SURVEY: Should Thailand legalize marijuana?

[jmccarty]

Regulate it, tax it, enforce drink/smoke drive laws. Really enforce them, not just make laws and allow bending with a 500 or 1,000 baht note. Use the tax for improving education system only. Part of the education system should include clear medical education on the benefits and harm that alcohol, tabacco and marijuana have on the human body and society. I'm certain that if I was fully aware of what alcohol could do in terms of harm to health (physical and mental), harm to others, as in killing others with a car, and the lifetime economic cost/loss. I probably would have never gone beyond not liking it to forcing it down my neck until it somehow became good!

Fortuntately, I have not had any of the more extreme hazards happen to myself, yet! But I knew people that are no longer with us and some on their way out that could still be enjoying life if they never went beyond that first drink or puff (legal or illegal).

[Ulic]

I don't use drugs of any kind, but I don't judge those that do. Besides as far as Thai stick

is concerned, nothing wrong with mellowing a few hotheads out a little.

[FredNL]

Legalize and tax it.

Alcohol is dangerous. How many die every year due to alcohol consumption?

Nobody ever died due to smoking canabis / marijuana.

Edited November 2, 2015 by FredNL

[AGareth2]

not that long ago you could buy it in the market as a food ingredient like krapao

Pak Sukhotai was famous

[Bakseeda]

Hemp should be grown (the no or low THC strain) as an alternative crop for the farmers. The fibre is strong and amongst many users is excellent in the textile industry. and It's easy to grow,.... its a weed after all ...

For medical reasons if the facts are true.. sure .. but controled. ....

Chill out everyone .. winters here ....

I hate to be the one to spoil your day but Hemp, (THC free marijuana) is grown all over Asia.

[DrTuner]

Not only legalize it, but make it obligatory for angry old farts to smoke ten joints a day. Maybe after a few years they'd mellow out.

[MZurf]

we don't need pot heads running loose.

Pot heads on the loose are a mellow bunch. It's the drunks you have to watch out for.

[banglassie]

Traffic is allready vely dangerous with loads of accidents. That will only get worse.

There are many drunk drivers, then we also get stoned drivers.

Also it isn't any good for the working mentality.

I don't see any advantage for when it was legal in Thailand.

I don't think there would be much of an impact on road safety if cannabis was legal. I'm way more concerned with drunk driving and driving under the influence of meth.

And what about working mentality? I have seen no problem with that in anyone I know? As you may know parts of US has legalized and parts of Europe have seriously decriminalized. I know very successful people who prefer a joint after work. I can't see it has changed their work ethics. Just because something is legal it doesn't mean one should do it 24/7. It's not like it would be accepted to go out and have a few shots of tequila on your lunch break or before you come to the office.

Thailand has a great potential to create a vibrant export market. As weed continues to be more accepted over in the west I believe people will start to urge for more and more strains from all around the world. And the classic 'Thai sticks' are famous. While weed can be grown anywhere under the right circumstances I still believe people will start to prefer "naturally grown in the Asian sub-tropic sun and soil" and similar slogans from around the world. People tend to love to have a lot of options.

There really isn't much good fact to support that weed and road accidents are connected, in fact there's quite a lot of studies that shows otherwise.

Here are some sources:

http://thefreethoughtproject.com/kind-study-finds-virtually-driving-impairment-influence-marijuana/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonkblog/wp/2015/02/09/stoned-drivers-are-a-lot-safer-than-drunk-ones-new-federal-data-show/

http://norml.org/library/item/marijuana-and-driving-a-review-of-the-scientific-evidence

http://time.com/3930541/marijuana-impact-driving/

Dude i've got news for you.

Thailand isn't the sub-tropics but the ULTRA-tropics.

And i was born/raised in a country where you smell mariuhana in every street, guess why the police uses drugtests these days against it?

And thai sticks are NOT famous, they are full of seed which lowers the quality. We have much better produce which is allready exported worldwide.

Seems to me you have to lean a lot but keep drinking those banglassies in India and dream on.

Haha, yea, I guess you're right about the tropics.

Real Thai sticks used to be famous. I'm not talking about today's brick-weed, but the stuff that was exported back in Howard Marks times.

But yea, a bhang lassi would be nice. Unfortunately my holiday is over..

