Thailand Set to Recriminalise Cannabis Amid Expert Outcry

[Adventurer1]

Thaksin the puppeteer dictator is behind this. Deep Fake bull<deleted>. Alcohol should be illegal you idiots. How many people are killed by drunk drivers ? How many thousands ? How many you idiots. Enough of these lies. 

[Adventurer1]

Just like living in China now.

[pub2022]

Land of alcoholics is enough.

No need for Land of potheads.

[Luuk Chaai]

6 hours ago, JBChiangRai said:

 

 

 

The stoner's typical response is that Cannabis is not addictive, does not cause any problems, is safer than alcohol etc etc

 

The fact is that this flies in the face of medical opinion, Cannabis Use Disorder is very real, I am not commenting on alcohol, which is also a problem, but irrelevant, we are talking about Cannabis only.

 

Fast Statistics

Approximately 3 in 10 people who use cannabis have cannabis use disorder.

It is estimated that people who use cannabis have about a 10% likelihood of becoming addicted.

The risk of developing cannabis use disorder is greater in people who start using cannabis during youth or adolescence and who use cannabis more frequently.

 

The following are signs of cannabis use disorder:

Using more cannabis than intended

Trying but failing to quit using cannabis

Spending a lot of time using cannabis

Craving cannabis

Using cannabis even though it causes problems at home, school, or work

Continuing to use cannabis despite social or relationship problems

Giving up important activities with friends and family in favor of using cannabis

Using cannabis in high-risk situations, such as while driving a car

Continuing to use cannabis despite physical or psychological problems

Needing to use more cannabis to get the same high

People who have cannabis use disorder may also be at a higher risk of other negative consequences, such as problems with attention, memory, and learning.

 

 

Cannabis Use Disorder: Definition, Symptoms, Treatment (verywellmind.com)

Cannabis Use Disorder - StatPearls - NCBI Bookshelf (nih.gov)

Understanding Your Risk for Cannabis Use Disorder | Cannabis and Public Health | CDC

Cannabis/Marijuana Use Disorder > Fact Sheets > Yale Medicine

Cannabis use and cannabis use Disorder - PMC (nih.gov)

Somebody watched Reefer Madness too many times !

[sambum]

"Thailand Set to Recriminalise Cannabis Amid Expert Outcry"

 

Misleading headline - it reads like the experts are complaining about it being recriminalised!

[Senior Player]

I had Cannabis Use Disorder from the mid 1980s right up until 2010 when I finally quit the stuff. One day I just woke up and decided I no longer wanted to waste my money on the stuff as well as walk around in a constant stupor. Of course, I didn't smoke the stuff when I was working and managed to hold down a 9-to-5 executive position in a multinational corporation, but I was still hooked and pretty much dependent on having a constant stash squirrelled away for my own leisure time. There wasn't a single day that didn't go by in that 25-year time period whereby I didn't have at least 5 or more large joints to myself every evening!! During all those years I managed to hide my addiction from my work colleagues and superiors, so it can be done. But that doesn't mean that I didn't have a problem. I think the reason why I began smoking more heavily was to help me forget a relationship breakup I was going through in my early 20s. I recall it helped me to not dream about the girl every night and acted as my go-to emotional crutch. Apart from that, I functioned pretty well. Of course, any of my future girlfriends all partook in my devotion to the stuff even though they all said I smoked way too much.

 

But kicking the habit was the best thing I did, especially as I no longer like the feeling of being stoned. Yes, I've tried it a few times since but I've found I much prefer being in control and clear-headed, which I'm clearly not when I'm under its influence. The same also applies to alcohol now. I know when to stop rather than getting too intoxicated. In fact, I'm pretty much teetotal nowadays and haven't touched a single drop since New Year!

 

So, the fact that Thailand is set to recriminalize cannabis, it doesn't affect me like it would've done over 15-years ago.  Of course, my younger self would've been appalled, so I know where some of you partakers of the bud are coming from and you have my deepest sympathy.

[HappyExpat57]

8 hours ago, fondue zoo said:

If they think they are getting a piece of the international medical Maryjane market they are going to be disappointed, too late, too slow, too much nonsense.

 

Too typical Thai.

[CLW]

1 hour ago, tonypattaya said:

Why drive it underground again. The weed lovers will still get their supplies, thereby increasing related crimes. The government ought to licence it out at a fee of, say, an initial 5 million baht, an annual fee of, say, 1 million baht, and a 200% duty. These figures are guesswork, but a closer study could be made.
This would considerably reduce the number of outlets, and as the prices would have to reflect the higher establishment costs, it would considerably reduce the number of potential customers.

Way to go. But for Thailand. I have my doubts. Out of the intellectual reach for the upper echelons

[sambum]

With the post about e-cigarettes yesterday, and then only buds to be illegal, and today now apparently all except cannabis for medical use, no wonder Thailand's "politicians" (Inverted commas on purpose!) will never convince the rest of the World that they should be taken seriously.

 

"One forward - two back!"

[JBChiangRai]

2 hours ago, khunpin said:

Good decision! 

