Traveling with weed

[bamnutsak]

28 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

ZERO arrests since then.

There have been arrests for selling without a license. A shop was busted this week in Phuket; no license and having a Russian "employee". Bud-tender must have been added to the list of jobs not available to foreigners?

 

But you are correct, I don't recall any arrests of individuals for buying, possessing or using.

 

And I haven't heard of any issues flying domestically with cannabis. Still allowed as previously published. We would have heard if there were any incidents.

 

There are signs at check-in (BKK), but that's for international departures.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 24, 2023 by bamnutsak

[Dan O]

1 hour ago, LOWERCASEGUY said:

Why do I have to provide a link for you when it’s literally on thousands of websites.  
 

Google “AOT Thailand cannabis domestic flights”.  
 

 

And I showed you the Health Minister comment from the same interviews. As I said its not legal or illegal, depending on who you talk to. Take whatever position you want but don't cherrypick info and only present one side of the sitiuation.

[LOWERCASEGUY]

5 minutes ago, nigelforbes said:

Smoking marijuana in public places such as schools, temples and shopping malls can lead to a 25,000 baht ($750) fine and a three-month prison sentence.

The important part there is the phrase “can lead to”.  
 

This is the same law for cigarettes.  
 

The police are first to give a warning.  
 

This was so misreported in all media, Thai, International.  
 

They mostly listed the maximum penalty that was possible for multiple violations.  
 

It’s like saying that if you break a traffic law in the US, your license can be permanently revoked and you could serve jail time.  
 

But that’s not the penalty for a first offense.  Nor is it even the penalty for a second offense for a serious traffic violation like DUI.  That’s usually the penalty for 3 or more DUI violations and dozens of more minor infractions.  
 

A lot of confusion is because the journalists are:

 

a)  Writing clickbait headlines. 
 

b)  Are rewriting what a Thai media source said about it hour fully understanding the topic. 
 

 

[nigelforbes]

6 minutes ago, LOWERCASEGUY said:

The important part there is the phrase “can lead to”.  
 

This is the same law for cigarettes.  
 

The police are first to give a warning.  
 

This was so misreported in all media, Thai, International.  
 

They mostly listed the maximum penalty that was possible for multiple violations.  
 

It’s like saying that if you break a traffic law in the US, your license can be permanently revoked and you could serve jail time.  
 

But that’s not the penalty for a first offense.  Nor is it even the penalty for a second offense for a serious traffic violation like DUI.  That’s usually the penalty for 3 or more DUI violations and dozens of more minor infractions.  
 

A lot of confusion is because the journalists are:

 

a)  Writing clickbait headlines. 
 

b)  Are rewriting what a Thai media source said about it hour fully understanding the topic. 
 

 

Yes, all of that is true but so is the fact that laws here frequently exist but are rarely applied, until some future date when it becomes convenient to do so. Plus interpretation and enforcement of the laws here are such huge variables that something that is acceptable in one area may not be in another. You also have to ask yourself if the average BiB will hand out a warning and forgo issuing a fine, I remain highly skeptical of that. 

[LOWERCASEGUY]

1 minute ago, Dan O said:

And I showed you the Health Minister comment from the same interviews. As I said its not legal or illegal, depending on who you talk to. Take whatever position you want but don't cherrypick info and only present one side of the sitiuation.

That’s not how laws work.  
 

Either something is expressly allowed or it is expressly forbidden.  
 

Cannabis is neither.  That doesn’t make it legal or illegal.  It simply isn’t illegal.  
 

Where does it say that you can bring a football on a flight?  
 

There is no link because no airline is going to make a list of everything you can carry on a flight.  Instead they have a list of expressly prohibited items and cannabis is not on that list except extracts.  
 

So if someone wants to claim that it’s illegal, they need to show evidence.  
 

It should be relatively easy to find.  Someone, somewhere must have mentioned it in the media if it was illegal.  
 

I have both reached out to most of the major domestic airlines and they have all said they have no rules against cannabis.  
 

I have also flown with large quantities of cannabis in my carry on and shown the weed to security and they’ve said nothing.  In fact most of the time they smile.  
 

The burden of proof here is not on me.  It’s on anybody saying anything other than it’s legal to fly with cannabis.  

[nigelforbes]

2 minutes ago, LOWERCASEGUY said:

That’s not how laws work.  

 

The burden of proof here is not on me.

That might be how things work where you come from but it's not always how things work here.

