It is as true in Thailand as it is anywhere else on the planet and the Mail I’d suggest are correct in their assumptions
The health ministry’s latest draft law on cannabis reflects the Cabinet’s determination to avoid a parliamentary split between friends and foes. The draft would restrict cannabis use to medical treatment, research by official agencies and as an optional extra to food and herbal products. Stiff penalties, including stiff fines and possible jail time, thus theoretically await those naughties caught in criminal deviance. But this is not formally defined anywhere in the draft. No mention of smoking for pleasure.
Doubtless those favoring recreational cannabis will be accused of moral turpitude by endangering young people, causing traffic accidents and conspiring to injure Thailand’s reputation as a great family resort. The government is attempting to look both ways at once – an apparent crackdown on drugs with loopholes. That’s not an unusual legislative procedure. Prostitution is illegal in Thailand, but the most relevant law – the entertainment venue act of the 1960s – can hardly be accused of having stamped out cash for sex.The draft’s silence on cannabis for enjoyment is a subject of glowing interest to Thailand’s 9,500 sales outlets (according to Weed Map). On Pattaya ‘s Walking Street, Khun Cherry runs an outside wooden-table stall where a simple roll of Thai weed will set you back 100 baht, or 3 US dollars. Or you can go inside a neon-lit and comfortable unit where bean bags, mood music and psychedelic opportunities are on offer. “We may face another registration in the future, but I don’t think the Thai government will want to kiss goodbye the 1 billion dollar revenue at stake,” predicts Cherry.
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Latest anti-cannabis moves reflect political compromise not moral outrage