[banglassie]

not that long ago you could buy it in the market as a food ingredient like krapao

Pak Sukhotai was famous

A friend over in PP said that in Cambodia you can grow your own as long as you have some chickens. I never really understood why, but supposedly for chicken feed?

They still used Cannabis in their food from time to time over there, and I'm not talking about the travelers 'Happy Pizza'.

[cloudhopper]

[peterdarby]

People really have some strange ideas about marijuana. There is evidence that marijuana has a similar effect on driving as those with some alcohol but within the legal limit: http://now.uiowa.edu/2015/06/ui-studies-impact-marijuana-driving .

Marijuana was criminalised in the States for reasons completely unrelated to health and social problems: http://www.drugpolicy.org/blog/how-did-marijuana-become-illegal-first-place, and by extension to the rest of the world.

We do not need a war on drugs, we need a war on crime. Personally I would like to see the drug legalised in the same way that alcohol and tobacco is. Let the government and the country profit from the taxes and reduce the criminal element.

[DaveinAsia]

It's funny how things change. If this question would've been asked here 15-20 years ago(not sure if TV existed then) the answers would've been mostly in favour of the magic weed. It says a lot about the types of expats/tourists/seasonal refugees these days. Back in the day before mass tourism, cheap flights and retirees, when TH was mostly visited by backpackers and hippies the beer and liquor companies were not selling too much of their poison.The tendency now seems to have shifted back to the 'good old' sucker juice(due to heavy advertising and the criminalization of herb) while back then the weed would've won easily. It's also interesting how many drinkers view the herb. They not only try to stigmatize it but at the same time also try to convince others of alcohols benefits. As if alcohol has ever done anyone any good at all. Some people really haven't got a clue. Ignorance is bliss.

Of course marijuana should be legalized, medically as well as leisurely.

[jaywalker]

It's a plant that grows naturally out of the ground. I'm agnostic, but how do you tell god that his plants are not welcomed here?

I saw a Thai guy wearing a shirt in BKK once with a pot leaf across the back, and across the top it said (in English) "God Invented Weed"

Below the pot leaf, it said, "Man Invented Alcohol"

Across the pot leaf it said "WHO DO YOU TRUST?"

I had to tap him on the shoulder & say 'Chop maak!'

[teatree]

I cannot believe anyone in their right mind believes any Thai government would ever legalise marijuana.

1. The profits from drug dealing in Thailand make some senior figures in the police, the military and politics, etc. very, very rich. They are not about to smash their own rice bowl.

2. The three big distillers/brewers here have an effective cartel and keep very close to those in power who make the laws. They would vigorously block any liberalisation of drug laws.

3. Thailand has politically active Buddhist organisations. Thailand loves to put itself forward as a protector of Buddhist teachings. Decriminalisation of marijuana would be seen here as against these mores and would be vigorously opposed.

To apply this discussion to Thailand is pointless and shows a failure to grasp the drivers that push social change here.

The points you make are all real and seemingly immovable barriers aganist any legalisation.

However, you have to look at the flip side too.

There would a lot of tax money raised which could then be siphoned off without anyone having to dirty their hands.

There would be oppertunities for corporations to move in, centralise power and set up a cartel in which they could control production and prices. The numbers of people with fingers in the pie would reduce, leaving just a handful of big players making all the money. And it would all be totally legitimate.

[jaywalker]

I cannot believe anyone in their right mind believes any Thai government would ever legalise marijuana.

1. The profits from drug dealing in Thailand make some senior figures in the police, the military and politics, etc. very, very rich. They are not about to smash their own rice bowl.

2. The three big distillers/brewers here have an effective cartel and keep very close to those in power who make the laws. They would vigorously block any liberalisation of drug laws.

3. Thailand has politically active Buddhist organisations. Thailand loves to put itself forward as a protector of Buddhist teachings. Decriminalisation of marijuana would be seen here as against these mores and would be vigorously opposed.

To apply this discussion to Thailand is pointless and shows a failure to grasp the drivers that push social change here.

The poll isn't asking for a moral judgement. I feel it should be de-criminalized but not legal. Nobody gets busted but it isn't a "weed" destination. Small fine and they take your dope if you get out of line.

