Thai health minister backs cannabis ban, citing surge in teen usage

[herfiehandbag]

42 minutes ago, nobodysfriend said:

Elon smokes ...

You're suggesting that he has class?

 

Extraordinary!

[JBChiangRai]

50 minutes ago, nobodysfriend said:

Elon smokes ...

Actually, Elon doesn't smoke weed.  He did once on a podcast in 2018 but for the following year passed random drug tests at Space X.

 

He's also on record as saying Weed is not good for productivity.

Edited September 25, 2023 by JBChiangRai

[daveAustin]

Great idea, let the kids get onto alcohol instead, yeah! So a big pharma-pushing doctor is involved as well now. We all know where their priorities lie. And lumping weed into the hard drugs category? Donkeys. Old men still making decisions over the normal people. Get em all out. Let's move forward.

[wombat]

1 hour ago, impulse said:

 I've never seen a stoner attack someone on the street, while I've seen a lot of drunks do it.

  I hate the idea of someone going to jail for lighting up a doob, while the guy next to him puking up his Mai Tai gets a free pass.

Exactly

[Mr Meeseeks]

If this government is so against drug use, why do they have a convicted heroin smuggler as Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives?

[bob smith]

if people want to smoke they will smoke, regardless of the legality of the plant itself. 

 

back to buying from tuk-tuk drivers and doing it behind closed doors in 2024 then... It will probably be a lot cheaper that way.

Edited September 25, 2023 by bob smith

[johnnybangkok]

3 hours ago, alex8912 said:

With so many shops selling weed 700 to 1000 baht per gram there are very few teens even in Bangkok that can afford it.  I bet their " sample" study to even come up with this nonsense is non existent.  Millions and millions of Baht have been made since they legalized weed. It will never be illegal again because many higher ups in Thai society and police all have interest in it. Just the usual hot air. 

No Thai (teens included) or 'people in the know' are paying that kind of money. Those are tourist prices. You can go online with someone like Prikpot (big advertiser on this site) and get a gram for as little as 150 THB (when you buy 10). 

It also doesn't ask for proof of age so if you are serious about not selling to teens (a very good idea) then you need to start here. This is why you cannot buy alcohol online any more as tech savvy kids were getting their beers & spirits delivered. It'll be the same for weed.

 

 

 

[Datsun 1200]

Do you really think "The Govt" is going to compensate the 6,000 licenses already issued? A LOT of  capital has been spent by all these Cannabis shops, and they won't/can't suddenly change direction on them.

The horse has bolted, making it illegal again will never happen. And the idea that just calling something a Narcotic will make it so, is insane. Cannabis has been used in Siam for 1,000s of years as a "medicinal herb" and that is what is always will be. A rose by any other name........

 

IH

[JBChiangRai]

4 minutes ago, Datsun 1200 said:

Do you really think "The Govt" is going to compensate the 6,000 licenses already issued? A LOT of  capital has been spent by all these Cannabis shops, and they won't/can't suddenly change direction on them.

The horse has bolted, making it illegal again will never happen. And the idea that just calling something a Narcotic will make it so, is insane. Cannabis has been used in Siam for 1,000s of years as a "medicinal herb" and that is what is always will be. A rose by any other name........

 

IH

Why should they close them down or even compensate them?

 

They can continue to sell what is legal and if they can't make money they can choose to close (already happening judging by the number shutting down in Chiang Rai).

 

 

[atpeace]

The cheap cannabis has been nice but the rampant teenage usage is probably not beneficial to their mental growth.  The kids seem to be able to get good weed for 50-200 baht a gram which makes it almost free.  It is new and as time passes it does seem teenagers aren't seeking it out as much in my area but might be wrong.

[JimboB4]

Bull<deleted> the tourist industry is not on board with this at all. This would tank the tourist industry and the Thai economy. Stop spreading disinformation about this issue it’s here to stay. And I told you so. 

[atpeace]

38 minutes ago, bob smith said:

 

 

back to buying from tuk-tuk drivers and doing it behind closed doors in 2024 then... It will probably be a lot cheaper that way.

I just didn't like that process.  Felt dirty and with a good share of bad luck could end poorly for a tourist.  I chose to liquor it up and that was more detrimental to my health.  Maybe 1 bowl and 2 shots every evening so I can go with the flow and new regs won't matter as much.

[herfiehandbag]

2 hours ago, impulse said:

But I've never seen a stoner attack someone on the street,

I am sorry but I must disagree. Some 10 years or so ago I drove a taxi for a while in a medium sized city in the South West of England.

