Thailand just decriminalized cannabis. But you still can't smoke joints, minister says

[Donald Mallard]

he might be dissapointed with what is coming then ojd if you read the link and quote i added above ,
it is not going to stay decriminalized, they will recriminalize it ,

crazy to let the genie out of the bottle and then stuff it back in , but that sounds like what is going to happen ,
a lot of thais are pretty conservative and since they have money , their voices are quite loud ...

 

[ojd]

he might be dissapointed with what is coming then ojd if you read the link and quote i added above ,
it is not going to stay decriminalized, they will recriminalize it ,

crazy to let the genie out of the bottle and then stuff it back in , but that sounds like what is going to happen ,
a lot of thais are pretty conservative and since they have money , their voices are quite loud ...

Yeah i read that post before i posted.
Hopefully not true or gov change its mind but its nuts actual Coffeshops right now , i cant believe it , in Thailand.

I thought Thailand would be 1 of the last countries to have Coffeshops ever with the strick Canna laws they have had all this time

 

[Chi13]

Going to be a hard genie to put back into the bottle, especially if they are openly selling it. Not to mention all the plants the government gave out.

 

[Donald Mallard]

Going to be a hard genie to put back into the bottle, especially if they are openly selling it. Not to mention all the plants the government gave out.

oh yea they sure have been openly selling it , roadsides , markets , shops etc ,
kinda silly to allow folks to become so invested in a business that may not be viable in the long term ....

i think those government plants were low thc , med grade cannabis chi ,
its been ok for a while to grow med grade cannabis and one could sell it to the government apparently ,
though i recall reading about it and noted there were some grey areas there too ....

@ojd
pretty sure everyone was pleasantly suprised with the relaxing of those laws ,,
i thought they would use it as a lure for tourists to help the economy recover,
in fact im sure there were some suggestions that might be going to happen ,
so yea i think we just have to wait and see what happens ,
i know there has been a backlash from some of the conservatives about it .... time will tell ...

 

[Mitsuharu]

i cant believe it , in Thailand.

What else do they have, the tourism almost died... They totally closed the country because of corona.

 

[Thighland]

It's one step forward, one step backwards, then a couple of steps sideways, then spin around and get dizzy - no wonder it's so confusing! The original plan, going back a few years was to allow households to grow medical grade CBD plants and sell to the government. Being politicians, once elected they back tracked a bit by adding regulations making cultivation impossible for average Thais. Those with connections were applying to grow, a long and expansive process, the limit of 0.2% still applied.

Right up until the approval of the legislation most thought the 0.2% limit would apply, but it was removed. On that day well stocked dispensaries opened throughout Bkk. So obviously some were not only forewarned, but allowed to cultivate for shop stock. Now there are small stalls popping up in tourist areas, COD delivery options and cannabis plants sold in nurseries. All in less than two months.

Thailand probably has the most liberal cannabis laws in the world now. I don't believe there is any planning in this, it's more of a wait and see approach combined with political infighting in the coalition government. There will some retreat for sure, however if they ban recreational use it could impact tourism which is struggling to recover. Being Thailand, they could pass laws and then ignore them for tourists (this already happens with alcohol).

There may be backlash not only from doctors and religious types, but also from those who invested to obtain licenses and set up facilities - they are seeing their business opportunity go up in smoke. One scenario that I (unfortunately) envisage is to ban everyday ppl from growing, which would allow those connected to reap big profits.

But with the genie out of the bottle there would be significant backlash, especially from the village grandmas who (thankfully) won't be told what to do. If there is a ban it will start with foreigners, but there's a chance very little will happen. The longer it goes on the better as it will show there really is nothing to fear.

 

[Ca++]

No matter how you tried to read between the lines, it was never legal for tourists. That was the clearest part of the message. Cannabis tourism was far from what they wanted. The idea people thought they could move there and start production for recreational use is crazy.

 

[Thighland]

Today the health minister is saying recreational use is illegal, but he was saying something different a few days ago. He is known for some crazy comments. They were going to make it legal for everyone to grow CBD strains, then only a select few, but then surprised everyone with the no limit legislation.