It has always been an easy entrance into becoming an addict! 

Close all those drug shops and not forget the shisha places where the cri....l Arabs hang out! 

 

Shisha is illegal in Thailand, there shouldn't be any Shisha places.

 

1 hour ago, spidermike007 said:

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

 

 

You can't say it harms nobody.  That is blatantly untrue.  It harms young developing brains, can cause addiction, paranoia and can trigger a whole host of mental illnesses. 

 

Notice I use the word "can" not "does".

 

1 hour ago, Colabamumbai said:

Been one of those stoners 56 years now. 

 

I sincerely hope you don't drive a car or motorbike within 36 hours of using Cannabis. you would be locked up if you did that in the UK.

 

52 minutes ago, Luuk Chaai said:

Somebody watched Reefer Madness too many times !

 

Or maybe it's because "Somebody" had to deal with all the times it went wrong, or it could be that "Somebody" believes all the evidence from prestigious medical organisations over the anecdotal evidence of the cannabis user who thinks "I'm alright Jack, so QED everyone must be alright Jack"

[Expat Tom]

Crime without victims. Pot has been used in Thailand for centuries by much wiser men than those currently holding the reigns of power in BKK. Don't worry. If you want to enjoy pot, post re-criminalization, just take a weekend trip to Isan. 

[Hakuna Matata]

9 hours ago, webfact said:

Thailand’s government has announced plans to close cannabis shops and reclassify cannabis flowers and buds as Category 5 narcotics

 

Bravo, this is a move in the right direction!

[scotsdude]

Too late the horse has already bolted... There won't be enough room in prisons if it's criminalized again...

[oobar]

8 hours ago, Andre0720 said:

 

Even recreational drugs should be banned in a country where men have so much difficulty to attain adulthood and maturity.

Yep, especially alcohol, which causes mental and physical carnage in Thai society many many times greater than all other drugs combined.

[kwilco]

So when is a bud not a bud.....

[kwilco]

21 minutes ago, Hakuna Matata said:

 

Bravo, this is a move in the right direction!

Why?

[kwilco]

40 minutes ago, JBChiangRai said:

believes all the evidence from prestigious medical organisations

But that's just it! There ISN"T any hard evidence.

[WHansen]

Legal, not legal, weed shops, no weed shops, makes no difference to me.

I smoke good quality bud most nights in the UK and have used bud/solid for 40 years, when i do my 90 days in Thailand i have no problem switching over to outdoor grown compressed weed. I doesn't take long to lose the tolerance to high THC content and within a few days i am as high as i would be if i was smoking decent bud. Doesn't taste as nice but does the job that i want it to.

 

[JBChiangRai]

5 minutes ago, kwilco said:

But that's just it! There ISN"T any hard evidence.

 

Did you read the links I posted from prestigious medical organisations, the CDC, NIH etc?

 

There is clearly abundant evidence for those medical organisations to state their negative position on it.

 and warn of specific dangers.

[Skeptic7]

Such a conflicted, mixed up and silly Authoritarian Nanny State. 

[bradiston]

9 hours ago, dinsdale said:

I would very much like to see actual evidence of this claim supported by independent scientific proofs. This is just more of the demonising rhetoric to support the govts. (aka Thaksin) push to recriminalise.

Quite agree. Where's the evidence of

 

"an alarming rise in psychiatric cases linked to the drug’s recreational use."

 

Complete fabrication. It's the medical professionals who are exhibiting profoundly paranoid symptoms. Delusional, imaginary demons attacking them. They can't deal with the effects of a drug so they ban it for everyone. And just what is medical use? Getting stoned under the supervision of some weirdo in charge of tightening the straps on your straight jacket?

[CanadaSam]

50 minutes ago, Hakuna Matata said:

Bravo, this is a move in the right direction!

 

You mean in the reverse direction!

[Shocked farang]

8 hours ago, JBChiangRai said:

 

How would you prefer I refer to them?  It's a description much like Farang refers to white caucasian people.

 

 

Stoner, Pothead definetly have a negative conotation. Just say weed smokers, or cannabis users as there are many people who prefer edibles or even THC oil.

[thecyclist]

9 hours ago, Andre0720 said:

De-criminalising was a nice try in Thailand.

But the result was too astounding.

Did not take into account that, particularly young men here, are attracted to drugs like flies on .....

Nicotine, alcohol, lots of hard drugs as well, and now a multitude of cannabis shops opening all  over....

Quite unreal when you drive around. Cannabis, cannabis, cannabis. Given the sheer numbers, impact on public health will show too many people affected in absolute numbers.

Even recreational drugs should be banned in a country where men have so much difficulty to attain adulthood and maturity.

 

Cannabis or no Cannabis, the attainment of maturity in this society is near impossible. Might as well keep it legal, so that mature a ND rational beings can blunt their sensitive minds when dealing with all that childishness around.

[CanadaSam]

Forgive my ignorance, but my experience with marijuana is limited to smoking joints offered to me at parties.....

 

First I heard they want to criminalize "buds" then I heard they want to criminalize "flowers", whenever I see marijuana plants on TV etc., all I see is those distinctive leaves, that I presume we all smoke, or am I wrong?

