Future Thailand PM at odds with cannabis sellers and government over drug law reform

[LukKrueng]

11 hours ago, stoner said:

this needs to be taken down from the story. the author should be ashamed of themselves for writing such willful lies. 

 

 

 

 

I think this part was lost in translation. I'm pretty sure he meant it's much harder to get addicted to cannabis than it is to cigarettes and alcohol

[bamnutsak]

Random observations:

 

A new government/cabinet is three months out, assuming no speed bumps.

 

A new government/Minister of Public Health will not re-list Cannabis Flower as a Narcotic in Mid-July. (less than 5% chance of this happening)

 

So the status quo will remain, perhaps with a bit of ad-hoc enforcement by the RTP at the behest of DTAM, on licensing, products, imports, at least until then, and beyond most likely.

 

In the meantime one hopes that a small panel of MVF, PTP and yes, BJT, MPs is forming a legislative strategy. BJTs ~ 71 seats means they'll have a say on the legislation (input and passage).

 

That strategy though, might involve a bit of kicking the can down the road, in that it may just codify a Cannabis Control Board, with ~ 25 members who will be resonsible for implementing all the laws, rules, regulations regarding Cannabis production, sales, use.

 

Opponents seem most conerned about "controlling the distribution" of Cannabis (too many shops, exposure to/access by minors), rather than banning access altogether. At least that's the common refrain I see here and in the Thai press. Applying some/most/many/all controls currently used for Tobacco and Alcohol seems like a good starting point?  And then layer on any additional regulations required due to the unique nature of Cannabis. I would propose a 5% additional tax (so 12 % in total incl. of VAT) on Cannabis Flower at the retail level. This tax would be waived for medical sales. This 5% would be directed towards Meth education/recovery programs.

 

That's my read as of today.

 

Two areas of concern:

 

Cannabis seems to be a relativley minor issue in the overall landscape of Thai society and politics. Arguably there are ten or twenty more important issues to address. It might not even be a top ten health issue here? And yet, there seems to be an inordinately large amount of focus on this minor issue.

 

Real Drug problems, specifically Methamphetamine (Ya Ba and Ya Ice), are never ever discussed, it's almost like everyone has gvien up on it. Meth is a far, far far larger problem than Cannabis, and a huge drain on the Kingdom. Much much more focus should be directed at this real drug problem. Thailand doesn't have to worry about Cannabis as a "gateway drug". The populace already walked through the gate, without sampling Cannabis, and went straight for Meth.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 25, 2023 by bamnutsak

[Jingthing]

1 hour ago, wazzupnow said:

it can not be too soon to get this filth off our streets again

we do not need to see these addicts on every streetcorner

now cannabis is not even legal for 1 year 

and it destroyed most off the citycenters all over thailand

it smells terrible everywhere

those cannabis tourist from all over the world are a nusence for all self respecting people

with their eyes popping out and stinking op the place its worst than the pollution in burning season

and than there are people gathering signatures for keeping the cannabis on the street

maybe we should start gathering signatures to ban it again i think this would be many more

Good satire.

 

 

[Bday Prang]

50 minutes ago, RandolphGB said:

Tax revenues for the government and ... not cash-in-hand for crooks and money laundering shops for British boiler room Barrow boys in Bangkok.

 

 

Is there a massive tax revenue from other prescribed drugs ?   There will also be cash in hand opportunities for quacks dishing out prescriptions do you honestly think they will miss out on the  opportunity.    Most  if not all long term users will simply revert to buying it from their previous suppliers or perhaps simply grow their own

There are plenty of ways to shut down illicit "british boiler room barrow boys" without reverting to the previous ridiculous archaic prohibition, 

It's been 12  months already and the only problem encountered so far is a bit of hysteria from people like chuwit and a small section of the media. Contrary to what some idiots predicted  society has not collapsed and the sky has not fallen in

[Bday Prang]

3 hours ago, hotchilli said:

I'm sure a clause in the law will allow it to be used for medicinal purposes if prescribed by a doctor to treat a bonifide issue.

Not the free-for-all street trade that exists now.

"medicinal purposes prescribed by a doctor"   " for a bona fide Issue"   Sounds like something  the women's institute would come out with. No regular long term users would  bother going down that route, its  too much hassle. there will simply be  a return to the free for all street trade that has existed since prohibition was commenced.

