Thailand’s new government is moving ahead to pass new legisalation banning cannabis for recreational use in a major reversal 18 months after the country became the first in Asia to decriminalize the plant.
The relaxed laws saw a lucrative cannabis industry catering to locals and foreigners alike boom across the Southeast Asian nation, but a new conservative coalition government came to power late last year vowing to tighten the rules and only allow medical use.
A draft bill was released on Tuesday by Thailand’s health ministry outlining hefty fines or prison sentences of up to one year for offenders – or both.
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Now this is an interesting bot
Did I miss it? Was there a reason given or is it just the new “conservative coalition” doesn’t like it?
It was part of their election campaign I presume. Vote for us and we will walk back the law.
I’ve spent a lot of time in South East Asia and I’ve found most south east asian cultures to be deeply pretentious. It’s fine to live in a shoe box provided that you’re carrying an iPhone, et cetera.
A lot of Thais felt that legalisation had meant that the world suddenly identified Thailand as some kind of “drug country”, which is absolutely unacceptable to many Thais.
It’s not a question of whether weed ought to be legal, it’s a question of whether Thai people wish to be thought of as some kind of junkie nation.
The equivalent to the legalization of cannabis making people think of Thailand as a 'junkie nation’s would be the rampant sex tourism making people think of Thailand as a paedo nation. And they’ve been fine with that for decades. So I very much doubt that it’s because “south east Asian cultures” are “deeply pretentious”. Also, just grouping hundreds of millions of people from vastly different cultures together as monolithic and “deeply pretentious” ironically says more about your own levels of deep pretension than about south east Asian cultures
Sure mate.
You probably mean to say I’m prejudiced or even racist or something rather than pretentious, and that would be true in this case.
Pretentious is a loaded term. One might say “heavily motivated by perceptions of class”.
I haven’t grouped culture’s together as monolithic. Merely that the many and varied cultures I’ve encountered in SEA are very concerned with the perceptions of others.
I’ve spoken to many Thais about this very issue, at length, including my partner. You don’t care whether you believe me, but it absolutely is because they worry about being perceived as a country of drug users.
You literally wrote most south east Asian cultures are deeply pretentious. Having a Thai partner doesn’t somehow magically make you an authority on a region with close to 700 million people. You’re grouping together countries like Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Burma and Singapore and calling them deeply pretentious. Bringing up a Thai partner to demonstrate some kind of authority in the matter fits perfectly in with the rest of it. I don’t have any issues believing you have a Thai partner and have spoken to many Thais. My issue again is with you thinking that fact gives you the authority to casually judge a region of 700 million people as deeply pretentious. And then doubling down.
I don’t claim to be an authority. This is my opinion.
I’ve actually spent a great deal of time in each of the countries you mentioned with the exception of Singapore. I’m entitled to have an opinion, with which you may disagree if you wish.
I didn’t disclaim my opinion with mealy mouthed qualifications as in “well in my opinion people I’ve met in South East Asia often tend to be more pretentious than the average person in, say, Australia” because I just don’t care what you think.
I have in fact spent a great deal of time talking with Thais both in Thailand and abroad about this exact issue. I suspect you might be surprised at how many of them would just outright tell you “yeah I don’t like how everyone thinks Thailand is some kind of drug country now”.
Not OP but:
My issue again is with you thinking that fact gives you the authority to casually judge a region of 700 million people as deeply pretentious. And then doubling down.
It’s kind of true. As an Indian I know how much SEA turns up their nose at the sight of Indians.
“God forbid we do something good for society!” - Conservatives
Banning something enjoyable that harms no one and has nil impact on society - just conservative things.
Ain’t nothing more conservative than banning fun.
*regressive
Potato tomato
You’re a good person
Great, it’s a dangerous drug after all.
Bruh, your account is decked out as a McDonald’s advertisement. Nothing you say will ever be respected.
Like sugar or heroine?
Kinda, yes
Kinda what? That’s not a binary question. Is weed a dangerous drug like sugar, or a dangerous drug like heroine? What kind of dangerous drug is it? Ketamine?
Learn to ask questions if you want answers
Is weed a dangerous drug like sugar, or a dangerous drug like heroine? What kind of dangerous drug is it? Ketamine?
So is alcohol
Alcohol is the beverage of Gods
So is caffeine.
Comparing the odds of developing schizophrenia: opting for marijuana may play a risky hand, with research hinting at potential links, while moderate coffee consumption stands on more stable ground, lacking conclusive evidence tying it to a heightened risk.
Choose wisely.
why are people still so backwards about this? what’s the point? everyone uses caffeine and/or alcohol and that’s fine but weed is horrible and bad? just blatantly denying reality
Nothing good in all of human history has ever come from conservatism. Nothing at all.
