New marijuana regulations could spell the end of vans selling weed, smoking cafes and online flowers

[webfact]

Picture: Thai Rath

 

The new regulations issued last Friday in Thailand concerning the sale and distribution of marijuana could see radical changes in how the drug is sold. 

 

It could see the end of vans selling weed in the streets as well as vendors who move around.

 

Online businesses and shops also look set to be hit hard with advertising restrictions especially concerning the sale of marijuana flowers. 

 

Home growers will have to wait until the New Year to find out how the Cannabis Act will affect them.

 

Dr Thongchai Lertwilairatanapong, director of the Thai Traditional and Alternative Medicine department, spoke to Thai Rath after regulations changed on November 11th.

 

These are designed to rein in some of the free for all after the removal of the drug from the narcotics list back on June 9th. 

 

Thongchai said that marijuana flowers - that contain the most THC - are of most concern and must not be put in food. 

 

Any additives such as leaves must be clearly stipulated by restaurants.

 

People have the right to complain and get action for annoyance and smell of ganja products in public places. 

 

If food contains flowers consumers can prosecute restaurant and business owners. 

 

Vehicles such as vans selling marijuana are illegal now. 

 

Places that have registered to sell the drug must have fixed premises - vans are clearly a violation of this rule. 

 

This could see the end of places like Sukhumvit Soi 11 in Bangkok, for example, where vans line the street, notes ASEAN NOW. It could also mark the end of street stalls selling weed in the area. 

 

It is not just Bangkok, this is happening all over Thailand, especially in tourist areas and has become commonplace. 

 

Cafes connected to businesses selling weed are also banned now. The public may not smoke marijuana on the premises and it can only be consumed on-site if for medical purposes, said Dr Thongchai. 

 

Picture: Thai Rath

 

This could affect many places in Pattaya where cafes have sprung up.

 

It was previously thought that so long as there was no annoyance then it was ok. That has apparently changed.

 

The selling of flowers online is now being reined in.

 

No overt advertising is allowed both online and in shops and licences look set to be removed from licensed vendors if they do. 

 

How this will affect businesses selling online will be seen in the coming days. A total of 5,000 licences have been issued to sell. 

 

Much will depend on if and when the Thai police get involved in what are still Ministry of Public Health rules. 

 

The Cannabis Act has still not come into force.

 

That will be in the new year when growers will discover what they can and cannot do regarding marijuana. 

 

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[lujanit]

Walking along Sukhumvit yesterday there are a lot of shops selling weed.  There has been some serious money put into setting them up.  I just see these rules as another opportunity for the BIB to extort owners.  Very little will change.

[bamnutsak]

Asssuming the van has a license then they can still sell flower. Whether they can get the "appropriate" license might be an issue? Not sure what new criteria might be required.

 

On premises smoking, without some sort of additional rules/licenses seems like a no-no. Seen many shops previously offering this service eliminating it.

 

On-line sales prohibition will severely impact small Thai growers, waiting to see how this is enforced. Some say that as long as they do not advertise a product with a price it is OK. But this one needs to be clarified, and if the Police are instructed to enforce this, and what the first arrest looks like.

 

Most of these controls were in the Cannabis Bill. Online sales was allowed, but with biometric age verfification.

 

There has been quite a bit of public information and debate on this new edict, with quite a few lengthy discussions, and a few Live Facebook gatherings. The Police are busy with APEC, and people are still digesting this, so I wouldn't expect a sea-change this week.

 

 

[n00dle]

Another ill-conceived initiative to benefit the Thai economy by encouraging businesses (like vans) the pulling the rug out from under them.

It not unlike the idiocy bruited about that wants to limit the hours of bars that have just reopened after two long years to conserve electricity.

 

that said, i live on soi 11, and there are so many vans that you can no longer use the sidewalks near the Ambassador complex. I counted 12 vans the other night. 

[PJPom]

All I can say is GOOD, how many others think legalising Cannabis was wrong.

I now wait to be told I am a boomer and know nothing.

[BritManToo]

2 minutes ago, PJPom said:

All I can say is GOOD, how many others think legalising Cannabis was wrong.

I now wait to be told I am a boomer and know nothing.

You're a boomer and know nothing!

But wait, so am I ...........