[IamNoone88]

He should be smart enough to not make it "his issue" - rather a peoples issue. Draft key points and recommendations and then put it to a referendum. Let the people decide on a way forward - then he really is the peoples choice..... 

[Bday Prang]

31 minutes ago, bamnutsak said:

Random observations:

 

A new government/cabinet is three months out, assuming no speed bumps.

 

A new government/Minister of Public Health will not re-list Cannabis Flower as a Narcotic in Mid-July. (less than 5% chance of this happening)

 

So the status quo will remain, perhaps with a bit of ad-hoc enforcement by the RTP at the behest of DTAM, on licensing, products, imports, at least until then, and beyond most likely.

 

In the meantime one hopes that a small panel of MVF, PTP and yes, BJT, MPs is forming a legislative strategy. BJTs ~ 71 seats means they'll have a say on the legislation (input and passage).

 

That strategy though, might involve a bit of kicking the can down the road, in that it may just codify a Cannabis Control Board, with ~ 25 members who will be resonsible for implementing all the laws, rules, regulations regarding Cannabis production, sales, use.

 

Opponents seem most conerned about "controlling the distribution" of Cannabis (too many shops, exposure to/access by minors), rather than banning access altogether. At least that's the common refrain I see here and in the Thai press. Applying some/most/many/all controls currently used for Tobacco and Alcohol seems like a good starting point?  And then layer on any additional regulations required due to the unique nature of Cannabis. I would propose a 5% additional tax (so 12 % in total incl. of VAT) on Cannabis Flower at the retail level. This tax would be waived for medical sales. This 5% would be directed towards Meth education/recovery programs.

 

That's my read as of today.

 

Two areas of concern:

 

Cannabis seems to be a relativley minor issue in the overall landscape of Thai society and politics. Arguably there are ten or twenty more important issues to address. It might not even be a top ten health issue here? And yet, there seems to be an inordinately large amount of focus on this minor issue.

 

Real Drug problems, specifically Methamphetamine (Ya Ba and Ya Ice), are never ever discussed, it's almost like everyone has gvien up on it. Meth is a far, far far larger problem than Cannabis, and a huge drain on the Kingdom. Much much more focus should be directed at this real drug problem. Thailand doesn't have to worry about Cannabis as a "gateway drug". The populace already walked through the gate, without sampling Cannabis, and went straight for Meth.

 

 

 

 

 

 

              I'm no fan of Tax but I would not object to legalising and levying  a 5% tax on meth to help cope with the meth issue , why should weed smokers have to pick up the tab for that ?  its nothing to do with us

             As for access by minors ?  what part of not for sale too those under 20 do people not understand ?  its a easy enough law to implement.  And its not as if they couldn't get their hands on it easily enough before the change in legislation

             We will probably end up with a whole range of farcical regulations dreamed up by the same people who dreamed up the ridiculous alcohol laws. "not to be sold between the hours of .."  or my favorite " only to be sold in quantities of 10 liters or more lol  and only applying to 7/11 etc

              From what I can see most of these prohibitionists have absolutely no Idea what they are talking about, acting on their irrational fears which are only the direct result of their exposure to age old propaganda

              As you say this subject is receiving a disproportionate amount of attention but in reality it is only from a very small but very vocal minority

                

[spidermike007]

I think this is a big mistake. The reversal would be unfortunate. I like this guy, but I think he is on the wrong side of history, on this issue. Is this about getting support of the crooked senators? Maybe. 

[JackGats]

Medicalisation of any  psychotropic drug is a bad thing. It means doctors and pharmacies will take their cut, making an already overpriced commodity even more expensive. The medical professions are eager for this to happen of course. They lost their dictatorial powers when covid ended. They want to regain part of it.

[wadsy]

2 hours ago, wazzupnow said:

it can not be too soon to get this filth off our streets again

we do not need to see these addicts on every streetcorner

now cannabis is not even legal for 1 year 

and it destroyed most off the citycenters all over thailand

it smells terrible everywhere

those cannabis tourist from all over the world are a nusence for all self respecting people

with their eyes popping out and stinking op the place its worst than the pollution in burning season

and than there are people gathering signatures for keeping the cannabis on the street

maybe we should start gathering signatures to ban it again i think this would be many more

I'll bet you're a blast at parties. ???? I don't touch the stuff but I've also never seen 'addicts on every street corner' or 'destroyed city centres' like you're espousing. Care to give some examples?

