Transcript of the above video:

As the title of this video suggests, we are asking are alcohol and tobacco controlled substances. I thought of making this video after reading a recent comment in a prior video on our channel. Specifically that comment came on a video we did regarding Cannabis in Thailand and whether or not it should be deemed a narcotic. 

This comment gave me some pause and I decided to go ahead and do a video on it. Quoting directly: "As a lawyer, you clearly understand that words are critically important when drafting laws. Words like: regulated, decriminalized, narcotic and controlled substance are all mixed into this marijuana word salad. Alcohol is not a controlled substance, tobacco and tobacco products are also not controlled substances; they are definitely not narcotics." Yeah, well we know they are not narcotics but I don't think it is correct to say that alcohol and tobacco are not controlled substances. 

Tobacco, you have to have a license to sell it; you cannot sell it to anyone under a certain age and beyond even that, with the specific issue of tobacco there is a Tobacco Monopoly in Thailand and you have to deal with that entity on its terms when buying and selling tobacco here in Thailand. Meanwhile, alcohol is very similar. There have been descriptions, although not quite totally analogous to tobacco, alcohol is extremely regulated in Thailand. Again, you can't sell it to minors; you have to have a license to sell it and to my mind that pretty much meets the definition of 'controlled substance' in every way that counts. As we have noted in other videos, we have assisted a number of clients in obtaining licenses for alcohol sales, both in a retail, even in a wholesale as well as a sort of consumer context, I say consumer when I think of like bars and restaurants, that is kind of the consumption side of things. Meanwhile, tobacco is the same way. You have got to have a license to sell it; again you can't sell it to underage people and we have assisted many venues with getting their tobacco licenses, again bars and grills restaurants these kinds of things because you oftentimes need that if you want to sell tobacco on premises. 

So yeah, I think it is a pretty fair statement to say that alcohol and tobacco are controlled substances here in the Kingdom of Thailand.