[bamnutsak]

9 minutes ago, n00dle said:

that said, i live on soi 11, and there are so many vans that you can no longer use the sidewalks near the Ambassador complex. I counted 12 vans the other night. 

Imagine the Thessakit are collecting rent from these vans, but yes, this is a public safety issue and the sidewalks on Soi 11 should be cleared of everything, food vendors and the seating for their customers, motorbike parking, pop-up alcohol sales and seating, etc.

 

[BritManToo]

6 minutes ago, bamnutsak said:

Imagine the Thessakit are collecting rent from these vans, but yes, this is a public safety issue and the sidewalks on Soi 11 should be cleared of everything, food vendors and the seating for their customers, motorbike parking, pop-up alcohol sales and seating, etc.

 

Street vendors is the whole charm of Asia.

[Skallywag]

Every shop in Pattaya clearly states "Medical Cannabis" .  What is this "weed" everyone is talking about!  5555

[yeahbutif]

Sounds like another case in Thailand  of bolting the stable door after the horse has bolted... Will they ever learn..?

[IamNoone88]

It was ill conceived idea from the start but the genie got out of the bottle. The original proposal was for medical cannabis with a THC content below 0.3 - hemp in other words. But of course no control and vague at best and now its a marijuana market free for all. Bars are selling the stuff, stalls in Central and shops everywhere. Madness.

[blacksuitdandruff]

Nice "new regulation" to only help "officers'" negotiate for increased "protection money" amounts

 

Plebs need not apply

[Lemsta69]

3 hours ago, BritManToo said:

Street vendors is the whole charm of Asia.

This desire to turn Thailand into Singapore is, as we say in Australia, quite simply "rediculous".

[ukrules]

Interesting, the official facebook adverts for 'weed' do seem to have disappeared recently.

 

 

[ezzra]

I'm still trying to understand why they decided that Thailand need a marihuana pots and plants in every home before they even had the rules and regulation for using/selling the stuff in place, this is the case of doing before thinking, and whom did it really benefited to legalise pot other than some business and pot's heads...

[Jimbo 12345]

4 hours ago, PJPom said:

All I can say is GOOD, how many others think legalising Cannabis was wrong.

I now wait to be told I am a boomer and know nothing.

Totally agree with you,   absolutely scandalous selling drugs in Thailand,  ban the lot of them,  what next,????  legalisation of cocaine,  etc..  

[Spock]

4 hours ago, PJPom said:

All I can say is GOOD, how many others think legalising Cannabis was wrong.

I now wait to be told I am a boomer and know nothing.

I am a boomer and know a hell of a lot more than the younger generation about marijuana. Your youth was obviously nowhere near as misspent as it could or should have been. 

 

Whether legalising was right or wrong, what is wrong is allowing so many people and businesses to spend a lot of money setting up what they thought was a legal trade then change the regulations and force them out of business. The government should not be making up policies as they go along. This is just another example of the Thai government not thinking through a situation before introducing new regulations to the public.

[Snig27]

4 hours ago, PJPom said:

All I can say is GOOD, how many others think legalising Cannabis was wrong.

I now wait to be told I am a boomer and know nothing.

Thankfully you are out of touch with planet earth. Germany legalised this week and the US Federal Govt is in the final stages. Whether this goes through now or not it eventually will. Thailand can't afford to be so far out of touch with the tourist market it is trying to attract. Ok, back in your cave ...

[NorthernRyland]

I was just in Pai over the weekend and those dirty pot smoking hippies are going to be devastated if these new rules happen. 

[CLW]

Nice try, putting the horses back in the stable after they bolted. 

In reality, no one will really care about these new regulations.

There'll be the occasional crackdown with police photo OP and big PR and another chance for the BiB to collect tea money from the shops.

Lucky for all international cannabis companies that hesitated to invest large sums in Thailand.

They happily might go to countries with goverments you can trust such as USA, Canada, South Africa, Uruguay and many more coming soon in the future

 

[wombat]

Nothing  changes just rearranges 

[jonclark]

Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but this will stop nothing, Cannabis will be regulated just like alcohol and cigarettes' which is a logical and sensible middle ground. Too many Thai people enjoy a good smoke and like cultivating it. 