 

[Jingthing]

11 hours ago, Bday Prang said:

He speaks a lot of sense, certainly more than Chuwit

BTW he's a Thai citizen.

[brianthainess]

17 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Addiction to cannabis is harder than addiction to alcohol and cigarettes.

I thought fake news was banned 

[Guderian]

So much for the future of Thailand when it's in the hands of young, progressive politicians with open minds and liberal values. :rolleyes:

[jvs]

At this point it is all politics,parties will promise to do anything

for their turn at the wheel.

Common sense is not abundant anywhere any more.

[Bday Prang]

1 hour ago, IamNoone88 said:

He should be smart enough to not make it "his issue" - rather a peoples issue. Draft key points and recommendations and then put it to a referendum. Let the people decide on a way forward - then he really is the peoples choice..... 

People can already decide for themselves, in fact they have always been able to as consumption has never been compulsory.  Things are fine as they are,  If one does not want to smoke then simply don't. Sales to under 20's are banned so no need  for anybody to keep harping on about "the children"   How can there possibly be a referendum when so many are  uninformed or misinformed by years of propaganda that is basically a lie

[Bday Prang]

2 hours ago, Jingthing said:

Good satire.

 

 

And some people still believe it's true    It really is astonishing

[metisdead]

A post with misquoted content has been removed.

[quake]

13 minutes ago, jvs said:

At this point it is all politics, parties will promise to do anything

for their turn at the wheel.

Common sense is not abundant anywhere any more.

Think you made a typo there, sorted it for you. 

 

Quote

 

At this point it is all politics, parties will promise to do anything

for their turn at the trough. 

 

 

[Bday Prang]

4 hours ago, stoner said:

must of taken a lot of effort to write all this bs. 

 

 

 

I doubt it  diarrhea including the verbal kind . requires little effort  

[DJ54]

16 hours ago, mark131v said:

is highly addictiv

I read it as meaning less addictive but I may be wrong… 

[jvs]

20 minutes ago, quake said:

Think you made a typo there, sorted it for you. 

 

 

You used the word i also used first but decided to change it.

I am hoping this government will be a bit different but i am thinking you are right.

[Bday Prang]

13 minutes ago, jvs said:

You used the word i also used first but decided to change it.

I am hoping this government will be a bit different but i am thinking you are right.

There will be no significant difference, who ever ends up in power, all their promises will disappear once they get a sniff of the trough.   Its the same everywhere

[Bday Prang]

2 hours ago, Jingthing said:

BTW he's a Thai citizen.

Really , that's interesting, I would never have considered that

[Bday Prang]

2 hours ago, wadsy said:

I'll bet you're a blast at parties. ???? I don't touch the stuff but I've also never seen 'addicts on every street corner' or 'destroyed city centres' like you're espousing. Care to give some examples?

 

Do you honestly think he ever gets invited to any parties , or anywhere else for that matter

[JackGats]

So the would-be PM wants to break the alcohol monopoly. I presume he wants to do so in order to make alcohol cheaper and more accessible. This proves he is just an opportunistic manipulator and no more forward-looking than the other candidates. Pushing alcohol gets more votes than pushing cannabis that's for sure.

 

[Jingthing]

8 minutes ago, Bday Prang said:

Really , that's interesting, I would never have considered that

Very much really.

[Khunangkaro]

20 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Addiction to cannabis is harder than addiction to alcohol and cigarettes.

From my own experience I can tell that my addiction to cigarettes has been a big problem. Addiction to alcohol was not strong. I have been drinking for many years and could choose to stop for long periods.

About forty years ago I had about a five years period of enthusiastic use of smoking marihuana mixed with tobacco. I was never hooked to marihuana but to the tobacco mixed.

Once stopped smoking tobacco in the mix and after some time also stopped with use of cannabis with no problem.

Then after some years I tried irregular smoking pure marihuana on and off not hooked.

But then once mixed with tobacco that took me back into a strong tobacco addiction for many years and never had an urge to mix with marhuana again.

For many years I was fighting to no avail  stop smoking tobacco and finally stopped tobacco for ten years now without falling back ever again. 

