Transcript of the above video: 

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing E-cigarettes here in Thailand.  I've done another video, I made it contemporaneously with this one, discussing sort of the ins and outs of e-cigarettes specifically. I urge those who are watching this video, go check out that video for further details on e-cigarettes, the tobacco side of this analysis; that video is purely on the tobacco side. The question posed by this video is how do these developments, do they have ramifications in the Cannabis space here in Thailand?

For those who are unaware, Cannabis is legalized in Thailand; it is legal here in Thailand. It is possible to purchase Cannabis here in Thailand. You have to be over 20 if you want to engage in any business activities associated with Cannabis in Thailand. You have to comport with relevant laws and regulations. Also note, as I have discussed in other videos, there may be heavy restrictions on foreigners in the Cannabis space. That being said, the purpose of this video though is to more talk about so-called “Vapes” or” E-cigarettes”, vaping, as it is associated with Cannabis. That said, quoting directly from a recent article in the Thaiger, that's is thethaiger.com,  t-h-e-t-h-a-i-g-e-r.com, the article is titled: Thailand offers rewards for reporting e-cigarette sellers and users. Quoting directly: "To crack down on e-cigarette use, the Thai Government has launched a new initiative allowing the public to report sellers and users of e-cigarettes through the Thang Rath mobile app. The scheme offers lucrative rewards for tipsters" - note, they can get money for informing on you for using e-cigarettes okay, but cannabis is legal in Thailand, so take that for what you will. That said, quoting further: "With informants standing to pocket 60% of the fines imposed on suspects." The question posed; my joke might not have landed. Why is that funny? Well because we've got all these restrictions on tobacco, and we've legalized Cannabis. What's the reason for that legally? There is a tobacco Monopoly here in Thailand and as I discussed in other videos, the law on this is nebulous. I get into it in the tobacco explicitly video, but suffice it to say, importation and sale are very, very key to Thailand’s enforcement functions here. It's not so much possession. And the point I made in that video is look, if you accidentally end up in Thailand with an e-cigarette, one, because you're a smoker, don't freak out because, quoting directly: "For those caught selling or possessing e-cigarettes with intent to sell, the punishment is severe." That's the point. There isn't actually a punishment, as we get to it another video, where I discussed some months back this whole issue, e-cigarettes themselves are not illegal per se - again this is a lay person's understanding from what I have read from a Thai Attorney, but a lay person's understanding in the Thai legal vernacular, it's my understanding it is not illegal to possess like for example one e-cigarette. If you use it, how you got it, different story. But if you accidentally came to Thailand, you had the E-cigarette in your bag accidentally, you had one of them, and you are here with it, that's not a "go to jail for 5 years offense" necessarily, because it comes down to with intent to sell; it's the sale aspect of this whole thing. It also has Customs implications as I get to in the other video on tobacco specifically. But in order to provide some clarity here what are they going after specifically? It’s the importation and sale of these products more than just possessing, for example one E-cigarette, that is not necessarily what they're targeting per se. 

That said in these kind of scenarios, parsing this stuff out is like parsing fly excrement from black pepper, and that's not really the way things work on the ground when you are dealing with like a police raid or something. But the point is, I don't want to shy away tourists who think, "oh my God, if I accidentally got caught with my E-cigarette I'm going to Thai prison". No that's not who they're targeting; the law isn't even set up that way. It primarily deals with Customs and sale that has to do with this and it pertains to the Thai Tobacco Monopoly. That said, quoting further: "Offenders could face up to five years in prison, along with a fine of up to four times the value of the product in their possession. Smugglers who are caught transporting E-cigarettes illegally face even harsher penalties, with sentences of up to 10 years in jail and fines of up to five times the value of the smuggled products, reported the Nation." 

The reason I bring this up is this could have tremendous ramifications in the Cannabis space. We haven't gone into this in great detail; I haven't talked to Cannabis much recently. But long story short, processed Cannabis is a totally different animal from just sort of raw plant Cannabis here in Thailand. Processed stuff, including extracts that can go into so-called Vapes and the devices associated with Vapes, may not on their face necessarily be legal just because Cannabis is. Moreover, the interaction of this Thai Tobacco Monopoly Law and enforcement, can have negative implications in the Cannabis space for foreigners who may be trying to create new vape technology, create new extract technology. All of that could have - especially for foreigners here - very troubling ramifications in a legal sense and you could end up in problems for something that you don't even think is related to Cannabis like for example anti-tobacco Monopoly or basically tobacco Monopoly regulations or regulations to stamp out certain products that they view not in their interests like these e-cigarettes sometimes referred to as Vapes in the more Cannabis kind of space. Again, this could lead you to problems that may not necessarily involve Cannabis at all, but can still lead to criminal penalties here in the Kingdom of Thailand.