Cannabis Shops to Close by April 1, 2025: Thai PM Orders Drug Rescheduling

[Stargeezr]

Well if I was running a cannibas shop in Thailand I would get my sales done with and sell the shop before April 2025.

   I guess the politicians should have thought about this subject a bit more soberly and only allowed medical mary jane

for those who actually need it.  There are enough drug addicts around the world, so I am glad to see that Thailand is

backing off on their present policy.

[scottiejohn]

2 minutes ago, Stargeezr said:

 I guess the politicians should have thought about this subject a bit more soberly

At least they have given them nearly a year to get rid of the sh!t!

[LukKrueng]

15 hours ago, zzzzz said:

maybe not win BUT he surely can close down all the dispensaries in the country
it will than be required to have a Medical card, ( got mine already :-)) to buy

Also since it became legal, i have never brought 1 gram from a shop ( ONLY tourists buy there) when i can buy it online for 1/10 or less, the price!!
 

As soon as I found out there's a clinic in my area I went there and got got the oil. I later visited a clinic in another province and got some oil there as well. But I never got any card. I never bought any buds. Got from my friend and later started growing my own, with a permit to grow 50 plants.

[gk10012001]

11 hours ago, rumeaug said:

Weed is completely légal in many US states

Yes I know about the status of things in the USA.  I was asking about Thailand thanks

[Jiggo]

Problem is it went out of control, if they want to smoke it in certain designated ares ok.

And I will stay away.

But not when I go to a bar to eat and drink, also in the presence of children which I have seen.

[Lancelot01]

18 hours ago, realfunster said:

If they enact this through parliament, I would be expecting class action lawsuits.

 

Hard to say how those would play out but it would certainly create negativity about the investment climate and regulatory stability in Thailand.

 

Whilst some of the shops looks expensively fitted out, I am also aware that companies have set up growing facilities here in Thailand, those investments will be of a higher magnitude I’m sure. I don’t know if these would be included in the government’s proposal. 

Do you think this government cares one way or the other. 

Laws change in many countries and people have to live with the consequences. 

I'm not sure what class action you feel is necessary as, who would action be against? The government? 

[pomchop]

war on drugs??? 

 

maybe start with arresting mr red bull who was hopped up on coke and killed a cop ...oh yeah nevermind he has a very rich daddy so snorting coke no problem...go arrest some thai farmer for selling pot...but remember his envelopes won't be nearly as big as the red bulls of the world...

[kiwikeith]

20 hours ago, gk10012001 said:

have barely smelled the stuff since the 70s.  But as I coast into retirement I am not against trying it a bit at my ripe old age of 68.  In the USA so many people have prescriptions for it, albeit legit and needed or not.  I was wondering if a girl I know that does use it would be able to buy and use some while in thailand, with or without her "legal" prescription

Those who wanted it could always get it. 

Now Thailand is turning into a international joke, attacking dopes, and turning children into dope heads, kids are smoking weed at school now, my son sees them in the toilets smoking, I tell him to walk away and shut his mouth. They are putting CCTV in school toilets now. 

[AreYouGerman]

China has spoken and Thailand decided to side with China and leave the Titanic (USA).

 

China doesn't like it's citizens going on a weed holiday to Thailand.

 

And that's the end of it.

 

Edited May 9 by AreYouGerman

[Andycoops]

No Compensation from the government I'll bet, feel sorry for all those led up the garden path by the incompetence of the Muppets trying to screw the country as much as they can.

[newbee2022]

15 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Thai PM Launches National Offensive on Drug Crisis, Ponders Cannabis Reclassification

 

 

Thailand's Prime Minister, Srettha Thavisin, led an extensive high-level meeting earlier to address the pressing issue of drug use in the country. An agenda point of major significance was the potential re-evaluation of cannabis as a Class 5 narcotic.

 

The roundtable discussion included key stakeholders, such as Deputy Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, newly assigned Minister of Public Health Somsak Thepsuthin, and Justice Minister Police Colonel Thawee Sodsong. Together, they engaged in strategic discussions about the country's drug predicament and the necessary-political action.

 

The foremost concern for Srettha is the looming drug issue within Thailand. He emphasised that drugs represent a matter of national importance warranting collective action spanning from grassroot to national governance.