[Karlo]

I suggest those interested in this debate search on Google Scholar for relevant papers discussing the pros and cons of cannabis…. Read this one to start with… https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/article-abstract/2804266?casa_token=QOXbErpX3JgAAAAA:qMlczdek1C5Ra8EXu1NfKxNBm9CmnKzQm1AMvl7u4269ZQWSvWtgSmY8mfXQmqF_tu85WCPfgPQ

 

Too many illiterates voicing their opinions or agendas without backing up with scientific facts. 

[Gilligan In Drag]

Some random reactions, thoughts/possible brain farts:

 

-Its not entirely fair to judge the guy and MFP yet on their statements, but what they're proposing here, its not a good look

right out of the starting block. MFP does not seem to be much of a bunch of realists, I can't imagine

displacing the alcohol duopoly as they are proposing would be doable.

The alcohol duopoly is what and where it is because they are politically powerfull.

Which begs the question, who do these people think they are anyway?  

Who is backing them, where would their support lie that they could

break up one of the more powerful business/political interests in Thailand?

One wonders if they are not simply the public face of another would be totalitarian military

group or even internationalist/globalist concern. In either of those cases perhaps then MFP

would be able to knock the stuffing out of the so-called alcohol duopoly. But, until I know better,

I would simply call his bluff on both reversing cannabis de-criminalization and breaking

the alcohol industry giants stranglehold on Thailand. He's not the Prime minister yet so

why not just start saying things and proposing things you think will garner further support

to help in your bid to cement a ruling party position.

 

 

- A condescending, I know better older brotherly look to his body language in the photo. But that is what people get out of government mostly anywhere you go, the sense that a parental or big brother is looking out for them and they don't have to solve their own problems. Personally, that photo (Thaiger is jumping the gun aren't they, future prime minister? Really?) kind of gets on my nerves, he looks like hes just gotten through lecturing them about the evils of cannabis. He's quite urban Chinese-Thai looking (no surprise there) and as I understand it cannabis is traditionally more something rural Lao/Isaan peoples and other outlander areas have found important. If you are going to be proper and acceptable as a politician among the Bangkok controlling elites and their conservative supporters, you'd do well, to say you want to get rid of the cannabis shops and put upcountry rural things like cannabis where they belong, criminalized and kicked to the curb.

 

-The cannabis drama is also serving as a distraction from more real and harmful drug and other health issues  such as yaba, severe air pollution, completely unregulated and out of control use of toxic and internationally banned substances in food and in use in agriculture and Thailand made products. Also again corruption makes it impossible to regaulate thngs that need regulation for people's health, so it better to deflect to easy targets like cannabis just as in the west for what, the last 80 years. Like most politicians in the world, he appears only concerned with putting on a good puppet show. Not surprising but no less disappointing.

 

-Does it matter is what I also ask. The whole planet appears to be descending into a horrific phase of

deliberate economic obliteration, the consequences of fiat currency printing will collapse most countries currencies, I can't iaine the Thai economy would be largely unaffected by this if only because soon nearly no one would be able to afford to travel to Thailand. . The unipolar globalist US-UK-European hegemon is in deep trouble and some  extreme measures and strategies are already being undertaken to maintain their grip. One example would be the One Health WHO revamp that will be signed in October, which transforms WHO from a group that recommends govts to take actions to one that dictates to all WHO signatories and which, in the event of even a potential threat to public health, in the sole estimation of the WHO, no actual threat necessary, cedes all sovreignty and governance of said countries to the WHO. We know the WHO has become a club to further the interests of its donors, so those who will be asked to sign the One Health treaty will certainly do so, it is fait accompli. The US is already trying to respond, there are two bills in conress, one to quit the WHO and one that orders an end to all funding of the WHO, if you are a US citizen contact your reps and tell them you support these bills. But, Thailand will no doubt not even be aware such usurpation and in effect  colonization of their coutry is soon at hand. MFP may well, by 2025 find itself set aside and only serving as a globalist errand boy to deliver the globalist dictates. The United Nations is in a similar rev up in case health emergencies don;t work to get absolute control of the planet. There is much coverage on all of this if you look around, truly jaw dropping and utterly terrifying. Makes MFP or not to MFP kind of irrelevant it would seem.

 

 

 

[Kwaibill]

9 hours ago, RandolphGB said:

Tax revenues for the government and ... not cash-in-hand for crooks and money laundering shops for British boiler room Barrow boys in Bangkok.

 

 

Prescriptions might make it cheaper, too. Seems to work that way in other locales. My admittedly limited experience.