No part of the message has been clear and Thais are not the type to have detailed plans, instead they keep their options open, which is the current state of play. A few days ago they were talking about a boom in wellness tourism. It may not have been clearly stated, but the govt is smart enough to see the tourism potential.

Alcohol sales are banned for several hours a day, but it's easy to get a drink, especially in tourist areas. Back in the early '90s gunga was freely available on some islands. Law enforcement here can be arbitrary. If a recreational ban is in place, the authorities may not enforce it in tourist areas. The govt could never say they welcomed cannabis tourists due to the backlash ASEAN countries alone - ppl have been arrested crossing into Malaysia. They were urine tested, spent two days in jail with a fine of over $1,500.

The idea that the govt would legalize cannabis, then let anyone grow, it seems crazy, nonetheless it's that's where we are.

 

[armedoldhippy]

What else do they have, the tourism almost died... They totally closed the country because of corona.

tourism was already hurting from attacks on tourists; murders and rapes in isolated areas.

 

[Donald Mallard]

tourism was already hurting from attacks on tourists; murders and rapes in isolated areas.

if it was , be pretty minimal compared to what covid did .. like barely even scratching the surface in comparison ...

 

[Thighland]

Tourism was in decline pre covid, exactly why nobody can be sure of. Now that flights are expensive and ppl scared to travel, it's not recovering like many hoped.

Tourism was 20% of GDP, ordinary Thais are really feeling the pinch, they have not been happy with the government for a long time now. Hopefully they won't accept a return to criminalization.

This clip gave me confidence. I was impressed with how knowledgeable and tolerant ppl are, definitely one of the great things here and something many in the west could learn from.

 

[ojd]

Cannabis dispensary/club in Thailand , fully legal and licensed .

A pic my mate from the took when at a Cannabis club in Thailand, seems fully legal with many clubs now even offering new Cali strains etc.
He visited many shops and also shops with many stalls all offering many types of high quality products for Thailand, obviously also cheaper stuff and crap to but actual high quality stuff to ( £20 a gram)

I have heard talk about Thailand government wanting to reverse the recent legalisation of Cannabis , but after speaking with my mate and seeing many pics of several shops and buds he sampled including high quality menus with Cali strains seems they are advancing quick.

 

[romanoweed]

Somebody shoud go make "History Channel" like doku now, so it get attention and is seen by the People all over the world.

And if the paddle back people feel more encouraged to stand theyr ground.

Someone go and Intervew as much pro-legalisation guys in the Goverment as possible



I mean, i also hear Thailand people are pretty conservative (would mean they shouldnt have illegalized their traditional Plant in the first place) . But i think it would help if its seen more , on a TV , so they can see the Reality that exists. Show them that not everybody hates Cannbis, not even in Goverment . Show them that the Consuments look like actual People, not zombies. lol

 

[Thighland]

I think most Thais are knowledgeable about cannabis and it's historical use. While they can be conservative it's a personal thing, they don't feel it's ok to dictate to others and are generally tolerant.

But your average Thai is powerless politically, the country is run by the military, who don't have a strong grip on power. If it was down giving them democracy or giving them cannabis the army would choose the latter. So there's still hope.

 

[Smeden]

The buds I have bought and tested from Pattaya and Bangkok was for sure good quality, but all of them seems to be; hydro, non-organic and no flush at all. I burned my lips after 2-3 joints = kills the fun and makes one think how healthy it really is.
I can understand Thai doctors raising the flag. What I have bought and smoked is most likely very bad for ones health.
But I don't think there will be a big U-turn, more than 7 million Thais have already registered and invested in the crop.

 

[Thighland]

The buds I bought from the dispensary didn't seem too strong. I'd also been given a beautiful manicured bud that had little smell and little effect. Could this be from growing under low light?

Normally I'm smoking Nepalese hash, so maybe it's my tolerance, but when I went to Amsterdam the bud seemed stronger.

Yesterday I was asked for ID when trying to get into a dispensary. Maybe this will become standard practice?