 

The anti-weed haters and over zealous pro choice cannabis junkies will need to find an accommodation so we can all live together.  

[roger101]

5 hours ago, PJPom said:

All I can say is GOOD, how many others think legalising Cannabis was wrong.

I now wait to be told I am a boomer and know nothing.

OK. You're a boomer and know nothing. Happy now.

[AhFarangJa]

It is probably pressure from the Thai Tobacco Monopoly to rein everything in so only they will be issued a licence. 

[Snig27]

1 minute ago, wombat said:

Nothing  changes just rearranges 

That's just it. If you read the text, little has changed. You can't advertise online. No problem. Fixed premises - the streets are full of fixed dispensaries, all licensed. You have never been able to smoke it in public. 

It's at best window dressing to try to satisfy a small number of self serving politicians and grumbling seniors who, indefensibly, would rather see young people locked up to satisfy their own prejudices. 

I don't smoke the stuff and hate the smell but I dislike the self serving hypocrisy and sheer evil on display even more.

[NemoH]

???????? if they don’t have more controls, pretty soon the only retail shops left are the ones selling weed… just a page from history in 19th century China when opium became the most lucrative business… lol

[aussienam]

I don't have sympathy for the ex-drug dealers and other organised crime figures who have made probably millions/billions of Baht of tax free income over decades,  who had a head-start over others, to quickly set up shops all over Thailand upon legalisation - and continue to make bumper profits off the back of already established weed crops. 

 

I do however sympathise on those who entered the market post-legalisation and have invested significant money into this new emerging cannabis market.  

 

I think it unfair for government to pullback on hazy legislation that will disadvantage a lot of decent investors.  But, there is probably a level of responsibility on those who jumped into the cannabis business, knowing that the laws were vague and the real possibility of legal clarifications to tweak the usage laws. Like a lot of things done in Thailand, business owners push the envelope when it comes to laws (such as breaching closing hours in alcohol/entertainment outlets).

 

The government definitely could have done a much better job with a working committee to draft numerous laws and clarifications of laws, best practice and procedures, etc. beforehand.  Not only Thailand, but other countries as well rush legislation, leading to all sorts of issues.  

 

One only needed to attend one of the Cannabis expos that popped up around the country to see how much has already been invested into businesses, new products, etc.  

 

I personally am not a big user of cannabis, but have dabbled.  I like cannabis use for anxiety relief and there are definite medical benefits for other medical conditions well documented.  I don't like the hallucinogenic effects of higher THC, but if a user wants to experience that then that's their choice and the THC content is revealed. 

 

I think the 'cat is out of the bag' now and the only thing I think is a good thing is to ensure cannabis smokers follow the same rules as tobacco smokers (don't annoy others in public who don't want to inhale it - I hate cigarette smoke). 

 

Also, the term for 'medical use', for example, does a user technically need to present to a cannabis café, a doctor's certificate to prove one's need for cannabis? Or is the law vague on how much one needs to prove they need it for medical use? I have not read over the legislation as it stands.  But would be interesting in how that section is worded.   

 

 

 

 

[Surasak]

39 minutes ago, Spock said:

I am a boomer and know a hell of a lot more than the younger generation about marijuana. Your youth was obviously nowhere near as misspent as it could or should have been. 

 

Whether legalising was right or wrong, what is wrong is allowing so many people and businesses to spend a lot of money setting up what they thought was a legal trade then change the regulations and force them out of business. The government should not be making up policies as they go along. This is just another example of the Thai government not thinking through a situation before introducing new regulations to the public.

Not the first time Thailand has put the cart before the horse, and I am sure it wont be the last.

[Snig27]

17 minutes ago, NemoH said:

???????? if they don’t have more controls, pretty soon the only retail shops left are the ones selling weed… just a page from history in 19th century China when opium became the most lucrative business… lol

Confusing ganja with opium indicates a reality disconnect of biblical proportions. 

[Dogmatix]

1 hour ago, IamNoone88 said:

It was ill conceived idea from the start but the genie got out of the bottle. The original proposal was for medical cannabis with a THC content below 0.3 - hemp in other words. But of course no control and vague at best and now its a marijuana market free for all. Bars are selling the stuff, stalls in Central and shops everywhere. Madness.

That was only extracts and the THC limit was and is 0.2%.