Transcripts of the above video:

So the thumbnail from this is actually from the movie Liar, Liar with Jim Carrey. It's a moment where if you have seen the film, there's sort of a magic spell put on him, and he is a really dishonest lawyer and he can't stop telling the truth is basically the premise of the film. There is a scene where one of his like long-term sort of perpetually reprobate clients contacts him because he is in trouble and he just gets on the phone and yells at him, "stop committing crimes A-hole"! And that is sort of my point with this video, mostly because I have seen so many reports on this issue the past like week, that it's worth making the video. 

Again, and the point and the title notes the fact, yes Cannabis is legal in Thailand. We are going through a period of transition, I expect over the next 90 to 120 days because even by the time they promulgate a law, there is a certain period of time before it comes into effect. They have said that promulgation likely won't even happen until at the earliest the end of this month, but that is not even the case. I think they are drafting the law to bring it up at the end of this month for further debate, and then processing through the various due process channels associated with new legislation here in Thailand. And then again, it being brought online is probably not going to be instantaneous; usually it is 90 days from the day the law is promulgated that it comes into effect after publication in the Royal Gazette. So, if you were asking me my opinion, sitting here in July, I would say we will probably see fundamental changes to Thai Cannabis Policy, if any, probably at the earliest by the end of the fourth quarter of 2026, possibly not until the first of next year. That said, that is speculation and I will keep folks updated on the channel as that evolves. 

That said, the point of this video is talking about foreigners who seem to be on a sort of if you will, warpath, maybe not warpath, but they seem to just be intent on smuggling this stuff abroad and that's not a good idea. Not only for the consequences you could face on the receiving end - which could be heavy - but also it is illegal from Thailand as well. 

So, I initially thought of making this video after reading a recent posting from NBT World, that's @NBTWORLDNews on Twitter. Quoting directly: "Thailand's Customs Department, the United Kingdom's National Crime Agency and the British Embassy in Thailand, announced partnership to strengthen border security and law enforcement against illegal Cannabis exports." Now let me take you over to another posting, also on X, this one from Khaosod English, that's @KhaosodEnglish on X, quoting directly: "A Russian national was arrested at Phuket International Airport after Customs Officers allegedly found more than 17kg of Cannabis flowers and Cannabis resin hidden in two suitcases as he prepared to board an international flight. The suspect has been charged with attempting to illegally export goods without completing Customs procedures and was handed over to Saku Police for legal action." I expect, although this is speculation to a certain extent, that may just be the beginning of the underlying charges on that case because there may be other charges associated with that level of Cannabis possession even, and the attempt to move it into another country. There could even be multiple consequences in multiple jurisdictions. That said, another posting, again from Khaosod English again on X, @KhaosodEnglish. Quoting directly: "A 21-year-old Belgian tourist was arrested at Phuket International Airport after authorities allegedly found about 31.7kg of Cannabis packed inside two suitcases she was preparing to check in for an international flight." So just for the record, for the Americans out there, the rule of thumb is 2.2lbs per kilogram, so this person had by my reckoning, somewhere in the neighborhood of 75lbs of weed that they were trying to transport in like suitcases. Not a good idea. Quoting further: "Officials said the seizure followed enhanced baggage screening and warned that enforcement against illegal Cannabis exports will continue." Finally, and this is more in line with recent discussions of this smuggling case, which I don't even understand this one fully because it involved a stewardess or a flight attendant - sorry if I'm using outdated terminology - I call it the Thai Jackie Brown case because it involves this flight attendant who is apparently moving around a lot of illegal substances. Quoting directly: "This is from @ThaiEnquirer on X, quoting directly: "Suvarnabhumi tightens drug screening after smuggling cases involving airline crew. Suvarnabhumi Airport has stepped up drug screening and deployed police canine units for random checks of passenger and crew baggage following a series of drug-smuggling cases involving airline crew and travellers from Thailand, including the arrest of a Thai Airways flight attendant in Australia." That Thai Airways case had to do with narcotics of a kind different from Cannabis, but I felt like it was relevant to this discussion, because there is a lot of this all swirling around out there in the ether right now pertaining to just the issue of illegal export of controlled or illegal substances. 

So long story short is even if one were engaged in the legal business of Cannabis growing, distribution, sales, whatever here in Thailand - and there is a legal framework to undertake that kind of business activity - and there are frameworks in place for export regulation, just putting a bunch of Cannabis into a bag and trying to move it via commercial airline, not a good idea for a variety of different reasons. One, you could end up in problems from a Thai custom standpoint purely, as noted in one of those citations, but also look possession of large amounts of Cannabis in and of itself, even under the framework we are dealing with now before we see the sort of further legal medicinal whatever they are coming up with in Parliament promulgated, is still a problem; we have discussed this in other videos. Cannabis rules may be somewhat nebulous but they are not completely without some degree of structure to them, and yeah, this could end up being a real problem for people. You could basically end up with the same kind of charges that one might have seen back before the legalization occurred.

So the thing to take get away from this video is if you are looking to be in the Cannabis business, if you're looking to possibly create an import-export type of corridor, it is probably a better idea to contact a legal professional to discuss possible options, if any, and there might not be any available depending on the circumstances and what someone wants to engage in, rather than engage in illegally smuggling this product from or to or in any way associated with the Kingdom of Thailand.