 

While acknowledging the persistent endeavours by Thai law enforcement to resist drug trafficking and illicit substance use, Srettha highlighted the alarming level of drug usage within the nation. He attributed this prevalence to the continued operation of drug kingpins and local traffickers.

 

The leaders also steered discussions towards clarifying legal parameters around drug possession. Factors under consideration included the difference between addicts and dealers caught with illicit substances. Srettha called for a shift in the legal definition of possession from “a small amount” to “one pill of illicit substances”.

 

Drawing attention to the potent risks of drug use, Srettha cautioned that possessing even a single methamphetamine pill could land an individual in court. They risk fines and potential imprisonment unless they can substantiate their addiction status, failing which they could face charges akin to a dealer.

 

The official stressed the role of investigation officers in distinguishing between addicts and drug dealers. He added that joined efforts between the Justice and Public Health Ministries could improve drug treatment efficacy.

 

The option of using military camps for drug addict rehabilitation was deliberated, although budgetary constraints and practicality concerns linger.

 

The collective anti-drug efforts are planned to unfold over the next three months.

 

As a parting note, Prime Minister Srettha proposed classifying cannabis as a Class 5 drug in light of its 2022 decriminalisation. The responsibility of finding legal adjustments permitting cannabis use for therapeutic purposes landed on the newly instated Health Minister Somsak, who vowed to consider both sides of the cannabis debate before reaching a resolution.

 

As per Srettha, the final draft outlining the changes would be prepared by late 2024.

 

This conference is the third instance of Srettha's endeavour to recriminalise non-medical cannabis uses. However, he can anticipate substantial pushback from pro-cannabis activists and businesses within a rapidly expanding industry that generates billions in revenue and supports numerous jobs across Thailand.

 

Photo courtesy of The Thaiger

 

-- 2024-05-09

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Eventually the right way 👍👏

[Scouse123]

It's amazing that they can just ignore the ' elephant in the room' which is Yaa Baa, Ecstasy, Ketamine and focus solely on the least harmful, which is Cannabis.

 

Now I understand that the above drugs are not legal, but they represent far more of a challenge to the peace and harmony of the country, that they love banging on about, than what Cannabis presents.

 

Yaa Baa usage is at epidemic proportions in the country, and so is Ketamine and Ecstasy.

 

A ridiculous deflection from real issues that need addressing.

[Thingamabob]

14 hours ago, Bobthegimp said:

 

Starting a business involves various types of risk.  In this instance the risk is "regulatory risk", which means that regulations can change in the future and the risk is borne by the entrepreneur or venture, and should have been priced in during inception. 

 

The big players will have seen this as a possibility and priced it in when starting their ventures, and by spreading the risk throughout the chain. I'd be surprised if any have had enough time to integrate horizontally or vertically, so there will be many bag holders and the pain will be spread around.  Another year should be enough to recoup most of their investments, but woe betide the commercial real estate market unless they can find someone else to fill the void.

 

I think most Thais were dead set against marijuana legalization and the prior globalist aligned government rammed it through anyways. 

Rubbish.

[Thingamabob]

8 hours ago, Jiggo said:

Problem is it went out of control, if they want to smoke it in certain designated ares ok.

And I will stay away.

But not when I go to a bar to eat and drink, also in the presence of children which I have seen.

Goody two shoes. Pass the vomit bucket..

[Billybaroo]

On 5/8/2024 at 3:36 PM, gk10012001 said:

have barely smelled the stuff since the 70s.  But as I coast into retirement I am not against trying it a bit at my ripe old age of 68.  In the USA so many people have prescriptions for it, albeit legit and needed or not.  I was wondering if a girl I know that does use it would be able to buy and use some while in thailand, with or without her "legal" prescription

That is a big no if you mean to bring in cannabis from another country into Thailand. Especially, from the US. While cannabis make be legal in one state to transport into other states or over borders is a violation of Federal law. 

[wozzlegummich]

Thaksin must have ordered it.

[rumeaug]

I am not against  cannabis being legal.  The trouble is many consumers mistake "legal" and "i'll do WTF i want and screw everyone else" retard/immature kind of attitude. By that I am refering to smoking the stuff in public and having no choice to breathe it in, like it too often happens, at least in my Hood where there is quite a significant number of foreigners. Keep it private and away from others (i'd like to say the same about tobacco).

