and Jurin Laksanawisit over the issue as tensions mount. The Democrat Party and the opposition are adamant that the programme ushered in by Minister Anutin must be reversed amid claims that the THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) in some commercial products is not being measured and may be far higher than the legal limit allowed while over 90% of the crop being grown by farmers ends up being sold for recreational use for the same reason. A top government agency has also revealed that the number of young people under 20 now using the drug has doubled since it was decriminalised in June.

 

https://www.thaiexaminer.com/thai-news-foreigners/2022/11/05/emergency-admissions-for-cannabis-up-566-per-cent/

[ChaiyaTH]

Let's talk actual numbers and patients that had something serious, and then compare that to the ongoing alcohol related issues. End of the meeting, next subject.

[bamnutsak]

I'm surprised this sort of opinion piece is allowed here. Or that it passed any sort of editing process. It looks like the sort of thing a student would contract for on the internet the day before the paper is due. No grade higher than an "F", which is a Thai "B".

 

Thinly-sourced, with cherry-picked "statistics" from single unverified sources.

 

29 minutes ago, anchadian said:

A top government agency has also revealed that the number of young people under 20 now using the drug has doubled since it was decriminalised in June.

Which agency? Who in that agency?  Sales to under 20 are banned. What are the stats for meth and alcohol? Also illegal for under 20.

 

 

"He pointed out that last year 3% of all Emergency Room (ER) admissions to Thai hospitals were linked to cannabis or marijuana ingestion.

 

That figure, so far, for this year, has risen to 17% or nearly 6 times what it was."

 

 

I simply do not believe this 17% figure.

 

 

On the plus side no one has died or suffered permanent disability from indulging in Cannabis. So maybe this is a good thing?

 

[MrMuddle]

A clickbait article for a clickbait topic. Can we have sensible discussions, please?

[userabcd]

1 hour ago, ChaiyaTH said:

Let's talk actual numbers and patients that had something serious, and then compare that to the ongoing alcohol related issues. End of the meeting, next subject.

No need to compare.

 

Alcohol has its own set of issues, but they are referring to cannabis here.

 

It seems there are societal problems and abuse of cannabis since it has been sort of legalized.

 

Time to put the cannabis genie back in its box.

 

 

[bobbin]

14 minutes ago, userabcd said:

No need to compare.

 

Alcohol has its own set of issues, but they are referring to cannabis here.

 

It seems there are societal problems and abuse of cannabis since it has been sort of legalized.

 

Time to put the cannabis genie back in its box.

 

 

Point by point rebuttal ..

 

First of all, this is the Cannabis Forum, and your position is at odds with the intent of this forum. Cannabis is a legal product in Thailand.

 

There are always "problems in society". Cannabis is very very far down that list.

 

As for stuffing the Cannabis Genie back into the bottle, that will be a task worthy of Aladdin. The sea change regarding society's perception of Cannabis is well under way, not only in Thailand. Germany and the Czech Republic will legalize recreational use within a year. The process is well under way. The European dominoes will follow suit..

 

North America (Canada, Mexico, and a majority of American states) is almost totally cannabis-friendly. And since the USA was the primary driver of the anti-cannabis crusade, there is less of an incentive for other countries to keep their own anti-cannabis positions in place..

 

We are here. We are not going away..

 

[bkk_bwana]

1 hour ago, bamnutsak said:

 

"He pointed out that last year 3% of all Emergency Room (ER) admissions to Thai hospitals were linked to cannabis or marijuana ingestion.

That figure, so far, for this year, has risen to 17% or nearly 6 times what it was."

I simply do not believe this 17% figure.

 

If the figure were truly 17% of all ER admissions related to MJ ingestion it would be front page news. It's total BS. Show us the data Doc.

[bamnutsak]

50 minutes ago, userabcd said:

Time to put the cannabis genie back in its box.

Well, when you put it like that it sounds simple.

 

And what's with the knock-off Genie in a "box"? Thought they lived in a bottle?

 

Add Cannabis back onto the Narcotics List in Category 5.

Re-incarcerate the ~ 4,000 prisoners released.