[LOWERCASEGUY]

4 minutes ago, nigelforbes said:

Yes, all of that is true but so is the fact that laws here frequently exist but are rarely applied, until some future date when it becomes convenient to do so. Plus interpretation and enforcement of the laws here are such huge variables that something that is acceptable in one area may not be in another. You also have to ask yourself if the average BiB will hand out a warning and forgo issuing a fine, I remain highly skeptical of that. 

It’s great when you can move the goalposts whenever facts get in the way.  
 

You can remain as skeptical as you want.  But your position sounds rather comical.  
 

What other things do you not do in Thailand out of fear of imaginary police persecution?  

[Wuvu2]

9 hours ago, Gottfrid said:

Exactly! Can we have a mod here?

Because you don't have the self control to ignore posts that don't interest you?

[LOWERCASEGUY]

4 minutes ago, nigelforbes said:

That might be how things work where you come from but it's not always how things work here.

I’ve been coming to Thailand on and off for over 20 years and have lived here almost 10. 
 

I’m quite aware of how the laws and Thai system work.  
 

Like I said, I’m also involved in the industry and regularly talk with lawyers and Thai lawmakers.  

[nigelforbes]

1 minute ago, LOWERCASEGUY said:

It’s great when you can move the goalposts whenever facts get in the way.  
 

You can remain as skeptical as you want.  But your position sounds rather comical.  
 

What other things do you not do in Thailand out of fear of imaginary police persecution?  

The TM30 rule was created in 1979 but was wasn't actively enforced until three years ago.

 

Dropping a cigarette butt on the ground in most parts of the country will get you a nasty stare at best, on Sukhumvit in Bangkok it' will cost you 2,000 baht.

 

Bank letters needed for long stay visa extensions are allowed to be up to seven days old in many parts of the country, in others they must be no more than 24 hours old and in at least one case, dated the same day.

 

Fixed bank deposits are not allowed as proof of 800k in the bank with many Immi. offices, at others they are perfectly admissible.

 

Those are things that occur to me straight away, if I were to sit down and really think about it, I could probably come up with  long list.

 

[nigelforbes]

9 minutes ago, LOWERCASEGUY said:

I’ve been coming to Thailand on and off for over 20 years and have lived here almost 10. 
 

I’m quite aware of how the laws and Thai system work.  
 

Like I said, I’m also involved in the industry and regularly talk with lawyers and Thai lawmakers.  

Good for you. I've lived here for 21 years and have been a regular visitor for business and pleasure since the late 1980's. I also speak regularly with blah blah blah. So?

 

Listen, if you want to disregard my observations, do so, but don't fight with me and try to convince me that I haven't experienced the things I have.

Edited February 24, 2023 by nigelforbes

[zzzzz]

11 hours ago, soi3eddie said:

The fixation on getting high never ceases to amaze me.

 

rather talk about weed  and weed smokers/users
than alcohol and drunks.

[LOWERCASEGUY]

5 minutes ago, nigelforbes said:

The TM30 rule was created in 1979 but was wasn't actively enforced until three years ago.

 

Dropping a cigarette butt on the ground in most parts of the country will get you a nasty stare at best, on Sukhumvit in Bangkok it' will cost you 2,000 baht.

 

Bank letters needed for long stay visa extensions are allowed to be up to seven days old in many parts of the country, in others they must be no more than 24 hours old and in at least one case, dated the same day.

 

Fixed bank deposits are not allowed as proof of 800k in the bank with many Immi. offices, at others they are perfectly admissible.

 

Those are things that occur to me straight away, if I were to sit down and really think about it, I could probably come up with  long list.

 

Goal posts being moved again.  
 

TM30 was a law that was in the books but wasn’t enforced.  
 

There are laws against littering.  Their enforcement is sporadic.  
 

Immigration offices have different interpretations of immigration law and apply things differently.  
 

The police could enforce the no smoking law but they can’t change the law.  What you’re suggesting is that the cops could make up a law that doesn’t exist.  

[nigelforbes]

6 minutes ago, LOWERCASEGUY said:

Goal posts being moved again.  
 

TM30 was a law that was in the books but wasn’t enforced.  
 

There are laws against littering.  Their enforcement is sporadic.  
 

Immigration offices have different interpretations of immigration law and apply things differently.  
 

The police could enforce the no smoking law but they can’t change the law.  What you’re suggesting is that the cops could make up a law that doesn’t exist.  