[spidermike007]

A terrible decision. Billions have been invested by people who had faith in the government. All will be lost. 

 

Srettha is a do nothing, backwards moving dinosaur. A regressive sort. 

 

Pot should be legal worldwide. It harms nobody, unless you count poor memory and lack of ambition as great offenses against the nation.

Illegal by who's definition? A corrupt, unelected  government that is completely out of step with a changing world? Pot does little harm to anyone. The biggest risk is the the user will lose his ambition. Compared to alcohol the detriment to society is minuscule. The only reason why ganga is illegal in Thailand is due to the fact that legalization would make the police franchises less valuable. That is it. It ends there. This has nothing whatsoever to do with morality or character development. Quite the contrary. And to lump a pot smoker into the same category as a heroin addict is just plain old ridiculous and ignorant of the facts. 

 

I would agree that it lowers the level of a person's ambition, if used alot. And it does slow down the minds of some. To say it makes a person stupid, makes me question your own level of intelligence, not to mention how judgmental and narrow minded, it makes you seem. 

 

I know plenty of brilliant people who smoke, and it has not slowed them down. To the contrary, alot of highly intelligent people use herb to slow down their brains, create some perspective, alter their perception and boost their creativity. Speaking from experience, there is little about ganga that is harmful, as long as it does not become a daily habit. I used to smoke occasionally. It was delightful, and did not make me stupid. It did make me funnier, and enhanced my life on several levels. Dancing, sex, skiing, music, movies, and many other activities seemed more enjoyable. 

 

I consider alcohol to be infinitely more toxic to the body and mind. Not to mention society. Yet, it is legal. 

[Cereal]

Is the Thai government capable of implementing anything smoothly and appropriately? 

 

Use Canada as the shining example of the legalization of marijuana. The government did studies for about 3 years covering every situation from every possible angle and talking to every level of authority. They came up with a plan and went through with legalization. It has been smooth and the government is reaping the benefits in tax dollars.

 

The Thai government wanted tourists to come back. hahahahaha

 

WTF did they think would happen?

 

Rhetorical question. They didn't think at all. Thailand!

[IvorBiggun2]

On 5/9/2024 at 5:25 AM, webfact said:

In a pivotal meeting attended by the Prime Minister and three senior ministers, PM Srettha Thavisin announced that cannabis shops in Thailand are to be shut down by April 1, 2025.

 

[MicroB]

3 hours ago, Billybaroo said:

That is a big no if you mean to bring in cannabis from another country into Thailand. Especially, from the US. While cannabis make be legal in one state to transport into other states or over borders is a violation of Federal law. 

 

And yet the majority of cannabis sold in Thailand is US grown

 

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/thailands-promised-cannabis-bonanza-disappoints-politicians-trade-blame-2023-04-06/

 

https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2023/5/8/thailands-cannabis-industry-says-us-growers-are-eating-their-lunch

 

Why is US-grown cannabis cheaper than Thai cannabis? Labour costs must be higher, then there are transportation costs. I can't imagine the growers with licences, such as Ultra Health, Mammoth Farms, Palo Verde Center, Copperstate Farms, Cresco labs etc, will want to get involved with shadey practices involving fruit imports, hollowed furniture. Companies like Aurora and Cronos are publicly listed, and such activities are really bad for ESG, and make shareholders unhappy. Probably organised crime, who's business is not just cannabis, wanting to defend market share by deliberately undercutting legitimate businesses, and running "businesses" in a way that most will find intolerable (low labour costs due to use of illegal immigrants, slave labour, illegal cultivation on land you don't own, construction and operation of grow houses without heed of safety law).

 

My understanding is that the Thai decriminalisation was primarily intended to help poor Thai farmers with an alternative cash crop, which is laudable, rather than a moral stance regarding the use of narcotics, but instead, these farmers, doing the right thing,  are finding themselves in competition with essentially foreign criminal gangs, who, due to regulation of their industries in the US locking them out, are looking for alternative markets to dump unregulated cannabis. Regulation in the US has not created a free for all, but instead created cartels who were able to obtain state licences. If you don't have a state licence to grow the stuff, you are still a criminal, and now your rivals have the forces of government on their side to drive you out of business.