Direct the Police to arrest ~ 1 million Thais involved in the production, distribution and use of Cannabis.

Build more prisons.

Reimburse those who've invested in the Cannabis business with billions of baht.

 

 

Misson accomplished.

 

 

[2baht]

1 hour ago, userabcd said:

Time to put the cannabis genie back in its box.

There'll always be a few! ????

[internationalism]

not as if Democrats ever cared about health. 

They are conservatives and on a moral crusade. Their move is ideologically and also politically motivated.

 

Some people might end up in emergency after they indulge the first time. They are minor ailments, which will sort out by themselves within a few hours. Nobody is running to hospital after binge drinking - unless they are losing eye sight from home made metyl.

 

Nothing can stop kids from smoking ganja, as much as from cigarettes, alcohol or even yaba. They are readily available to everyone despite all legal obstacles. Ganja will gradually replace all the other substances simply because it's much less harmful, more fun and cheaper (it's grown everywhere now). Kids know it and they will grow up to know more.

[MasterBaker]

Let's stop selling motorbikes in Thailand because of high accidents rate too

[stoner]

3 hours ago, bamnutsak said:

I simply do not believe this 17% figure.

because it is a lie. 

[stoner]

2 hours ago, userabcd said:

Time to put the cannabis genie back in its box.

have you seen the latest episode of reefer madness. who am i kidding of course you have. 

[jvs]

2 hours ago, userabcd said:

It seems there are societal problems and abuse of cannabis since it has been sort of legalized.

Can you please elaborate on the societal problems?

Like what are they and how is society having problems with it?

 

[robblok]

3 hours ago, userabcd said:

No need to compare.

 

Alcohol has its own set of issues, but they are referring to cannabis here.

 

It seems there are societal problems and abuse of cannabis since it has been sort of legalized.

 

Time to put the cannabis genie back in its box.

 

 

Only put it back if we ban alcohol too. Lets base it on science and the damage the substances do. Worldwide everyone has already shown that cannabis is less damaging then alcohol. So it makes more sense to ban alcohol and let cannabis go on.

[PJ71]

4 hours ago, userabcd said:

Time to put the cannabis genie back in its box

Good luck with that.

[PJ71]

7 minutes ago, robblok said:

So it makes more sense to ban alcohol

Good luck with that too.

 

If it's not alcohol and not cannabis it'll be something else.

 

Best solution - ban nothing lol.

[robblok]

Just now, PJ71 said:

Good luck with that too.

 

If it's not alcohol and not cannabis it'll be something else.

 

Best solution - ban nothing lol.

Oh, I was just joking but its usually the alcies that want to ban cannabis. Because they think its worse. But science has shown that cannabis is much better. So if someone argues that we should ban it again as it causes trouble. Then it makes more sense to bann alcohol. The more dangerous of the two.

I am of course much more in favor of not banning anything. I am quite happy that i now legally can use it. Far better as before better quality too.

[PJ71]

1 minute ago, robblok said:

Oh, I was just joking but its usually the alcies that want to ban cannabis

The % of people that consume alcohol is high

 

The % of people that are alcoholics is low, very low.

 

Alcohol and cannabis together is great - me likey.

[2baht]

5 hours ago, internationalism said:

Their move is ideologically and also politically motivated.

I thought it was a quest for the trough!

[oldscool]

The issue is really about the morphing from cbd for medicinal use (which had been agreed) to thc for recreational use (which had never been part of the original proposal).

 

Given that the vast majority of MPs are against recreational use, as is the Thai medical profession and the Thai population at large, it's hard to see how recreational use will be allowed to continue, at least in its present form.

 

Anything else is really speculation at this point in time.

[still kicking]

8 hours ago, robblok said:

Only put it back if we ban alcohol too. Lets base it on science and the damage the substances do. Worldwide everyone has already shown that cannabis is less damaging then alcohol. So it makes more sense to ban alcohol and let cannabis go on.

Ban alcohol? Go back to Holland where you can smoke as much as you like and let me enjoy a few glasses of wine at night

[Trippy]

Considering there's more than 500,000 Thai's growing weed, it's a little too late to put the genie back in the bottle.

