Talk:Cannabis in Thailand

Outdated information

The enforcement section is a joke. This "Cannabis can be found openly sold in bars and restaurants in certain parts of the country.[6] In tourist heavy areas cannabis is commonly found, businesses openly sell "happy" goods which have cannabis in them. Cannabis dealers sometimes work with police who shakedown customers and demand a bribe. Many tourists do end up in jail despite the relaxed attitude.[7]" is totally untrue. There is no lax attitude in Thailand and hasn't been for more than a decade. You will be arrested if caught with the drugs. People will talk about it openly but they do not use it openly anywhere including in the tourist areas. There are recent changes in the laws but they apply to medicinal marijuana and business related to that. Please do some research and update this section of the page.

A weed fest without weed. 118.174.180.233 (talk) 13:33, 28 March 2019 (UTC)

Reference

References

Be careful with outdated or incorrect source

There are a lot of confusion lately for the legalization of cannabis in Thailand. The source such as https://www.belaws.com/thailand/marijuana-in-thailand/ was last updated on 5 May 2022, before the new law went into effect on 9 June 2022. A lot of their information is incorrect and out-of-date. Please be careful with the source. There are many more websites with false information about cannabis in Thailand like this. Please try to cite only the primary source from the government website such as https://plookganja.fda.moph.go.th or other reliable news outlet either in Thai or English. Noktonissian (talk) 08:47, 2 July 2022 (UTC)

Plookgan(ja) ปลูกกัญ

It seems trivial. But there are reasons why the website ปลูกกัญ (Plookgan) or ปลูกกัญชา (Plookganja) should be more appropriately translated as "Let's plant cannabis" and not just "plant cannabis".

• "plant cannabis" is in the strong imperative form, meaning that people are commanded to "plant cannabis". This translation is inappropriate in this context.
• "Let's plant cannabis" is in the hortative form that carries the sense of "encouraging" rather than "demanding" people to plant cannabis.
• ปลูกกัญ is a homophone of the phrase (มา)ปลูกกัน which means "let's plant" in the senses that it encourages people (and not demanding people). It's a word play that is widely accepted and even used by the Ministry of Health in the sense that "Let's plant (cannabis)" like มาปลูกกัญ = มาปลูกกัน. It even becomes a catch phrase widely used in the media outlet and the cannabis community in Thailand.

Hence, it's more appropriate to translate ปลูกกัญ or ปลูกกัญชา as "let's plant cannabis". Noktonissian (talk) 02:08, 14 September 2022 (UTC)

Many new selling points

In Chiang Mai a single small commercial building that offers 3 spaces for businesses, has all 3 occupied by cannabis distributing businesses.

I just uploaded a photo I made today in Chiang Mai to show the fast growing number of selling/distribution points in the city. Using the Maps app (Google) on my mobile phone and search for "cannabis" I get more hits when the map is positioned at Chiang Mai than when positioned on Bangkok. Is there a reason for this? --FredTC (talk) 06:10, 9 February 2023 (UTC)

No, please do not upload the photo of the cannabis store's front. This kind of information is not for writing the encyclopedia. In this context it can be considered the promotional info or an advertisement for the shop itself. Noktonissian (talk) 15:10, 16 February 2023 (UTC)

@Noktonissian: I wanted to inform you about reverting the deletion of the image before actually doing it. However, Paul_012 already did it, with an edit summary that is about the explanation I wanted to give to you. In addition I can inform you that having images like that is not unusual for en:Wikipedia, as is the case in Washington (state)#Notable legislation, that even shows the exact address of the place.

So, the images that were in the article are also not wrong and could be restored, because they show how things are done. I even noticed recently that a café has a section on the drinks list for drinks containing cannabis. At the outside of that café there is no cannabis sign at all.

I also disagree with the deletion of the "Recent Growth" section. It is about the situation I show with the image in this talk page. The external links should be modified to the more usual Wikipedia format. But deleting the entire section because there is one link you don't like, is not the way to get a good result. --FredTC (talk) 02:22, 17 February 2023 (UTC)

No, the reason that I delete the whole paragraph is not only because it contains 1 link. I specified the reasons clearly. The paragraph also lacks citations and the information is not encyclopedic oriented. And on top of that, the whole paragraph was written with an IP account. This article has been vandalized by cannabis ads or charlatan claims so many times that I have to be very pedantic about it.

The whole paragraph only contains 2 citations. One from the Ministry of Health about the number of registered licenses (15 million), which is the only useful 'factual' information (only 1 sentence for the whole paragraph) suitable of encyclopedia article. The second citation is the link to the shop locations or map full with advertisement for cannabis. Giving the direct link to cannabis stores with ads for cannabis is not suitable for encyclopedia.

The rest of the paragraph is just opinions or redundant proses (with repetitive info) with no citations. The writing style is like a promotional text for cannabis business (like it's on a company's leaflet). You can't claim the business is booming without providing the factual information or evidences such as a research article or news report giving a number of growth, net values, or etc. Otherwise, it's just a memoir or an essay on your personal opinion on cannabis in Thailand. It will be justified if it's something like a news report on the Minister of Health's opinion. And even such, you have to clarify that it's an opinion obtained form a reliable news report.

Here below are an example texts which are opinions and not suitable for encyclopedia, as they provide no evidences and no citation. The info is also inclined to the writer's personal feelings or his/her view on cannabis business.