 

And it gets even seedier. Much of the illegitimate cannabis production in the US, which is being dumped in Thailand, is financed by Chinese Triads;

 

https://www.politico.com/news/2023/03/21/illicit-cannabis-china-00086125

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/black-market-marijuana-tied-to-chinese-criminal-networks-infiltrates-maine/

 

Regulation has given a veneer of respectability to criminality. The buyers of cannabis in Thailand looking for US grown stuff are probably confusing that with legitimate cannabis, when in fact its probably grown by people involved with snakeheads, money laundry, extortion etc.

 

 

Edited May 10 by MicroB

[MicroB]

5 hours ago, Scouse123 said:

It's amazing that they can just ignore the ' elephant in the room' which is Yaa Baa, Ecstasy, Ketamine and focus solely on the least harmful, which is Cannabis.

 

Now I understand that the above drugs are not legal, but they represent far more of a challenge to the peace and harmony of the country, that they love banging on about, than what Cannabis presents.

 

Yaa Baa usage is at epidemic proportions in the country, and so is Ketamine and Ecstasy.

 

A ridiculous deflection from real issues that need addressing.

 

A seperate issue. Much of that methamphetamine is produced on an industrial scale by the UWSA in Myanmar; Wa State is effectively a narco-state, with a dodgy relationship with the Tatmadaw, in what is a full blown civil war, as well as funding from China. The cannabis policy has not worked because it has facilitated the entry of foreign criminal gangs into Thailand, primarily from the US. To make it work, and to address the methamphetamine problems, requires a combination of much tougher border security along with regional cooperation and interdiction. Look how well that's worked between Mexico and the US. Its ruinously expensive, and appears to have made little dent. Parts of Mexico have become ungovernable as a result of interdiction policies.

 

A libertarian approach might be to open the Thai agricultural sector to foreign investment. Have the legitimate producers in the US, with their sacks of cash, buy Thai farms and land. That is fraught with problems, both about changes in Thai land ownership law, and the potential impacts on food production.

 

Thailand can't really do anything to influence what is happening in Myanmar, nor China. But it can close down cannabis shops.

 

Otherwise, it has to think about how it can support Thai farmers, and drive out foreign competition.

[peter267]

erm,  APRIL 1ST?

[Cat Boy]

17 hours ago, scottiejohn said:

It seems with the above post that you are still taking the cr@p or you are on the booze!¬

Apparently stringing together random words whilst saying absolutely nothing on point, that being recriminalizaion of cannabis, is all you have left. Trolls can only aspire to dementia in their keyboard isolation I suppose. Sad 😔 

[metisdead]

Off topic posts have been removed.

[UbonEagle]

Enforcement of this (or lack of) will become another good revenue stream for the RTP 🙏

[Middle Aged Grouch]

Weed will hit rocket high sales as the junkies will all rush to make their stock till april fool next year.

[Shocked farang]

On 5/9/2024 at 5:36 AM, gk10012001 said:

have barely smelled the stuff since the 70s.  But as I coast into retirement I am not against trying it a bit at my ripe old age of 68.  In the USA so many people have prescriptions for it, albeit legit and needed or not.  I was wondering if a girl I know that does use it would be able to buy and use some while in thailand, with or without her "legal" prescription

The answer is yes, of course. There are cannabis shops selling it everywhere in Thailand, but as the article explains, it's going to end by April 2025. 

[Shocked farang]

13 hours ago, AreYouGerman said:

China has spoken and Thailand decided to side with China and leave the Titanic (USA).

 

China doesn't like it's citizens going on a weed holiday to Thailand.

 

And that's the end of it.

 

I have noticed some Cannabis shops with signs in Chinese indeed. 

[xtrnuno41]

But still it is ok to inhale smoke/smog for years, nothing doing on that, even increasing.

Still it is ok to use pesticides, which are used in Thailand, some of them forbidden in western countries, on vegetables.

Increasing cancer with that.

Still not pro active to fight for water shortage in country.

Still not solved the problems in South Thailand.

No, you better think/dream about a new highest tower of the world in BK.

Why not tax the marihuana with 20%?  Money in the box !