 

And what exactly is a bud, or a flower (never seen one on a marijuana plant!).

 

Thanks in advance for the lesson in ganja!

[Shocked farang]

1 minute ago, bradiston said:

Quite agree. Where's the evidence of

 

"an alarming rise in psychiatric cases linked to the drug’s recreational use."

 

Complete fabrication. It's the medical professionals who are exhibiting profoundly paranoid symptoms. Delusional, imaginary demons attacking them. They can't deal with the effects of a drug so they ban it for everyone. And just what is medical use? Getting stoned under the supervision of some weirdo in charge of tightening the straps on your straight jacket?

In my humble opinion, medical use of cannabis is more about CBD than THC. CBD has no psychoactive effects and it has many positive properties. The main problem with THC isn't even that it has psychoactive effects but rather that it's almost impossible to know in advance what kind of effects a certain strain of cannabis will have on a certain individual.

[Shocked farang]

8 minutes ago, CanadaSam said:

Forgive my ignorance, but my experience with marijuana is limited to smoking joints offered to me at parties.....

 

First I heard they want to criminalize "buds" then I heard they want to criminalize "flowers", whenever I see marijuana plants on TV etc., all I see is those distinctive leaves, that I presume we all smoke, or am I wrong?

 

And what exactly is a bud, or a flower (never seen one on a marijuana plant!).

 

Thanks in advance for the lesson in ganja!

Well, the flower and the bud are the part of the plant where the most concentration of THC happens. So the best weed is always from the flowers and bud. Before it become ilegal and is driven underground you should have a look at a cannabis plant with flowers and buds. Many shops in Thailand now have the plant for display. It's something really interesting to see.

[Grandpa Cool]

I've just come back to Thailand from Australia where medical cannabis is now available on prescription from online doctors and distributed by online pharmacies. It seems mostly to be imported buds from Canada.

I guess the Australian licenced growers and processors will catch up with supplying the market. Certainly illegal growers are being displaced in the marketplace.

It's a state by state legal story, but from my observation there is no notable changes in society wherever the laws are soft towards cannabis.

Notably, Germany has recently decriminalised cannabis.

Just chill out all you moralistic naysayers. Take it easy. Stop bastardising people who want to smoke cannabis. After 60 years of the failed war against drugs all that has happened is that cannabis has become popular worldwide and is becoming normalised in many parts of the world. IMO here in Thailand it is politics at play with career politicians beating up an issue.

[kwilco]

47 minutes ago, JBChiangRai said:

 

Did you read the links I posted from prestigious medical organisations, the CDC, NIH etc?

 

There is clearly abundant evidence for those medical organisations to state their negative position on it.

 and warn of specific dangers.

I don't think you’ve read them - you just see some headlines in the media and think that's the same think. - I seriously doubt your ability to read a medical paper or make head or tail out of the conclusions and then apply that to legalisation.

The truth is there is very little research into recreational cannabis (and medical) because it was illegal worldwide and research was not permitted except in special circumstances.. A lot of the "papers" are not peer reviewed and have vested interests - law enforcement agenicies, and alcohol etc...

What the public need to do is take a step back from the  hysteria and take a broad outlook on a drug that has been in use for millennia. Then look at the social effects and balance that against the effects of making drugs illegal.

There is a simplistic school that believes that anything you "don't like" should be banned - those people then look round and cherry pick often spurious "evidence" to back up their point of view - which in reality is a prejudice and not an opinion.

  

[kwilco]

1 minute ago, Grandpa Cool said:

I've just come back to Thailand from Australia where medical cannabis is now available on prescription from online doctors and distributed by online pharmacies. It seems mostly to be imported buds from Canada.

I guess the Australian licenced growers and processors will catch up with supplying the market. Certainly illegal growers are being displaced in the marketplace.

It's a state by state legal story, but from my observation there is no notable changes in society wherever the laws are soft towards cannabis.

Notably, Germany has recently decriminalised cannabis.

Just chill out all you moralistic naysayers. Take it easy. Stop bastardising people who want to smoke cannabis. After 60 years of the failed war against drugs all that has happened is that cannabis has become popular worldwide and is becoming normalised in many parts of the world. IMO here in Thailand it is politics at play with career politicians beating up an issue.

In 2023, the Australian Parliament introduced a bill to legalize cannabis for adult recreational use, but the bill has not yet been passed.

 

Cannabis laws in Australia vary by territory. In most states and territories, cannabis is illegal for recreational use. However, in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), it is decriminalized for personal use. This means that possession of small amounts of cannabis is no longer a criminal offense, but it can still result in a fine.

It's illegal in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania, and Northern Territory (except for small amounts for medicinal use).

Decriminalized for personal use (up to 50 grams of dried cannabis or 150 grams of fresh cannabis): Australian Capital Territory (ACT) – You can grow up to 2 plants per person at home.

These laws are likely to change in the near future.

There also are many hydroponic shops selling equipment that is allegedly for tomatoes but it also grows very good cannabis.