 

There was a spate of vicious attacks and robberies on taxi drivers on one of the council estates. The perpetrators, two brothers, would object to using the meter and go for the driver. The most egregious was probably when a (Polish) driver was badly beaten, and they threatened to cut off his ring finger if he didn't give them his wedding ring. 

 

The police told us that these attacks were caused by the perpetrators being high on home produced cannabis. They caught them after a couple of weeks, (I don't think they tried terribly hard). Several of us were badly beaten, I was lucky, I ended up with a damaged eye through being kicked in the face. It healed, although I still have to wear special lenses for my left eye. I lost a couple of weeks off work. Eventually we were awarded compensation. The proportion to be paid by the perpetrators was of course never paid.

 

I don't like the stuff, and I don't care for the apologists who claim that it is entirely harmless. It is a mind altering substance (and, yes, like alcohol) takes people in different ways.

[JimboB4]

Additionally this is just one guy not really to be taken seriously the opposition to it is not really going anywhere. Health Minister Anutin has already promised that this would not happen. And I’m sure everyone in the tourism industry is reading and shaking their heads at how their names are being used. The tourist industry clearly wants the opposite of this and they have already spoken loud and clear. Now I’m going to my local head shop where you can smoke a test hit right there even outside. It ain’t going anywhere. You all have been spreading misinformation about this since they first started legalizing THC back in 2019. You’re a joke. 

[sambum]

3 hours ago, hotchilli said:

Funny how the out-going health minister thought this was all for the benefit of the general public, or was he just trying to garner popularity?

We should all know by now where the outgoing Health Minister's interests lay!

[bob smith]

17 minutes ago, atpeace said:

I just didn't like that process.  Felt dirty and with a good share of bad luck could end poorly for a tourist.  I chose to liquor it up and that was more detrimental to my health.  Maybe 1 bowl and 2 shots every evening so I can go with the flow and new regs won't matter as much.

I don't smoke the stuff, just hypothesizing about what's in store for your average chonger next year..

[Snig27]

In other news, thousands of young Thais were killed by drunk drivers over the last year whilst Thai Bev and Boonrawk made substantial donations to the parties currently in the new junta/coalition and it was decided that nothing would be done about this minor problem.

[webfact]

Legislators to Renew Push to Tighten Cannabis Usage
by Paul Rujopakarn

 

    
BANGKOK (NNT) - Parliament will renew a push for an overarching law on cannabis use for medical and research purposes, more than a year after the herb was legalized.

 

Last year, Thailand became the first country in Southeast Asia to decriminalize cannabis, but in the absence of specific measures, the government needed to issue rules to prevent its unchecked use, particularly among children.

 

The new law will target an industry projected to be worth up to US$1.2 billion over the next few years, with cannabis shops having sprung up across the capital Bangkok and tourist hot spots, such as the resort island of Phuket.

 

Saritpong Kiewkong of the Bhumjaithai party, which spearheaded the decriminalization and is now the second largest component of Thailand’s 11-party coalition government, said: "Cannabis will be - double underline - for medical purposes and research."

 

The lawmaker told reporters in parliament that there is "no policy for recreational use," adding that such measures were not yet being considered.

 

The draft law, which consolidates measures against public use that the government now relies on to rein in misbehavior, is expected to take a year to finalize and pass.

 

It covers permits for growing plants, sales and distribution, and tighter measures against sales in temples, schools and amusement parks.

 

Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin previously said he supported only medical, and not recreational, use of cannabis.

 

Source: NNT 2023-09-25

 

- Cigna offers a range of visa-compliant plans that meet the minimum requirement of medical treatment, including COVID-19, up to THB 3m. For more information on all expat health insurance plans click here.

 

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[sambum]

13 minutes ago, herfiehandbag said:

I am sorry but I must disagree. Some 10 years or so ago I drove a taxi for a while in a medium sized city in the South West of England.

 

There was a spate of vicious attacks and robberies on taxi drivers on one of the council estates. The perpetrators, two brothers, would object to using the meter and go for the driver. The most egregious was probably when a (Polish) driver was badly beaten, and they threatened to cut off his ring finger if he didn't give them his wedding ring. 

 

The police told us that these attacks were caused by the perpetrators being high on home produced cannabis. They caught them after a couple of weeks, (I don't think they tried terribly hard). Several of us were badly beaten, I was lucky, I ended up with a damaged eye through being kicked in the face. It healed, although I still have to wear special lenses for my left eye. I lost a couple of weeks off work. Eventually we were awarded compensation. The proportion to be paid by the perpetrators was of course never paid.