Actually the poll is very specifically asking the poster to make a moral judgement.

I beg to differ. Morals are a PERSONAL judgement = I judge what's right for me, & you judge what's right for you.

Putting government in charge of "morals" is rather inane. The Thai government cannot even run an efficient postal system (neither can the US government, which operates at a loss of around $5 billion USD every year).

Asking them to run the "morals" department is insane (as well as inane).

Oh yeah, I used to smoke tons of weed when I was between 15 - 25....haven't touched it in years, simply because it lost its appeal to me, but I don't judge other folks.

I believe it should be a personal choice. As long as I am not driving (endangering others), PLEASE, PLEASE tell me who I have hurt if I toke on a joint? Where is the victim?

And also PLEASE do not (anybody - not picking on you Anotheruser) tell me it drives up healthcare costs.

"Healthcare" (Obamacare, NHS etc) is socialism, which I refuse to participate in. I'll pay my own hospital bills thank you.

Edited November 2, 2015 by jaywalker

[jaywalker]

Tried to edit my response above, but waited too long I guess?

Anyhow, I was turned into a criminal at the stroke of a pen by Obamacare...I have to pay a fine on my taxes because I don't participate in socialism (which was some thousand page bill rushed through Congress that nobody read).

Here's a great Libertarian article snippet about morals though... It's a transcript of a phone call between Louis James & Doug Casey.

L: Doug, among the many things you find perverse in our world, I've heard you say that one of the most perverse is that the U.S. government has created a bureau to regulate and suppress three of your favorite things in life.

Doug: Ah, yes. Alcohol, tobacco, and firearms – the three things you need for a decent hunting expedition. Or a Class One party. A Class Two party would also include sex, drugs, and rock-n-roll.

It really is strange that they have one agency to regulate these three particular things. Of course, none of them should be regulated at all. Regulating alcohol makes as much sense as… regulating water.

L: The government does that, too.

Doug Casey: These people learn absolutely nothing from their mistakes – ever. To me, that's proof that the problem isn't intellectual; it's moral. Spiritual. And I don't mean on the part of the drinkers, smokers, and shooters. The bluenoses just have to tell others what they can and cannot do; they're uptight, nosy, unhappy, and small-minded. Not the type you'd want for a neighbor, but they are nonetheless quite successful at wheedling their way into political power. These types pushed the U.S. into prohibiting the manufacture and sale of alcohol from 1919 to 1933, and it was an unmitigated disaster. It created a crime wave the likes of which had never been seen before, and not just because peaceful, otherwise law-abiding citizens became criminals with the stroke of a pen. It created a black market for liquor, and that spawned many related criminal activities...

https://www.caseyresearch.com/articles/doug-casey-all-things-fun-atf

[Scott]

How to Get on a Government Watch List:

#1: Vote Yes.

Paranoid?

[GAZZPA]

My view on marijuana is dont ever legalise it. The only exception to this will be if it is tested and proven to be a medical cure for serious illnesses such as cancer. But it is not yet, only the idiots who jump on the pro wagon will tell you it is, and the main support for that will be someone on you tube.

I know there are many people who disagree with me but I really can see so much harm from it and from the seeing the people in my life who abuse it I find it frightening. I certainly dont want to see people walking around the town stoned I dont want to think that this will be legal as the teenagers will jump on the bandwagon.

I also see many people who keep drawing references to alcohol being terribly harmful, in a way i agree. So why aren't these people ever protesting about making alcohol illegal if they feel so strongly about it, or is it just that the reference and comparison suits their purpose when talking about canabis and they dont really feel this way about booze?

Also people have made smoking a serious anti social thing to do. There are so many non smoking places now and even where smoking is permitted people moan as they walk past and hold their noses in disgust as if you are a filthy outcast. And yet here we are talking about legalising the smoking of canabis? How does that work? Where are all these anti smoking people now? Drawing smoke into your lungs is harmful and canabis is no exception to this.

In years to come if all the pro canabis people see from medical facts that canabis is carcinogenic would they then push for people to not smoke it and even call for it to be illegal? Well, there are already tests that show this may be the case, see link below. It is a claim based on clinical trials in the UK that canabis is 20 times more likely to give you lung cancer then tobacco alone,,, I am sure there are people who can contradict but this study is credible so surely there needs to be more study before legalisation.