You say that you are, "quite aware of how the laws and Thai system work" and that you have, "been coming to Thailand on and off for over 20 years and have lived here almost 10".  

 

Great, get on with it, you don't need any input from anyone here, you already know everything! Goodbye and good luck.

[Gottfrid]

1 hour ago, Wuvu2 said:

Because you don't have the self control to ignore posts that don't interest you?

Auch! There you got me. But, seems like you are interested in my posts. Or, does that have to do with self control as well? ???? 

[digger70]

Don't.

[Wuvu2]

6 minutes ago, Gottfrid said:

Auch! There you got me. But, seems like you are interested in my posts. Or, does that have to do with self control as well? ???? 

One of my hobbies is making snarky replies to silly forum posts. Thanks it's been fun ???? 

[Jumbo1968]

The bill isn’t going to go through Parliament before the election, the consensus of opinion no matter who wins it will be watered down making cannabis only legal for medical purposes but how they would enforce that we don’t know.

[SuperSilverHaze]

10 hours ago, radiochaser said:

I wonder the same about alcoholic drink.   

A more dangerous substance for intentional inebriation for many people in the world.   It must be something ingrained in the brain as even animals and birds will intentionally become inebriation, such as eating fermented fruit. 

 

You can't bring alcohol on flights legally so what's your complaint?

[og th]

To avoid any issues during your flight, it's best to avoid causing a scene on board. Additionally, if you're carrying a large amount of flower, ensure it's properly sealed and doesn't emit any strong odors that could be disruptive to other passengers.

It's important to note that extracts are tightly regulated and considered illegal (if above 0.2% thc by weight), so it's best to avoid flying with any form of extract, even if it's openly sold in stores and chains. Testing has shown that some of these extracts can contain more than the legal limit of 0.2%, which could result in unintentional possession of a Category 5 narcotic.

In contrast, there are no restrictions on cannabis flower as long as it's used and sold within legal parameters.
 

Edited February 24, 2023 by OG Thai

[Dan O]

10 hours ago, LOWERCASEGUY said:

The important part there is the phrase “can lead to”.  
 

This is the same law for cigarettes.  
 

The police are first to give a warning.  
 

This was so misreported in all media, Thai, International.  
 

They mostly listed the maximum penalty that was possible for multiple violations.  
 

It’s like saying that if you break a traffic law in the US, your license can be permanently revoked and you could serve jail time.  
 

But that’s not the penalty for a first offense.  Nor is it even the penalty for a second offense for a serious traffic violation like DUI.  That’s usually the penalty for 3 or more DUI violations and dozens of more minor infractions.  
 

A lot of confusion is because the journalists are:

 

a)  Writing clickbait headlines. 
 

b)  Are rewriting what a Thai media source said about it hour fully understanding the topic. 
 

 

Its the same that you appear to be doing. 

[Dan O]

12 hours ago, LOWERCASEGUY said:

That’s not how laws work.  
 

Either something is expressly allowed or it is expressly forbidden.  
 

Cannabis is neither.  That doesn’t make it legal or illegal.  It simply isn’t illegal.  
 

Where does it say that you can bring a football on a flight?  
 

There is no link because no airline is going to make a list of everything you can carry on a flight.  Instead they have a list of expressly prohibited items and cannabis is not on that list except extracts.  
 

So if someone wants to claim that it’s illegal, they need to show evidence.  
 

It should be relatively easy to find.  Someone, somewhere must have mentioned it in the media if it was illegal.  
 

I have both reached out to most of the major domestic airlines and they have all said they have no rules against cannabis.  
 

I have also flown with large quantities of cannabis in my carry on and shown the weed to security and they’ve said nothing.  In fact most of the time they smile.  
 

The burden of proof here is not on me.  It’s on anybody saying anything other than it’s legal to fly with cannabis.  

Make sure you tell the BIB that if you are ever stopped for anything and let us know what the BIB say to you. The burden of proof is on you to prove your innocence if you're ever ticketed or arrested for a real or make believe infraction. 

 

I seriously doubt you've shown or pulled out weed from your luggage to show security at the airport.  There is no need to do that according to you as it's not illegal so not reason for them to ask to see it right? 

