Transcript of the above video: 

Cannabis has been a major topic of discussion well over the past year but very much in earnest the past year; we have talked about a lot on this channel. There have been a lot of ups and downs with that topic here in Thailand since we saw it legalized by being pulled off the narcotics list some years back with the end of the Emergency Decree pertaining to COVID here in Thailand and then the subsequent reopening of the country. We have seen Cannabis be at the forefront of topics talked about although here recently, there was a deal if you will or an agreement between parties in law enforcement effectively here in Thailand, with regard to the notion that everybody is basically in a wait and see sort of holding pattern to see what Parliament goes ahead and comes up with in terms of laws regarding regulation of that particular currently controlled herb here in Thailand. 

That said, I thought of making this video after reading a recent article from the New York Times, that is nytimes.com, the article is titled: Trump Signals Support for Marijuana Legislation in Florida. Quoting directly: "Former President Donald J. Trump on Saturday signaled his support for a ballot measure that would legalize recreational marijuana in Florida, stopping short of a full endorsement but saying he did not believe marijuana should be criminalized in his adopted home state when it is legal in others. In a post on his social platform, Truth Social, Mr. Trump portrayed the passage of the ballot measure, known as Amendment 3, as inevitable and raised concerns about its implementation. Public opinion polls show that a majority of Florida voters favor the measure. Quote: "Whether people like it or not, this will happen through the approval of the voters, so it should be done correctly," Mr. Trump said. Quote: "We need the State Legislature to responsibly create laws that prohibit the use of it in public spaces, so we do not smell marijuana everywhere we go, like we do in many of the Democrat run Cities." He never does fail to get a little jab into other people. Quoting further: “Mr. Trump, who votes near his Mar-A-Lago estate in Palm Beach, had previously avoided taking a position on this question. His position pits him against Gov. Ron DeSantis and most of the state's Republican leaders, who are working to defeat the proposal."

Well yeah I think Mr. Trump is just a pragmatist and as constantly reminded on his campaign trail, he is a businessman which, okay he does have a different paradigm. Look at the end of the day, I know there are a lot of people that disagree with me out there on the issue of Cannabis and legalization, people I really respect actually, but at the end of the day I personally view this as something very much akin to alcohol and tobacco at the end of the day and it doesn't kill nearly as many people as either of those other substances, by the way. It's worth noting. Now as a recreational matter, does it have certain negative implications for people who use it? Yeah sure. I mean, I hesitate to call it an intoxicant the way that for example alcohol is an intoxicant but yes it is something that will cause you to have a buzz so to speak; it is something that will alter your mind for at least a brief period of time. 

Again I think people are adults. I think when you do the cost-benefit analysis it doesn't really kill anybody. Yes again, it can have societal implications and this is another reason why regulation is in order and as Mr. Trump pointed out, I feel the same way here in Thailand. I would like to see some form of regulation because I do agree it really shouldn't be used out in the streets; we shouldn't be walking around smelling it all the time. Quite honestly though I have to be candid, I've been kind of keeping my eyes open and I like to walk around especially in the city here in Bangkok, or if I'm down near the beach in Pattaya or Jomtien, I just kind of like to wander around and I have noticed less smell out on the street myself. When this first came about, it was almost an overnight thing, it really caused a lot of consternation especially here in Bangkok because people said they were smelling it quite a bit. Now we are seeing that people are being more discreet with it; they're undertaking their activities behind closed doors. It would probably be a good idea to see some sort of legislation brought into effect which would codify the rules by which one needs to go ahead and use those things. So, again this I think is interesting news. 

Another thing that's worth noting and I think very much of a concern for Thailand is again maintaining first mover advantage, maintaining comparative advantage in this particular market long-term. I think eventually we will see some kind of Federal, maybe not legalization per se, but regularization insofar as they pulled this off of the Classification 1 on their Narcotics List over in the United States, which in my opinion is completely ridiculous and that would at the end of the day presumably create new trade opportunities between the United States and Thailand. Now that's far off but it is interesting to note that a person who possibly and in fact is looking increasingly likely, will be once again be the President of the United States has made their position relatively clear regarding how they feel about legalization of Cannabis and marijuana in the United States, but there are ramifications down the road, if that were to transpire, for the Kingdom of Thailand.