If you knew this and considering how anti social smoking is today is it not stupid to even consider the legalisation at this stage?

https://www.drugfoundation.org.nz/mythbusters/cannabis-20-times-more-carcinogenic-tobacco

Anyway, I like to think I have a balanced view of most things and i am open minded but my experience plus the poor arguments for legalising (except pointless comparisons) are not enough to convince me. I believe if it is legalised across the world it will be something we regret in 20 years.

[connda]

...and kratom.

[ParadiseLost]

My view on marijuana is dont ever legalise it. The only exception to this will be if it is tested and proven to be a medical cure for serious illnesses such as cancer. But it is not yet, only the idiots who jump on the pro wagon will tell you it is, and the main support for that will be someone on you tube.

I know there are many people who disagree with me but I really can see so much harm from it and from the seeing the people in my life who abuse it I find it frightening. I certainly dont want to see people walking around the town stoned I dont want to think that this will be legal as the teenagers will jump on the bandwagon.

I also see many people who keep drawing references to alcohol being terribly harmful, in a way i agree. So why aren't these people ever protesting about making alcohol illegal if they feel so strongly about it, or is it just that the reference and comparison suits their purpose when talking about canabis and they dont really feel this way about booze?

Also people have made smoking a serious anti social thing to do. There are so many non smoking places now and even where smoking is permitted people moan as they walk past and hold their noses in disgust as if you are a filthy outcast. And yet here we are talking about legalising the smoking of canabis? How does that work? Where are all these anti smoking people now? Drawing smoke into your lungs is harmful and canabis is no exception to this.

In years to come if all the pro canabis people see from medical facts that canabis is carcinogenic would they then push for people to not smoke it and even call for it to be illegal? Well, there are already tests that show this may be the case, see link below. It is a claim based on clinical trials in the UK that canabis is 20 times more likely to give you lung cancer then tobacco alone,,, I am sure there are people who can contradict but this study is credible so surely there needs to be more study before legalisation.

If you knew this and considering how anti social smoking is today is it not stupid to even consider the legalisation at this stage?

https://www.drugfoundation.org.nz/mythbusters/cannabis-20-times-more-carcinogenic-tobacco

Anyway, I like to think I have a balanced view of most things and i am open minded but my experience plus the poor arguments for legalising (except pointless comparisons) are not enough to convince me. I believe if it is legalised across the world it will be something we regret in 20 years.

I think you are delusional if you think your views are 'balanced'...

Some factors for you to consider:

1. Everyone has access to pot today - the law does very little to hinder the supply. Billions of dollars/euros/pounds/baht are wasted every day on "law enforcement".

2. Legalising it will result in new users rushing to use? - see point 1.

3. Smoking is disgusting - so eat it. Or choose your friends/establishments more carefully. I detest the smell of certain Thai food ingredients - should they be banned? After all I don't eat them.

4. People (such as myself) who do not drink should decry alcohol? - why should I want to dictate to others based upon my own likes/dislikes.

Imagine if pot had been protected in the USA, in place of the right to bear arms. You can prise the joint from my cold dead hands...

You are more likely to die from lung cancer if you live in a city and breathe VW fumes all day than if you smoke cigarettes or pot...

Edited November 2, 2015 by ParadiseLost

[connda]

My view on marijuana is dont ever legalise it. The only exception to this will be if it is tested and proven to be a medical cure for serious illnesses such as cancer. But it is not yet, only the idiots who jump on the pro wagon will tell you it is, and the main support for that will be someone on you tube.

I know there are many people who disagree with me but I really can see so much harm from it and from the seeing the people in my life who abuse it I find it frightening. I certainly dont want to see people walking around the town stoned I dont want to think that this will be legal as the teenagers will jump on the bandwagon.

I also see many people who keep drawing references to alcohol being terribly harmful, in a way i agree. So why aren't these people ever protesting about making alcohol illegal if they feel so strongly about it, or is it just that the reference and comparison suits their purpose when talking about canabis and they dont really feel this way about booze?

Also people have made smoking a serious anti social thing to do. There are so many non smoking places now and even where smoking is permitted people moan as they walk past and hold their noses in disgust as if you are a filthy outcast. And yet here we are talking about legalising the smoking of canabis? How does that work? Where are all these anti smoking people now? Drawing smoke into your lungs is harmful and canabis is no exception to this.

