", Thailand decriminalized cannabis one year ago, but a cloud of uncertainty remains over the industry. Murders with firearms per million : Total recorded intentional homicides committed with a firearm. Although much of the marijuana use in Thailand that has followed decriminalization is recreational, and given that people are increasingly using it in an open and public way, this doesnt mean its legal. Today, however, Thailands cannabis trade with the U.S. has flipped on its head. Were in limbo right now regarding the rules, Chokwan says. 2) Libel (Section 328) "If the offense of . After becoming the first Southeast Asian country to legalize medical cannabis in 2018, Thailand is to become the first Asian country to decriminalize recreational cannabis for personal use. Those convicted of illegal cultivation even had their seized equipmentultraviolet lights, grow tunnels, irrigation apparatusreturned to them. On June 9, Thailand became the first country in Asiaand only the third in the world, after Canada and Uruguay to decriminalize cannabis nationwide. Few Asian nations are expected to follow Thailand toward blanket cannabis decriminalization. The health authority on Thursday excluded cannabis from a list of narcotics, giving people a way to cultivate. South Africa is estimated to have 500,000 rapes per year, Egypt 200,000, China 32,000 and the UK with 85,000 rapes per year. (Critics also point out that Anutins brother is on the board of a company that produces hemp, although Anutin denies any impropriety.). Since June, an array of food and beverage businesses have taken advantage of decriminalization by offering cannabis-laced food items and drinks:one company has debuted a cannabis-infused fish saucewhiledrinks with marijuana-derived ingredients are already for sale at the countrys convenience stores. During the 1980s, the U.S. government put diplomatic pressure on Bangkok to partner with them in stamping out the cannabis trade. This is Thailand, she says with a shrug. Business in Thailand can be rankly exploitative. But even then, the gap between regulation and enforcement is often huge in Thailand. Rights groups have pegged the death toll at 13,000, many of them children. The Royal Thai Police reported 2,535 cases in 2017. Use your legally-obtained marijuana product in private, and youre good to go. At the same time, there are questions about how much the government is going to be able to roll back the progress already made in an industry that is projected by some to be worth $9.6 billion by 2030. The extracts of cannabis have also been used to produce diverse products such as toothpaste and coffee. It's not possible," he said of the 60 percent increase reported by the Times. The youngest offender was a 10-year-old boy who took part in a gang-rape and the eldest was an 85-year-old man who molested a young girl. How to see Thailands temples, rainforests and reefs on a budget. Today, society is for the most part knowledgeable, understanding and ready to consume cannabis the right way, Anutin said Aug. 10. Chokwan Kitty Chopaka poses inside her cannabis dispensary on Bangkoks Sukhumvit Road. Every morning, hawkers stack bricks of weed and hashish on foldable metal tables. [11] Murder by clergy has been reported increasingly. A worker tends to cannabis plants at a farm in Chonburi province, eastern Thailand on June 5, 2022. Whereas cannabis flowers can have unlimited quantities of THC, derivatives like gummies can have only a token 0.2%. Of those, 105,622 involved children those involving women amounted to 102,269. Former Brazilian president Bolsonaro barred from office for 8 years. All activities related to the plants and their derivatives had been strictly restricted until the recent rise of the cannabis legalization movement, which began in Thailand with an amendment to the Narcotics Act in February 2019 to legalize medical marijuana. "Their coalition partners support it, and Pheu Thai is very conservative on this issue.". The question is whether, like most industries in Thailand, cannabis gets overtaken by the big conglomerates. [60] One technical school student is quoted as saying, "Guns are like school supplies. After three or four crop cycles, the farmers graduate from the program and return to work their own land under a cooperative or contract farming model. In June, Thailands Food and Drug Administration removed marijuana and hemp from the Category 5 narcotics list, meaning that these substances are essentially decriminalized. A Royalist protester waves a Thai national flag in front of the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok, Thailand, on May 24 , 2023. So weve asked a pair of writers to make the case for each. The government operated specialized anti-trafficking divisions within the Bangkok Criminal Court, office of the attorney general (OAG), and the Royal Thai Police (RTP). "[Cannabis] is being used as a weapon in politics," said Chokwan "Kitty" Chopaka, a longtime legalization advocate and entrepreneur. Subscribe to Lonely Planet newsletters and promotions. [82][unreliable source? The U.S. ambassador to Thailand dismissed claims of American interference in recent elections as a "disservice" to the Thai people, saying Tuesday, June 27, 2023 that Washington does not support any individual candidate or political party. "It's not for one party