Pai's Big Bust: 7 Tourists Nabbed for Public Cannabis Use

[black tabby12345]

So this bust is pretty much like a Showcase Event.

 

Some "Hardline" gesture,  to the bunch of careless/reckless tourists.

we are watching you.

 

In the Broken Window Theory, uncontrolled petite offences can eventually lead to more serious crimes(deemed no one cares).

 

Therefore it is important to show police presence from time to time.

 

This operation perfectly demonstrated its importance, toward some unruly aliens.

 

Hope this kind of police action serves a good deterrent...

 

 

[khunjeff]

17 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

The operation was spearheaded by Police Colonel Samret Samsitong, Superintendent of Pai Police Station, alongside Lt. Col. Nopphakhun Atthamathamkun and Lt. Col. Kriangkrai Saensali. In collaboration with Pai District Public Health, officers set up a special operations center on Pai's bustling walking street.

 

Aren't they ever embarrassed by bragging about these "operations" as though they had brought down the Sinaloa cartel? This was some idiots smoking weed in the street. And although they talk about "arrests", I'm pretty sure that the penalty for public nuisance - which is the offense here - is only a 500 baht fine.

[FolkGuitar]

"In public."
Just WTF does that mean, legally?
If you are smoking a joint while standing under a tree in the middle of a public forest, with no people for 50km, is that still 'in public?'

A beach with no one near you for 500m? Is that private enough or still public?

How about a small soi at 2 am with no one around? Is that 'in public.'  It's certainly not private!
Just how many people have to be just how close to you for you NOT to be 'in public' when smoking?
Is the law that they can't 'smell' you smoking or 'see' you smoking? Both seem to piss off a lot of people. Just knowing people are smoking cannabis is enough to send some people around the twist!

 

Perhaps a definition of the law might be of some interest, some clarification BEFORE arrests are made?

 

[Merrill]

18 hours ago, Nick Carter icp said:

 

   Yesterday you were complaining about disrespectful people smoking marijuana in public .

   Today you are complaining about people not being able to smoke marijuana  in public .

   Seems like you just want to attack Israelis /Jews

 

Jews??? What the   Duck have they got to do with it. 

[Burma Bill]

20 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

seven foreign tourists for causing a public nuisance, including smoking cannabis in public.

 Revoke their visas and deport them!

[fredwiggy]

20 hours ago, MalcolmB said:

They are allowed to sell it.

You are not allowed to smoke it in public.

I have seen over one hundred people smoke it in public, always farangs, never Thais.

Making up a number to bolster your lies doesn't work here. There are plenty of locals smoking all over the country in public, as well as foreigners. Cannabis is spurned by many and loved by many. Smoking it where those against it are around brings this kind of news. It's best to keep it under wraps so no one can complain until it becomes totally legal in all venues. The stone ages are slowly losing ground, as is old school thinking, which is ignorant ans biased, but it's still in officials hands and users are at their mercy until they wise up.

[clokwise]

I was just in Pai for the past 3 days. I witnessed foreigners being pulled aside and ticketed for smoking weed. Last night the big district cop did a walkabout surrounded by the media. There are now posters and signs everywhere notifying you to not smoke weed in public. I also saw signs instructing people to cover up and be respectful. Sadly, this all feels like too little too late.

 

I've been visiting Pai for over 20 years, long before they had traffic lights and 7-11s. Just in the past year or so the place has changed entirely (again). It's suddenly now become a place for rowdy pub crawls, and river tubing with multiple stops along the way offering booze and weed with obnoxiously loud music. There are far too many shirtless young men revving their little scooters up and down walking street. The majority of the tourists now (90% maybe) are Israelis, and their vibe clearly indicates that they don't gaf about other people, they want to party loud and hard. Pai in general is now crowded as hell too. The banks of the river are lined with garbage and plastic waste. It's over. Whatever cool vibe Pai used to have is long gone. If you're thinking to visit to see for yourself, prepare to be massively disappointed.

[Harrisfan]

4 minutes ago, clokwise said:

I was just in Pai for the past 3 days. I witnessed foreigners being pulled aside and ticketed for smoking weed. Last night the big district cop did a walkabout surrounded by the media. There are now posters and signs everywhere notifying you to not smoke weed in public. I also saw signs instructing people to cover up and be respectful. Sadly, this all feels like too little too late.