In years to come if all the pro canabis people see from medical facts that canabis is carcinogenic would they then push for people to not smoke it and even call for it to be illegal? Well, there are already tests that show this may be the case, see link below. It is a claim based on clinical trials in the UK that canabis is 20 times more likely to give you lung cancer then tobacco alone,,, I am sure there are people who can contradict but this study is credible so surely there needs to be more study before legalisation.

If you knew this and considering how anti social smoking is today is it not stupid to even consider the legalisation at this stage?

https://www.drugfoundation.org.nz/mythbusters/cannabis-20-times-more-carcinogenic-tobacco

Anyway, I like to think I have a balanced view of most things and i am open minded but my experience plus the poor arguments for legalising (except pointless comparisons) are not enough to convince me. I believe if it is legalised across the world it will be something we regret in 20 years.

Like alcohol, if you don't wish to imbibe, don't imbibe. If others do, that's their choice.

[faraday]

It's a plant that grows naturally out of the ground. I'm agnostic, but how do you tell god that his plants are not welcomed here?

Yes, & so is Coca & the Poppy plant.

How do think your point worthwhile?

[AdamRich]

It's a plant that grows naturally out of the ground. I'm agnostic, but how do you tell god that his plants are not welcomed here?

Yes, & so is Coca & the Poppy plant.

How do think your point worthwhile?

Coca and poppy plants have to be processed in order to make cocaine and heroin. Search for a video on it. There are additions such as quicklime, cement, kerosine, gasoline, etc. I have been in the Andes mountains and chewed coca leaves, drank the tea, drank the liquor, and eaten the candy. Using the leaves themselves cause no adverse effects. It's all the stuff that is added in in order to separate the chemicals.

[KonaRain]

Nothing's worse than alcohol.. re: traffic

It's legal in Washington State and Washington D.C.

We just released 6,000 Federal drug offenders. (US.).

Nobody should be in a stinking Thai Jail for non violent drugs. Especially pot.

I've driven the richest people in the world high on weed.Getty, Gates, Jobs and Waz..get over IT!

[angmo]

Legalise it both for medicinal and recreational use. Recent studies seem to show that it is less harmful than alcohol and actually has medicinal uses. You also cannot die of an overdose.

[ParadiseLost]

In the local community where I live there was a shameful case a few years back. An old couple's home was raided and oh my god there were two weed plants growing in their yard. The plants belonged to their retard son who did not live there so the husband was to be arrested. Because of his avanced years (80+) his wife "confessed" to the "crime" and was sentenced to 5 years or something. Thank goodness she was only in her 70's...

She is to be released soon, on good behaviour.

This is not am isolated case and goes to show just how much these punitive laws are used against the least harmful members of society.

Crazed druggies are not how I know smokers to be, just the opposite in fact.

[Guitar God]

Two reasons: as cannabis use goes up, alcohol use goes down. Every study shows cannabis is a substitute. The other is that is has also been proven that people who smoke and drink are no more likely to get in accidents that sober people.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonkblog/wp/2015/02/09/stoned-drivers-are-a-lot-safer-than-drunk-ones-new-federal-data-show/

Traffic is allready vely dangerous with loads of accidents. That will only get worse.

There are many drunk drivers, then we also get stoned drivers.

Also it isn't any good for the working mentality.

I don't see any advantage for when it was legal in Thailand.

[peko]

Here's an article written a month ago on that very topic, though it includes mention of hemp - which Thai farmers should also be allowed to grow. Chinese, Canadian, and Australian farmers are legally allowed to grow and sell hemp - why not Thai farmers? Plus a dozen US states allow regular people to grow pot, and their incomes are shooting up like rockets. Why not allow Thai farmers to make more money?

[peko]

Two reasons: as cannabis use goes up, alcohol use goes down.

Garbage talk. The opposite is true. Have you ever smoked pot with friends? The #1 thing pot smokers want to do is get beer. Studies have shown where pot use is legal, alcohol purchases are the same or higher than before legal pot.

[chiang mai]

I think it should be legal to smoke it, as long as you don't inhale.