Transcript of the above video: 

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing the issue of what I can only describe as "smoking lounges" if you will and the "issue of Cannabis" - I say the quote/unquote "issue of Cannabis". I have talked about this in the past; I think there's a lot of pearl clutching that goes on oftentimes with the issue of Cannabis here in Thailand. I don't think it's the scourge that some in the media would make it out to be. That said, I think policy makers have genuine concerns; I'll get to those in a moment. But as we have discussed in other videos, there has been a concerted effort in the Press to sort of vilify Cannabis. I oftentimes think it probably comes at the behest of Big Pharma and Big Alcohol because they are probably being disadvantageously impacted much more than anybody else. 

Also before I jump in here, and for those that are thinking of food in the context of Cannabis which oftentimes, one goes along with the other, my better half and I set up a restaurant here in downtown Bangkok. The name of the place is Pancake Palace. As the name implies it's breakfast anytime. American Diner style food, not only American breakfast, we also have English set breakfast well as American Diner style food: hamburgers, cheeseburgers, chilli bowls, buffalo wings. I've had a lot of folks tell us via email and other communications, "hey we really appreciate what you do on the channel, but I don't really have any need for a lawyer or a law firm at this moment. Is there anything we can do?" If you'd like to show your support, links are in the description below, we'd love to see you, come on by, Pancake Palace.

That said, quoting directly from a recent article in The Phuket News, that is thephuketnews.com, the article is titled: Phuket MP urges Parliament to end Visa-free entry. Now the thrust of this video goes in sort of a different direction than where we are going here, but I'll get to the point here. Quoting further: "Phuket MP Chalermpong Saengdee has urged the Government to abolish visa-free entry entirely and introduce stricter controls on Cannabis, warning that current policies are damaging the island’s tourism image and creating social problems." Well, okay let me just get into this further, and I've actually quoted I believe this person in the past, and in my opinion there could be - I think this person is a People's Party MP if I'm not mistaken, but don't quote me on that one. That said I believe I quoted this person sometime back because I think there's a lot of ground to cover with regard to policy on Cannabis; don't get me wrong. I'm not completely dismissive of folks that have concerns. That said, again, I think there are interests out there that want it re-illegalized. I don't ever think it's going to be re-illegalized in Thailand. I think at this point it's a foregone conclusion that one way or the other, it's going to be legal here. 

Now getting into, and I'll get into my thoughts on this here in a moment, but again we could see an Act from Parliament that could deal with some of this stuff in a much more uniform way than the sort of Ad Hoc way it's been dealt with up to now. Whether or not that happens remains to be seen. That said, quoting further: "Alongside Visa concerns, the MP criticized the lack of clear legislation governing Cannabis saying its widespread availability is affecting the experience of visitors and residents alike. Quote: "Cannabis shops are still widespread in cities and along beaches and the smell persists." Yeah, I love that one. It's like, "oh the smell persists." I get it. It is notable sometimes in the area; you pick up a waft of it but again, is anybody dying from this? Meanwhile, we have problems with all sorts of air pollution and things, and people are talking about the smell of Cannabis. It seems a little bit, it seems as though priorities are perhaps not in tune with the realities on the ground here.

That said, quoting further: "Families who encounter this may choose not to return, despite Thailand's strong tourism potential." Fair points. On a certain level, fair points. I have been saying this for a long time, and if you go back, we were talking about this probably between 2022 and 2023 if I recall, when I was talking about how the rise of Cannabis in Thailand had such a positive impact on the commercial real estate sector. Arguably it saved Thailand's Tourism Sector and Commercial Real Estate Sector and segments of its economy coming off of COVID, so I always felt like a tip of the hat to then Minister of Public Health Anutin Charnvirakul, now Prime Minister/Interior Minister was always warranted, because in many ways it was the saving grace of basically the Thai Tourism Sector and the Thai economy. Also long term, I think it's a very good idea that we go through with this legalization, especially in light of the fact that the United States is now following suit. This could turn out to be one of the biggest cash crops in Thai history, in more ways than one. I mean we're not only talking about recreational Cannabis here, we're talking about medicinal, we're talking about industrial. The ramifications are huge; it should not be underestimated. 

That said, this person brings up a good point, and this is what - I floated this some years back, and I'm bringing it up again obviously - why not create a second licensing set up for places where it can be consumed, however it is consumed. And perhaps some shops can have both a license to dispense as well as a license to provide accommodation for those who need to avail themselves of a place where they can use this out of the way of the public, out of the way of public spaces where they can cause a nuisance. It seems logical to me. And if we created a separate licensing mechanism for that, Thailand's, again commercial real estate sector, could benefit thereby. It could be a whole other subset of business to be done, not only those who sell or dispense the product, but places where you can go to use it if needed, and again there could be designated places with designated rules, and that would allow again some accommodation without being a nuisance to the public, and also possibly create a new business model here in the Kingdom of Thailand.