 

You've already stated it's not legal or illegal which is exactly what I wrote but then you've continued to dispute it in the next breath claiming lack of laws stating it's illegal. There are a number of laws available for them to harass you if they choose to under the current situation.  Do what you want but you are not a good source of info for what COULD happen under some circumstance. Have a great day 

 

 

 

[LOWERCASEGUY]

8 hours ago, Dan O said:

I seriously doubt you've shown or pulled out weed from your luggage to show security at the airport.  There is no need to do that according to you as it's not illegal so not reason for them to ask to see it right? 

You can doubt all you want.  It's just a sign that new information doesn't sit well with you if it conflicts with your POV.  

 

I pull the weed out of the bag because I keep my weed and my smoking stuff together in a smaller bag (carbon filtered smell proof) inside my main bag.  I also have a dry herb vape and carry the extra 18500 batteries for it in the smaller bag with the weed (the actual dry herb vape I keep separate because it's too big to fit in the same bag).  

 

So when airport security asks me to take the batteries out of the bag I just open the bag and empty it so they can see there aren't any other batteries in there.  

 

I am way more concerned about getting my dry herb vape confiscated than I am worrying about the weed.  

 

9 hours ago, Dan O said:

You've already stated it's not legal or illegal which is exactly what I wrote but then you've continued to dispute it in the next breath claiming lack of laws stating it's illegal. There are a number of laws available for them to harass you if they choose to under the current situation.  Do what you want but you are not a good source of info for what COULD happen under some circumstance. Have a great day 

What I stated was that laws, generally, don't say what you can do.  Laws, generally, say what you can't do and people understand that anything not prohibited is allowed.  

 

So, my take differs from yours in that you claim that it's neither legal or illegal and in some sort of limbo legal state where you could be busted.  

 

I have said that it was removed from being illegal which is the same as making it legal without there being a specific law that says it's legal as someone else was asking where there was a specific rule/law saying it was okay to take cannabis on a domestic flight.  There would be no need for such a law because once cannabis was removed from the list of illegal narcotics, it no longer was prohibited.  

 

I don't understand why this is such a hard concept for you to grasp.  By your definition it is neither legal or illegal to carry a pen on a flight because there are no laws saying it's legal to carry a pen.  

 

That's why courts generally interpret laws to assume if something is not illegal, it is by definition legal.  

 

Thailand's constitution indicates that Thailand operates under this same premise:

 

Quote

The restriction of such rights and liberties as recognised by the Constitution shall not be imposed on a person except by virtue of the law specifically enacted for the purpose determined by this Constitution and only to the extent of necessity and provided that it shall not affect the essential substances of such rights and liberties.

Basically, anything not prohibited is assumed to be legal. 

 

So cannabis on domestic flights is not some sort of limbo state.  It's not prohibited so it's assumed to be legal.  The NCB and AOT have confirmed this line of thinking.  

 

The only people arguing otherwise are farangs on ASEAN Now.  LOL.  

 

9 hours ago, Dan O said:

Do what you want but you are not a good source of info for what COULD happen under some circumstance. Have a great day 

COULD happen under some circumstance.  LOL.  This really sums up your entire position.  

 

You're scared of imaginary situations.  Guess what, you could also be pulled off the street and executed by the police.  It COULD happen.  

 

 

[nigelforbes]

10 minutes ago, LOWERCASEGUY said:

You can doubt all you want.  It's just a sign that new information doesn't sit well with you if it conflicts with your POV.  

 

I pull the weed out of the bag because I keep my weed and my smoking stuff together in a smaller bag (carbon filtered smell proof) inside my main bag.  I also have a dry herb vape and carry the extra 18500 batteries for it in the smaller bag with the weed (the actual dry herb vape I keep separate because it's too big to fit in the same bag).  

 

So when airport security asks me to take the batteries out of the bag I just open the bag and empty it so they can see there aren't any other batteries in there.  

 

I am way more concerned about getting my dry herb vape confiscated than I am worrying about the weed.  

 

What I stated was that laws, generally, don't say what you can do.  Laws, generally, say what you can't do and people understand that anything not prohibited is allowed.  

 

So, my take differs from yours in that you claim that it's neither legal or illegal and in some sort of limbo legal state where you could be busted.  

 

I have said that it was removed from being illegal which is the same as making it legal without there being a specific law that says it's legal as someone else was asking where there was a specific rule/law saying it was okay to take cannabis on a domestic flight.  There would be no need for such a law because once cannabis was removed from the list of illegal narcotics, it no longer was prohibited.  