 

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40016549

 

[oldscool]

The 500,000 notional growers comprise less than 1% of the population.

 

The lawmakers are firmly and overwhelmingly against recreational use, so whatever shape the genie takes after the lawmakers vote, it's inconceivable that the current situation will be allowed to continue.

 

But anything more is speculation.

[robblok]

11 hours ago, still kicking said:

Ban alcohol? Go back to Holland where you can smoke as much as you like and let me enjoy a few glasses of wine at night

Let people who want cannabis also enjoy it its usually those that drink alcohol that want to ban cannabis. So if we look at it scientifically what is the least bad of the two its cannabis. So if something needs to be banned for health reasons alcohol is the way to go. 

 

Of course i rather not ban anything but i get tired of those people who drink alcohol and seem to think canabis is some kind of evil drug.

[internationalism]

11 hours ago, oldscool said:

The issue is really about the morphing from cbd for medicinal use (which had been agreed) to thc for recreational use (which had never been part of the original proposal).

 

Given that the vast majority of MPs are against recreational use, as is the Thai medical profession and the Thai population at large, it's hard to see how recreational use will be allowed to continue, at least in its present form.

 

Anything else is really speculation at this point in time.

from where you got an impression that the vast majority of mp's are against?

Bhumjaithai and the PPP will be voting for.

Democrats and pheua thai, as well as some medics, started to voice their objection after ganja was decriminalised. They were surprised by popularity of change.

As to medics, there is a petition from the chula uni, signed by some 1k. There are some 60k doctors in thailand, so only very few are strongly motivated. There was also an opposition from within the ministry of health, from the department of traditional medicine, which is responsible for permit's registration - looks like they wanted to boost application process.

Those 1mln already registered are growing ganja, as many are growing without permit.

Some 1mln were given by the government, not enough for all interested. So there was a large market for seeds and clones. Flowers and rest of plants will be ready shortly, prices will fall and popular support will be even further boosted. Some will be support from international tourists, even from those coming from Malaysia.

That would make parliamentarians to think twice about voting against - they will be aware of risk at the general elections. If the bill is voted down, there is certain it would become again centre point policy of bhumjathai and give them more votes (at cost of democrat and pheua voters)

 

[bamnutsak]

12 hours ago, oldscool said:

But anything more is speculation.

Close enough, you're entire post is pure speculation, projection and devoid of actual facts.

 

This is all about politics, and not about Cannabis, with the Dems making their last stand.

 

If the bill is shelved (likely if enough votes can't be whipped), or voted down (unlikely), then the status quo remains with very few "controls" (under 20/pregnant). It's not like Cannabis will be put back on the Narcotics list.

 

If the R.I.P.B. bill is approved then many, many more controls will be put in place - I haven't seen a copy of draft #2 but have seen rumblings (no advertising, no on-line sales without biometric proof of age) - and many agencies will have a say on Cannabis going forward.

 

So if the Dems and medicos were truly concerned about the youth, and the medical drawbacks of Cannabis, then they would be supporting this bill.

 

If the BJT can't whip 215-ish votes then they would withdraw the bill from this session.

 

So if you are concerned about Cannabis misuse and controls you should be supporting the bill.

 

[Kevin Taylor]

I wish people could just take responsibility for their own actions. Drink too much and feel sick, that's your fault. Smoke too much cannabis and feel bad, that's on you. Don't get me started on covid and mandates. 

[oldscool]

Yes of course this is about “politics”. Politics is what they do in the National Assembly.

The bill was withdrawn overwhelmingly because (1) it had morphed from medicinal use to poorly defined recreational use and (2) concerns from the medical profession over the huge increase in hospital  admissions arising from recreational use.

None of the major parties is interested in recreational cannabis. And BJT had no mandate for recreational use.

No one here (including me) knows what the make up of the next assembly will be, or what may be in the future draft legislation, therefore any views expressed on the outcome can only be speculative.

But what we can say for certain is that the lack of clarity in the current situation will not be allowed to continue; anything else is speculation.

[bamnutsak]

1 hour ago, oldscool said:

None of the major parties is interested in recreational cannabis. And BJT had no mandate for recreational use.

Huh?