Transcript of the above video:

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing possible promulgation of a new Cannabis Law here in Thailand. As we have discussed at length in many videos before, which it doesn't seem like people really watch or at least the general public because they seem to talk about this issue in a completely irrelevant manner, they are not looking at the actual posture of the situation. But as we have discussed in the past, Cannabis was pulled off the Narcotics List during the Emergency Decree here in Thailand and as such it requires a law to regulate Cannabis any further than it already is here in Thailand. By regulation I mean presently it is illegal to sell Cannabis to those under 20 as well as to those who have certain medical conditions but as it sits presently, yes there is a licensing structure; Cannabis is considered a controlled herb and there is a licensing structure associated with that under the auspices of the Ministry of Public Health here in Thailand. But long story short, there has been discussion of creating some sort of new law to provide new regulation.

One of the biggest arguments I have heard in favour of this is "well investors might not want to get into it if there's not a law." Well Thai investors don't seem to care and if it pertains to foreign investors, I have to kind of beg the question, this is an agricultural product. Yes there are certain limited ways in which foreigners could invest in this field, in this area or whatever, but as far as foreign investment why does there need to be something in place to make them less uneasy because at the end of the day this is a highly restricted, it's already restricted by dint of the fact that it involves agricultural development, agricultural work. So again I don't really see why there needs to be a law from that angle. Again as you can see from just walking down any given city street here in Bangkok, Pattaya, any of the other cities in Thailand; I was down in Samui recently, they're everywhere down there. Small Thai entrepreneurs are already enjoying the benefits of the changes in the laws on this. Why there needs to be any further law kind of baffles me.

That said, I thought of making this video after reading a recent article from Bangkok Post, bangkokpost.com, the article is titled: New Cannabis bill 'restricts freedoms'. Activist rejects many complaints claim. Quoting directly: "The new Cannabis Bill grinding its way through Parliament toughens penalties and includes jail terms for growing, selling and importing without a license and for marketing and advertising the drug that was delisted as a narcotic in June 2022." First question here is, there seems to be all kinds of jail terms for those who are doing things that right now are a perfectly legal activity without a license - well some of it may not be legal without a license depending on sort of the circumstances underlying it. There's no discussion even in this first paragraph regarding "hey are we going to put some criminal penalties on selling to underage?" I mean that to me is the biggest priority. All this other stuff, I question why this is such a priority to the people who want to so heavily regulate this industry. Quoting further: "But its most controversial provision is the imposition of fines for recreational smoking even in one's own home. This has drawn condemnation from many including long time Cannabis legalization advocate and entrepreneur Chokwan Kitty Chopaka."

So a couple of things, I am going to quote further here but yeah I will be one of the first ones who is drawing condemnation or you can draw condemnation from me, whatever, this is a bad idea. I've discussed this in other videos. Look I was critical of the last Government on certain things that they had done; I was not critical on this because it's a good idea. This whole thing makes sense and it made logical sense even to the Minister of Justice going back a couple of years ago who at the time said "yeah we would like to free up resources from going after people who are engaged in imbibing Cannabis to going after people who are doing things like trafficking hard drugs like methamphetamine, heroin, cocaine etc. So again, I fail to see what the point is of this weird kind of obsessive focus on the 'recreational use' to the point where that there is a Bill that would even say that "oh we can come into your own home!" Why? What's the point of that? Who is that helping? Honestly and on something that the usage of which doesn't kill anyone. Again, what's the cost benefit in doing that? Then we get into some further analysis back here and for those who are watching this video, I would urge you to go check out this article in detail again. The title is: New Cannabis Bill 'restricts freedoms'. 

Then we get back into some further deeper dive if you will. Quoting directly: "For many people, the biggest question is whether the ban on recreational smoking is going to be enforced, along with the 60,000 Baht fine." Really? Do we need that? A ban on "recreational smoking"? And who makes the determination on what that is and we are going to be violating people's basic rights to privacy to enforce a law on something that right now, I have not seen the sky falling as a result of people possibly in their own homes recreationally imbibing. Now I will say as we have discussed in other videos, there presently are nuisance laws in effect here in Thailand and it is possible to be arrested for violation of the nuisance laws regarding Cannabis if you are smoking in public, and I actually am in favour and I have said this in prior videos on stiffening those penalties and actually clarifying them in any future Bill; something that says "hey if you are smoking in public, that's a criminal offense; you've got a problem." But again what people do behind closed doors, in their own time, again consenting adults with a substance that has yet to be proven to kill anyone, I fail to see why police power should be utilized to for example "break down people's doors” if you will to go after that activity. What is the point of that? I thought the purpose of legalization in the first place was to get away from that. Why are our lawmakers here in Thailand trying to reimpose Draconian measures? I thought these were the elected lawmakers there were supposed to do things counter to that. It doesn't make a lot of sense to me. Quoting further: "Kitty said: "I would say that it is more of a deterrent, which equals more shakedowns." Quoting further: "You know, this is Thailand ... corruption is so rampant that it's not funny. Don't forget that because it has been delisted, it is no longer something that the police can kind of shake you down for from walking down Sukhumvit or all of those touristy places. They need to figure out a way to make money. So otherwise the world just doesn't go round." Quoting further: "Does that mean a cop could be breaking your door down mid-spliff?" Quote: "That wouldn't happen because that in itself would hinder tourism. I don't think anyone would knock on your door if you're not blowing smoke through people's windows." 

Well I don't really care what people think. I don't want the law to say that so it's even a possibility; what's the purpose of that? I mean that's the underlying policy reasoning for promulgating a law on this to create a mechanism so the people can be more readily "shaken down"? That seems like bad policy to begin with. I am hoping that is not the reasoning behind people that are looking to promulgate new legislation on Cannabis here in Thailand; I sincerely hope that because again that's not only bad policy that would be bad for everyone and quite honestly it would be a step in the wrong direction. Thailand has taken a step in the right direction on this. Again police resources are not being focused on this issue and they are being focused elsewhere where they should be, on actual crimes that hurt people. In my opinion, that's where police focus should be. So again, we have yet to see exactly what any or any at all; we may not see any law on this. That's a possibility or we may see some legislation down the line. Either way it remains to be seen. We will certainly keep you updated on this channel as the situation evolves.