Thailand Introduces New Bill to Regulate Cannabis While Keeping It Legal

[Thingamabob]

2 hours ago, expat_4_life said:

 

This is no surprise, like father like daughter.

I remember when Thaksin launched his "war on drugs" back in February of 2003. 

By May 2003 Prime Minister Thaksin declares “victory” in the war on drugs and announces a second phase that will last until December. The Royal Thai Police announce that 2,275 people have been killed since February 1 ... the war would continue.

Here is a bit of a time of events back then
https://www.hrw.org/news/2004/07/07/timeline-thailands-war-drugs
 

Thaksin's war on drugs was a disgrace. Over 2000 people killed, most of them entirely innocent of any crime. How he has a escaped facing justice for this murderous 'campaign' is extraordinary, to put it mildly.

[cookie1974]

37 minutes ago, farangkinok said:

Thank you for your opinion, Mr. Anslinger.

Your welcome.

[Ebumbu]

.2% flower and you might as well be smoking marigolds. What's the point? If you're going to call it medicine and prohibit recreational use, then you need medical-grade cannabis and a way of testing its potency and cannabinoid profile. .2% THC?? I'll smoke catnip first. With my cats. 

[PrikPot]

3 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

Ok - someone’s confused - maybe you were smoking the 2% stuff !!!

 

The articles quote two different THC strengths…. Or maybe I’m missing something there…. ? 

 

This is most likely a case of something being lost in translation. It should be 0.2% THC for extracts, as it has always been.

[Aussie999]

2 hours ago, thesetat2013 said:

2% potency. How do they expect all the shops to test for this with every type of cannabis they sell. This new law makes it easy for the policing agency and government to walk in and make fines for any amount up to 100k easily. 

it comes down to balance scales. when the cops come... leaf on one side.. baht on the other, the more unbalanced with baht, the more legal it becomes.

[Hunz Kittisak]

47 minutes ago, Thingamabob said:

Thaksin's war on drugs was a disgrace. Over 2000 people killed, most of them entirely innocent of any crime. How he has an escaped facing justice for this murderous 'campaign' is extraordinary, to put it mildly.

The war was going well. There’s no innocent when related to drugs. I’m talking about hardcore drugs here and I’m taking the Asian approach similar to the death penalties in many regional countries around here who implemented with success. 
And we all know why and how the war was prematurely halted

Edited September 20 by Hunz Kittisak

[MarkBR]

5 minutes ago, Aussie999 said:

it comes down to balance scales. when the cops come... leaf on one side.. baht on the other, the more unbalanced with baht, the more legal it becomes.

Indeed

[MarkBR]

16 minutes ago, Ebumbu said:

.2% flower and you might as well be smoking marigolds. What's the point? If you're going to call it medicine and prohibit recreational use, then you need medical-grade cannabis and a way of testing its potency and cannabinoid profile. .2% THC?? I'll smoke catnip first. With my cats. 

Agreed, no one will buy 0.2% cannabis, has little functional use - will kill industry leading to de facto criminalisation of recreational cannabis users.  Back to the stupidity of the Wars on Drugs, when they should focus on Yaba which is destroying rural Thailand!

[jvs]

1 hour ago, cookie1974 said:

The new amsterdam,weed itself is pretty harmless but its availability and the fact that its legal inevitably attracts people seeking harder drugs which in the last few years have exploded in their availability in thailand,they should have kept their draconian drug laws in place because once the box is opened they will never be able to close it.

That is also the reason no one should drink beer,before you realize it you will

yearn for something stronger and in a few years all beer drinkers will be full blown alcoholics!!!

(sorry can not find a sarcasm emoji and i do not want to confuse any beer drinkers.)

[Expat Tom]

If there is ever a war I would not want Thailand as an ally. They would either accidently shoot themselves in the foot an become a liability or even worse, shoot you accidently in the back. 

I have owned two condos there in the past. I would never buy property here again. The country is inherently too unstable

and run by a cabal of people in BBK with questionable intelligence.  

[marin]

5 hours ago, AlaskaDave said:

regulate its strength

Why? The user can select the type of high they want. 

[Dr Jon]

5 hours ago, gjoo888 said:

I remember someone in Amsterdam telling me that one big reason cannabis is "tolerated," is that pot smokers rarely cause problems. IMO, no one belongs in jail for smoking weed.

What about when they kill someone when driving under the influence of 'weed'?

[itsari]

Not smoking in public is a definite step forward.

Congratulations Thailand

[Ebumbu]

3 hours ago, MarkBR said:

Agreed, no one will buy 0.2% cannabis, has little functional use - will kill industry leading to de facto criminalisation of recreational cannabis users.  Back to the stupidity of the Wars on Drugs, when they should focus on Yaba which is destroying rural Thailand!

 

Well, since I have to pay taxes now in Thailand, I'll be able to vote on this soon, right?  🙂

[marin]

1 hour ago, Dr Jon said:

What about when they kill someone when driving under the influence of 'weed'?