• Thailand's decision to decriminalize cannabis on June 9, 2022 was a historic moment for the country, leading to sweeping changes in the way cannabis is perceived and utilized. -- Are there any survey or polling results on general public's perception on cannabis in Thailand? Please elaborate and give the citation.
• This sudden surge in interest highlights the high demand for cannabis in Thailand and the eagerness of residents to participate in the newly legalized industry. -- "sudden surge" relative to what time span? Other countries? Data of (illegal) cannabis plantation before the legalization? Please elaborate and give the citation.
• This rapid growth showcases the lucrative potential of the cannabis industry and the entrepreneurial spirit of those looking to capitalize on the new market. -- This is clearly an opinion. The potential to do what? Are there any news reports on market growth with values?
• The availability of cannabis in these storefronts has made it easier for patients in need of medical cannabis to access it, -- Are there any research articles on patient's access to medical cannabis showing that NOW it's easier than BEFORE?
• while also providing new business opportunities for those looking to enter the industry. -- repetitive info with no additional value to the paragraph.
• The decriminalization of cannabis in Thailand has not only impacted the local economy, -- What kind of impact? How? How much? Does it generate more GDP per capita in Thaialnd? Do you have the report on that to be cited?
• but it has also brought about a shift in the societal attitudes towards the drug. -- Are there any survey or research on people's perception on cannabis showing the change in societal attitudes towards cannabis? Please elaborate and give the citation.

Noktonissian (talk) 05:45, 17 February 2023 (UTC)

And for the photo, just because it appears in one article, doesn’t mean we can blindly follow and add it in another article. The real question (not only for the photo but the text) is:

• What is the context of the photo added?
• What is the additional value that the photo would add to or improve the narrative of the article?

I would ask you.

• Do we really need to show the photo of the specific cannabis shops or products to prove that the ‘cannabis shop’ and ‘cannabis edibles’ exist in a country that legalize cannabis such as Thailand? Is the text not enough so that we have to add the photo to prove the point? Is the cannabis shop or cannabis product so uncommon in 2023 so that we have to give an example photo of it? The context of the photo you mentioned is that cannabis shop was uncommon in 2012 and also not legal in many states of the US at the time.
• With Thailand promoting (subtlety) cannabis tourism, do you think it’s a good idea to give a specific shop or product a free publicity (either intentionally or unintentionally) on Wikipedia. Do you think it’s appropriate for encyclopedia’s article?

Could you give a justification for these 2 points? Noktonissian (talk) 06:31, 17 February 2023 (UTC)

In Wikipedia there are many articles that show what a shop for a certain product looks like. For cannabis this should not be different. Take a look at Liquor store that is about a type of products that have restrictions to whom they are allowed to be sold, just like cannabis. Because it is depending on a country's laws how they can present themselves a photo is relevant to show what they look like in a specific country.

There is no free publicity for a specific shop in the images I had placed in the "Distribution" section, because no address is given, not even the name of a city. I think a specific shop or product (not cannabis in general) should not be given, there are websites for that (like in the deleted link to weed.in.th) --FredTC (talk) 06:13, 18 February 2023 (UTC)

OK, I agree with your justifications. I will revert your photos back and may modify the caption to give the context of the photos. Noktonissian (talk) 06:00, 19 February 2023 (UTC)

Thx Noktonissian. However there is a slight problem, the supermarket picture is showing a specific product, and in my reaction of 18 February I supported not to show a "specific shop or product". I think I will go back to the supermarket (Rimping is a local Chiang Mai chain of supermarkets) and make a wider picture, that shows the cannabis products surrounded by many other tea products, there is no special area for it in the supermarket. Only the on the packages makes it clear that there is cannabis involved. --FredTC (talk) 12:06, 19 February 2023 (UTC)

Recreational cannabis - legal or illegal?

Under Laws it currently states "Recreational cannabis, often referred to as marijuana, is still illegal according to Thai law." with a citation needed, but under Regulations it states "Recreational cannabis, often referred to as 'recreational marijuana' or 'marijuana', has become legal under Thai Law." also with a citation needed. Which is correct? Mztourist (talk) 07:52, 20 December 2023 (UTC)

The article really needs an overhaul, but this Time article provides an explanation:

Even Bhumjaithai’s signature cannabis policy has been anything but smooth. The plant essentially became legal by default when a deadline ran out for an inter-ministerial body to agree on new rules governing its use—because Anutin, according to well-placed sources, threatened to bring down the government if it did. Instead, the plant has been absorbed into existing laws regarding traditional medicine, meaning few proscriptions exist other than a ban on its sale to under-20s, pregnant women, and breastfeeding mothers. A draft cannabis law to clarify its status has repeatedly stalled in parliament due to inter-party bickering.

--Paul_012 (talk) 09:44, 20 December 2023 (UTC)

If the contributor who said "recreational use is illegal" interpreted "recreational" as "in public places", the mistake would be explained, because that is not allowed if I read things well. But is using it in public places not allowed for all methods of using it, or only for smoking it? I see at maps.app.goo.gl/tnJ1GisebsP9mYMf9 a menu page at the Sax Music House in Chiang Mai with food and drinks containing cannabis. --FredTC (talk) 12:26, 20 December 2023 (UTC)

The error was introduced in the series of edits by SPA Eicarlos23 in November. I can't tell from a quick glance if they're net improvements that should be fixed or bad-faith edits that should be reverted. --Paul_012 (talk) 14:04, 20 December 2023 (UTC)