 

I've been visiting Pai for over 20 years, long before they had traffic lights and 7-11s. Just in the past year or so the place has changed entirely (again). It's suddenly now become a place for rowdy pub crawls, and river tubing with multiple stops along the way offering booze and weed with obnoxiously loud music. There are far too many shirtless young men revving their little scooters up and down walking street. The majority of the tourists now (90% maybe) are Israelis, and their vibe clearly indicates that they don't gaf about other people, they want to party loud and hard. Pai in general is now crowded as hell too. The banks of the river are lined with garbage and plastic waste. It's over. Whatever cool vibe Pai used to have is long gone. If you're thinking to visit to see for yourself, prepare to be massively disappointed.

It was busy 20 years ago. It went quiet with covid. 

[Harrisfan]

1 hour ago, fredwiggy said:

Making up a number to bolster your lies doesn't work here. There are plenty of locals smoking all over the country in public, as well as foreigners. Cannabis is spurned by many and loved by many. Smoking it where those against it are around brings this kind of news. It's best to keep it under wraps so no one can complain until it becomes totally legal in all venues. The stone ages are slowly losing ground, as is old school thinking, which is ignorant ans biased, but it's still in officials hands and users are at their mercy until they wise up.

Making up numbers is common here.

[Bday Prang]

15 hours ago, Patong2021 said:

into a cloud of cannabis exhaust. It's no different than diesel fumes

it is totally different to diesel fumes in both its smell and its chemical make up 

[Bday Prang]

1 hour ago, Burma Bill said:

Revoke their visas and deport them!

now there's an original comment,  

[Bkk Brian]

22 minutes ago, clokwise said:

I was just in Pai for the past 3 days. I witnessed foreigners being pulled aside and ticketed for smoking weed. Last night the big district cop did a walkabout surrounded by the media. There are now posters and signs everywhere notifying you to not smoke weed in public. I also saw signs instructing people to cover up and be respectful. Sadly, this all feels like too little too late.

 

I've been visiting Pai for over 20 years, long before they had traffic lights and 7-11s. Just in the past year or so the place has changed entirely (again). It's suddenly now become a place for rowdy pub crawls, and river tubing with multiple stops along the way offering booze and weed with obnoxiously loud music. There are far too many shirtless young men revving their little scooters up and down walking street. The majority of the tourists now (90% maybe) are Israelis, and their vibe clearly indicates that they don't gaf about other people, they want to party loud and hard. Pai in general is now crowded as hell too. The banks of the river are lined with garbage and plastic waste. It's over. Whatever cool vibe Pai used to have is long gone. If you're thinking to visit to see for yourself, prepare to be massively disappointed.

Official stats don't add up to your experience of 90% Israeli's. anyway wrong topic for that

 

The top nationalities of tourists visiting Pai during this period were:
British: 3,819 in 2024; 4,278 in 2025
Israeli: 817 in 2024; 3,034 in 2025
German: 1,701 in 2024; 1,890 in 2025
Dutch: 1,613 in 2024; 1,651 in 2025
American: 1,219 in 2024; 1,019 in 2025

 

https://www.nationthailand.com/blogs/news/general/40046576

[Bday Prang]

39 minutes ago, Bkk Brian said:

Official stats don't add up to your experience of 90% Israeli's. anyway wrong topic for that

 

The top nationalities of tourists visiting Pai during this period were:
British: 3,819 in 2024; 4,278 in 2025
Israeli: 817 in 2024; 3,034 in 2025
German: 1,701 in 2024; 1,890 in 2025
Dutch: 1,613 in 2024; 1,651 in 2025
American: 1,219 in 2024; 1,019 in 2025

 

https://www.nationthailand.com/blogs/news/general/40046576

• yet amazingly very few stories of British tourists misbehaving in 2024/2025  although I am not sure how the 75% of 2025 still remaining will pan out.   The current increase in reports of  anti social behaviour does seem to correspond to the recent large increase in Israelis , coincidence maybe?  

[Bkk Brian]

3 minutes ago, Bday Prang said:

• yet amazingly very few stories of British tourists misbehaving in 2024/2025  although I am not sure how the 75% of 2025 still remaining will pan out.   The current increase in reports of  anti social behaviour does seem to correspond to the recent large increase in Israelis , coincidence maybe?  

From this topic its not.

 

" The crackdown led to the arrest of tourists from several countries: one from the UK, two from the Netherlands, one from the US, two from Spain, and one from Israel, according to a police spokesperson."

 

 

[Bday Prang]

2 hours ago, Bkk Brian said:

From this topic its not.

 

" The crackdown led to the arrest of tourists from several countries: one from the UK, two from the Netherlands, one from the US, two from Spain, and one from Israel, according to a police spokesperson."

 

 

The Thais won't care about individual nationalities all farang are the same to them,

Basically a problem with pesky foreigners has been identified and a "successful " crackdown quickly ensued by the ever vigilant  RTP  ensures it won't happen again.  pats on the back all round