or the other. The stigmatization of people who take drugs nevertheless continues, but according to Dr. Phattarapol Jungsomjatepaisal, the director of the National Addiction Treatment and Rehabilitation Committee in the Ministry of Public Health, the new legislation means that more health service providers are being trained to act in a non-stigmatizing manner. Chokwan decided to shut her shop and rushed to the FDA to figure out how to get a license. Here's the recipe for phat thai (pad thai), straight from the streets of Bangkok. It's also the first country in Asia to decriminalize cannabis and the first in Southeast Asia to move toward legalizing same-sex unions. The rate of hepatitis C, at 42 per cent, is very frightening, according to Dr. Patchara Benjarattanaporn, the country director of UNAIDS, the UN agency leading the global effort to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030. Kratom is no longer considered a narcotic in Thailand. BANGKOK Thailand on Tuesday decriminalized the possession and sale of kratom, a plant native to Southeast Asia whose leaves are used as a mild stimulant and painkiller and which has a following. When she arrived, the offices were thronged by dispensary owners. Eastern Spectrum opted to grow cannabis outdoors in fields rather than under glaring ultraviolet lights; Thanisorn says this model gives Thai cannabis the best chance of being globally competitive. [53] Small Arms Survey estimates that the total number of guns, both licit and illicit, held by Thai civilians in 2017 is 10,300,000,[54] equating to 15.1 firearms per 100 inhabitants. [69] Authorities are so corrupt or incompetent that females were found in one male cell feeding five babies. Not least since growing cannabis is super hard, says Chokwan. In truth, it was simply the most popular of several policy gimmicks his upstart party flirted with before Thailands 2019 general election. It would be a shame if Thais or foreign tourists got caught on the wrong side of the law because of mixed messages or perceptions., Few appreciate the stakes better than Chokwan Kitty Chopaka, a longtime cannabis-legalization advocate who opened a hole-in-the-wall weed dispensary by Bangkoks bustling Asok intersection just two days after decriminalization. In Thailand comparative prices are still upward of $7,000, although likely to plummet if they follow global trends. Recent updates to this legislation prohibit people under the age of 20, pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers from possessing and using cannabis unless they have a doctor's permission. Thats a whole different question altogether.. Although technically not legal, eating and drinking marijuana is, admittedly, a less risky way to get your buzz on than smoking it, which carries significantly more scrutiny (as well as potential fines or jail time; see below). On June 17, Thailand absorbed cannabis into an existing law governing traditional medicine, meaning its sale was banned to under-20s, pregnant women, and breastfeeding mothers. "That way, it can be said that it's not being used as a political weapon," she said. Health Minister Anutin, who leads the election's third-largest vote-getter, the Bhumjaithai Party, remains the industry's biggest political cheerleader and has vowed that his party will not back down on pushing ahead with his signature policy. However, there are two kinds of defamation in Thailand: 1) Simple defamation (Section 326) "Whoever imputes anything, to the other person before a third person, in a manner likely to impair the reputation of such other person or to expose such other person to be hated or scorned.". But, he said, what makes Thailand especially attractive, "is the compliant and bribable police force. [74], One case involved two monks attempting to ditch speed pills at a police checkpoint. Individuals are now allowed to plant and sell their own plants. [36], Serious passport and identification forgery caught the attention of US authorities after the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. But after Washington stationed tens of thousands of American troops at military bases in Thailand during the 1960s, the local marijuana industry exploded with cheap, potent pot, especially the infamous Thai stick. In 1967, one dumbfounded DEA agent dubbed Thai weed the Cuban cigar of the marijuana world, writes Peter H. Maguire in Thai Stick: Surfers, Scammers, and the Untold Story of the Marijuana Trade. However for example, recent efforts to curtail exploitation include: In 2018, the anti-money laundering office (AMLO) issued restraint and seizure orders for assets worth more than 509 million baht ($15.73 million) in trafficking cases, compared to 14 million baht ($432,770) in 2017. It will take time before local producers can catch up. "There is oversupply and authorities cannot enforce the law.". [29], On 27 May 2019, Thai sexual assault laws were toughened. In that vacuum, cannabis became legal by default. Thailand becomes the first country in Southeast Asia to decriminalize marijuana. : The Nation", "Tourism, infrastructure to support Thailand's economy this year: BOT Governor", "Fugitives, and Others, in Pursuit of Vice Find Thailand's Liberties to Be a Virtue", "A look at Thailand's fervent gun culture", "Thailand Gun Facts, Figures and the Law", "Gun Violence: How The U.S.