 

I don't understand why this is such a hard concept for you to grasp.  By your definition it is neither legal or illegal to carry a pen on a flight because there are no laws saying it's legal to carry a pen.  

 

That's why courts generally interpret laws to assume if something is not illegal, it is by definition legal.  

 

Thailand's constitution indicates that Thailand operates under this same premise:

 

Basically, anything not prohibited is assumed to be legal. 

 

So cannabis on domestic flights is not some sort of limbo state.  It's not prohibited so it's assumed to be legal.  The NCB and AOT have confirmed this line of thinking.  

 

The only people arguing otherwise are farangs on ASEAN Now.  LOL.  

 

COULD happen under some circumstance.  LOL.  This really sums up your entire position.  

 

You're scared of imaginary situations.  Guess what, you could also be pulled off the street and executed by the police.  It COULD happen.  

 

 

"You can doubt all you want.  It's just a sign that new information doesn't sit well with you if it conflicts with your POV".  

 

Personally, based on the things you've written, I would attribute that to your naivety and lack of understanding how things in the real world work here.

 

Talking about being pulled off the street and executed by the police, I do know somebody who was pulled off the street, chained to a bed and held for millions of Baht ransom, by the BiB, Lumpini station. The man in question was tracked by his cell phone signal and rescued by the Thai swat team about a week later. The man in question, an American, was an investor in oil and restaurants. Other more seasoned posters may remember the incident, I guess 8 or 10 years ago, unsure. 

[Tythai]

23 hours ago, bamnutsak said:

 

 

And I haven't heard of any issues flying domestically with cannabis. Still allowed as previously published. We would have heard if there were any incidents.

 

There are signs at check-in (BKK), but that's for international departures.

 

 

 

 

 

 

What do the signs at the airport say? I know it's technically illegal to fly out of the country with weed. Honestly, I was thinking of bringing a small amount back with me to the US. It's legal in the state my plane lands in. I could deal with it being confiscated but don't want to end up in a Thai prison. 

I did fly domestically recently within Thailand with weed and didn't really give it much thought and didn't have any problems. 

[nigelforbes]

8 minutes ago, Tythai said:

What do the signs at the airport say? I know it's technically illegal to fly out of the country with weed. Honestly, I was thinking of bringing a small amount back with me to the US. It's legal in the state my plane lands in. I could deal with it being confiscated but don't want to end up in a Thai prison. 

I did fly domestically recently within Thailand with weed and didn't really give it much thought and didn't have any problems. 

Technically! Illegal is black or white, either it is or it isn't.

[ujayujay]

With 1 gramm ok, 1 kg not ok????

[n00dle]

On 2/23/2023 at 10:41 PM, soi3eddie said:

The fixation on getting high never ceases to amaze me.

 

Even more than the fixation on whores and all things thai female everywhere else in the forum?

Edited February 25, 2023 by n00dle

[BritManToo]

4 hours ago, LOWERCASEGUY said:

The only people arguing otherwise are farangs on ASEAN Now.  LOL.  

How do you know the people arguing have white skin?

[LOWERCASEGUY]

7 hours ago, nigelforbes said:

"You can doubt all you want.  It's just a sign that new information doesn't sit well with you if it conflicts with your POV".  

 

Personally, based on the things you've written, I would attribute that to your naivety and lack of understanding how things in the real world work here.

 

Talking about being pulled off the street and executed by the police, I do know somebody who was pulled off the street, chained to a bed and held for millions of Baht ransom, by the BiB, Lumpini station. The man in question was tracked by his cell phone signal and rescued by the Thai swat team about a week later. The man in question, an American, was an investor in oil and restaurants. Other more seasoned posters may remember the incident, I guess 8 or 10 years ago, unsure. 

So, what you’re saying is, the law wouldn’t have protected him?   
 

Yes, all kinds of bad stuff can happen to you.  You could be arrested, kidnapped, tortured, etc but that was not OP’s question and it’s just a bunch of barstool lawyers saying, “Well, you should cower in your home 24/7 because bad things might happen.”

 

It’s legal to fly with cannabis domestically. The NCB and AOT have gone on the record in the Thai media.

 

Theres no law that says it’s legal because that’s not how legal systems generally work.  They tell you what isn’t legal and everything else is legal.  
 

There’s no law that legalized cannabis.  Thai parliament passed a law removing cannabis from the list of controlled substances.  
 

Thats what made it legal, being removed from the list of things deemed illegal.