Should be the same penalty as drunk driving. But I have never heard, read, or seen this happening. 

[VBF]

14 minutes ago, marin said:

Should be the same penalty as drunk driving. But I have never heard, read, or seen this happening. 

Not in Thailand  perhaps. In other countries, UK for example, traffic police routinely do drug wipes in the same way as they carry out alcohol breath tests.

The penalties for failing are similarly strict.

 

What I noticed in the OP was the wording "The proposed law, however, includes strict penalties for unauthorised cannabis consumption,"

That strikes me as saying you can sell it but when the buyer gets out on the street (s)he is liable to arrest.

 

Wouldn't that open the door for even more shakedowns of the public buyers, whilst protecting the sellers who might have been contributing to the police benevolent fund?

Or am I way too cynical? 🙄

[RethairedJarhead]

I only read the headline… Not wasting my time with the body of the message because I already knew they were never going to make it illegal again!

 

No matter what anybody tells you… Cash is king!

[Kevin Taylor]

I am pretty much done listening to governments and the like telling me what's good for my health and what isn't.  If we have to go back to being discreet and buying it illegally so be it. They have zero interest in your health or mine only to exercise control over the populace for there own gains.

[Mad Mustang]

Meh. - give it another 2 or 3 years of tooing and froing. 

[rumeaug]

hum..Me no comprendo...what was the color of Henry the 4th white horse again?

[Dogmatix]

This sounds Anutin’s bill that passed its first reading in early 2023 but was shot down by the Democrats in the second reading because they were upset that Anutin had been sending people to campaign aggressively in the South which used to be the Dems’ stronghold.

[kickstart]

13 hours ago, expat_4_life said:

 

This is no surprise, like father like daughter.

I remember when Thaksin launched his "war on drugs" back in February of 2003. 

By May 2003 Prime Minister Thaksin declares “victory” in the war on drugs and announces a second phase that will last until December. The Royal Thai Police announce that 2,275 people have been killed since February 1 ... the war would continue.

Here is a bit of a time of events back then
https://www.hrw.org/news/2004/07/07/timeline-thailands-war-drugs
 

A completely different ball game ,Tucksin's  war was with the drug dealers selling Yar Ma, and Yar Bar, which as we all know cause a lot of problems all round.

As the OP said the PM is trying to find a balance, not get the police on the street's guns blazing.   

[Pinot]

I think the most important aspect of regulation is not giving the BIB an opportunity to make easy money. They will selectively enforce any chance they get...to make money. It's one of the only things they do. 

 

[Franky0815]

It's the same as always, you can continue to consume THC in any strength, but if you get caught, you'll have to pay. The new bill finally takes into account the wallets of all players, as it did before...

Edited September 21 by Franky0815

[connda]

Allowing wealthy investors to reap cannabis profits while destroying the earning capabilities of the lowly commoner-classes trying to make a living running a retail outlet.

This is how it's done ppls.

[connda]

1 minute ago, connda said:

Allowing wealthy investors to reap cannabis profits while destroying the earning capabilities of the lowly commoner-classes trying to make a living running a retail outlet.

This is how it's done ppls.

Being intoxicated on cannabis is bad for your health, but being intoxicated on alcohol is fine.

So cui bono, who benefits?

Cannabis:
The Wealthy - get to grow it. 
The Commoners - get to distribute, package it and sell it.
Both share in the revenues and profits

Alcohol:
The Wealthy - get to distill and brew it, package it, and distribute as monopolies.  Makes most of the revenues and profits.
The Commoners - get to sell some of it retail.

See the difference?

[stoner]

i did tell you guys anutin would handle things. 

[stoner]

On 9/20/2024 at 1:43 AM, Dr Jon said:

On 9/19/2024 at 8:17 PM, gjoo888 said:

I remember someone in Amsterdam telling me that one big reason cannabis is "tolerated," is that pot smokers rarely cause problems. IMO, no one belongs in jail for smoking weed.

What about when they kill someone when driving under the influence of 'weed'?

 

then they would be charged with some sort of criminal driving offence......  

[rice555]

What about the 10-15? plants that a Thai family was allowed to grow for HOME USE, not a commerical grower?

Seams that Mr. & Mrs. Somechi are getting forked again! No leafs for the curry.

[candide]

On 9/20/2024 at 2:26 AM, expat_4_life said:

 

This is no surprise, like father like daughter.

I remember when Thaksin launched his "war on drugs" back in February of 2003. 

By May 2003 Prime Minister Thaksin declares “victory” in the war on drugs and announces a second phase that will last until December. The Royal Thai Police announce that 2,275 people have been killed since February 1 ... the war would continue.

Here is a bit of a time of events back then
https://www.hrw.org/news/2004/07/07/timeline-thailands-war-drugs
 

I wonder who could have asked him to make this war?