 

I don't like the stuff, and I don't care for the apologists who claim that it is entirely harmless. It is a mind altering substance (and, yes, like alcohol) takes people in different ways.

"The police told us that these attacks were caused by the perpetrators being high on home produced cannabis"

 

That would be the same police who were told at training that everybody who smokes cannabis ends up being a drug addict? That's what a friend of mine was told when she graduated from the "Specials" (Part time Volunteers) to the full time Police Cadet School! And that was from a fully qualified Instructor lecturing on the "dangers of drugs"!!!

[Snig27]

20 minutes ago, herfiehandbag said:

The police told us that these attacks were caused by the perpetrators being high on home produced cannabis

They should probably supply their supporting evidence - peer reviewed by qualified people of science of course - to the people that have been trying to find scientific evidence that would back this for decades and failed. Then these police in a medium sized city in the South West of England should be put forward for the Nobel Prize they so richly deserve. 

[brianthainess]

Again our lives are being ruled by kids, as with those silly hours of no alcohol. It is the sellers that are to blame not us!

25 should be the minimum age to buy weed anyway. 

[brianthainess]

My 'friend' says he is still buying brick for at 3k per 100g, as he has done for 10yrs. he recons he has tried the more expensive stuff, the only difference for him was the taste not the effect.

[sambum]

50 minutes ago, JBChiangRai said:

Why should they close them down or even compensate them?

 

They can continue to sell what is legal and if they can't make money they can choose to close (already happening judging by the number shutting down in Chiang Rai).

 

 

".....they can choose to close......"

 

Regardless of whether you agree or disagree with the legalisation of cannabis, these people are not choosing to close  - they are being forced to close. It's like having a TV shop and being told you can't sell TV's any more, so you "choose" to close?

[JimboB4]

Lol, look at what the real news media says about it. It’s always the opposite of the source of these articles which is equivalent to bull <deleted> right wing media in Thailand. 
 

https://www.thaipbsworld.com/tag/anutin-charnvirakul/

[connda]

Thai health minister backs cannabis ban, citing surge in teen usage

The teens aren't smoking ganja.  Too expensive.  They take cheap methamphetamine.  10 THB a pill from what I hear. 

"We have to ban it for the children!"

Ok - teens drink too.  Let's ban alcohol for the same reasons.  And cigarettes!

This type of authoritarianism is definitely Orwellian in nature.  Huxley's vision of a dystopic future at least allowed for the plods to ingest "soma" for recreational enjoyment.

[JimboB4]

Looking some of the comments about home grown weed and even some of the news talking about how they legalized it but “not the strong stuff” it shows how people are still so extremely uneducated about cannabis. It’s a plant and it’s impossible to regulate the THC levels. People are going to grow it however they want. And BTW they now have some of the best weed I’ve ever had. It’s no different than the weed in the US or Canada or Amsterdam. Some of you know not what you’re talking about. The medicinal purposes and recreational are the same thing is something else that a lot of these idiots don’t get. 

Edited September 25, 2023 by JimboB4

[2baht]

26 minutes ago, webfact said:

The draft law, which consolidates measures against public use that the government now relies on to rein in misbehavior, is expected to take a year to finalize and pass.

Don't rush, get it right! ????

 

15 minutes ago, brianthainess said:

My 'friend' says he is still buying brick for at 3k per 100g, as he has done for 10yrs. he recons he has tried the more expensive stuff, the only difference for him was the taste not the effect.

Sounds like he's getting the Paraquat insecteside free! Ah the old brick weed!

[JBChiangRai]

13 minutes ago, sambum said:

".....they can choose to close......"

 

Regardless of whether you agree or disagree with the legalisation of cannabis, these people are not choosing to close  - they are being forced to close. It's like having a TV shop and being told you can't sell TV's any more, so you "choose" to close?

They are "already" choosing to close, it's market dynamics, supply & demand, there is oversupply and not enough demand.  Normally, this would result in price compression, Thailand is the only country I know where if something doesn't sell, they don't drop the price, often they raise it.

 

The shops and growers knew they were taking a risk and exploiting a loophole, Anutin himself was pretty clear when he removed it from the narcotic list that recreational use remained illegal.  You have to be pretty stupid to invest in a loophole when the minister who creates it issues the warning at the same time.

 

Why would anyone compensate a stupid person?

[brianthainess]

Just now, 2baht said:

Don't rush, get it right! ????

 

Sounds like he's getting the Paraquat insecteside free! Ah the old brick weed!

Insecticide for that higher high 

[Adumbration]

Thai teens if my village are the laziest people I have ever seen...anywhere...and I have been to 65 countries.