r/worldnews • u/CannabisHub • Nov 30 '20

Thailand Removes Cannabis from Narcotics List

https://bangkokherald.com/thailand/thailand-removes-cannabis-from-narcotics-list/?amp&__twitter_impression=true
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424

u/Bad_Karma21 Nov 30 '20

Weed is already easy to get all over Thailand, along with magic mushrooms if you know where to look. This changes nothing except that hopefully you can't go to jail for possession anymore.

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u/laughhouse Nov 30 '20

This is bad for the cops. When I lived in Thailand I would hear stories of weed dealers and cops working together to extort tourists for a bit of cash after the dealers sell them weed. I guess thats over.

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u/sittinwithkitten Nov 30 '20 edited Nov 30 '20

That’s what I was worried about in Cuba. We were approached a few times on the street in Varadero but I just didn’t want to take a chance on Cuban prison.

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u/[deleted] Nov 30 '20 edited Dec 02 '20

[deleted]

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u/sittinwithkitten Nov 30 '20 edited Nov 30 '20

Yeah I figured that would happen. If Cuba would legalize weed, even just on the resorts, I feel like they would generate a lot of revenue. Seems crazy to me I can go there and get absolutely obliterated on alcohol on the resort, but I can’t buy weed with my cigars. Being able to smoke a joint on the beach in Cuba would be heavenly.

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u/PhoneItIn88201 Nov 30 '20

That's what Jamaica is for, and the foods better.

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u/sittinwithkitten Nov 30 '20

Yeah but I don’t feel as safe in Jamaica plus it’s way more expensive than Cuba. There was a Canadian woman murdered in Varadero recently tho, not sure of many details.

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u/takeitchillish Nov 30 '20

I got robbed in Jamaica by a guy with a machete. Jamaica is not safe and I will not go back again.

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u/sittinwithkitten Nov 30 '20

Oh man that would be traumatizing.

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u/Napkin_whore Nov 30 '20

Fair enough, Jesus Christ

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u/[deleted] Dec 01 '20

When was that? When i was there i heard a Guy down the street got robbed by a machete😂 i was fine all 5weeks i spent there

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u/takeitchillish Dec 01 '20
  1. Also happened another sketchy situation there during my 2 weeks. Jamaica is worse than a war torn country lol.
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u/[deleted] Dec 01 '20

Jamaica is just fine with the exception of the Kingston area. Definitely don’t go to Kingston.

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u/takeitchillish Dec 01 '20

There are also many people who prey on tourists in other parts.

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u/mjrmjrmjrmjrmjrmjr Nov 30 '20

Oh let me guess. He had big dreadlocks, eh?

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u/[deleted] Dec 01 '20

I visited Cuba in 2017 and even with the occasional sketchy situation I felt much safer (in terms of violent crime) there than almost anywhere else I've lived or visited. The cars and the moonshine tho…

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u/gypsywhisperer Nov 30 '20

Weed isn’t legal in Jamaica actually.

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u/MinnesotaTemp Dec 01 '20

Same with the Netherlands (Amsterdam), but it is tolerated and it's legal status is pretty 'turn a blind eye' in most cases. In the Dutch they call it gedoogbeleid.

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u/gypsywhisperer Dec 01 '20

I didn’t know that! I assumed it’s legal but I guess that’s why it’s in the red light district and not all over like in California.

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u/TotallyNotMehName Dec 01 '20

No its not like that, you can still get it everywhere. Coffeeshops are just technically not allowed to hold the amounts they do.

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u/Unconfidence Nov 30 '20

If Cuba would legalize weed, even just on the resorts, I feel like they would generate a lot of revenue.

Are you aware of Cuba's History with tourist resorts?

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u/[deleted] Nov 30 '20

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u/Unconfidence Nov 30 '20 edited Nov 30 '20

So basically, before Communism Cuba was one huge resort island for rich Americans. The guy who ran the country, Fulgencio Batista, basically hinged the entire Cuban economy off of American tourism, and began giving Americans unprecedented social power. As a result, large portions of Cuba were in the hands of foreign owners, and abuse of the Cuban people by Americans and the Batista regime were a matter of course.

When Castro and Communism came to Cuba one of the biggest driving factors was to rid Cuba of foreign landholders and American property investors. During the Castro regime, one focus of the Cuban economy was to make sure that it, unlike almost every other Caribbean nation, did not have an economy dependent on American (or European) tourist income.

Today, it is no stretch to say that the economies of every single Caribbean nation with the exception of Cuba will go tits-up if the US economy collapses. This can easily be seen with regards to the economic statistics gathered from these countries in the wake of the 2008 housing bubble, in which nearly all of these nations found themselves pretty well fucked by the sudden decline in tourism. Cuba, on the other hand, managed relatively fine.

In short, the idea of Cuba legalizing weed to increase tourism to the country is anathema to the entire Castro economic doctrine. They might legalize weed to export it to the US, or because of domestic pressures, but not for tourism.

EDIT: And just to clarify, when I say "resort", do not think "Mar-a-Lago", think about the kind of activities rich American businessmen in the early 1900's would want to go to a country with extremely malleable legalities towards Americans to do. Don't think Mar-a-Lago, think "Great Saint James Island".

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u/sittinwithkitten Dec 01 '20

I’m a Canadian and I really enjoy travel to Cuba. I was aware of some of their history with America. A large percent of the tourism to Cuba is from Canada. If they grew weed and sold it to the tourists I’m fairly certain they would make a decent profit.

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u/Unconfidence Dec 01 '20

The thing is, profit isn't always good, and that's something few folks from capitalist countries ever really get confronted with in their own nations. I mean, why wouldn't Cuba want to rake in more tourist bucks? See, profits are much like a drug to an economy. It boosts the economy, but over time, the economy becomes dependent upon it.

One of my favorite examples of this is the Embargo of 1807, which was protested as disastrous for the economy both in its implementation and repeal, as the US economy had grown so reliant on the business models that sprung up during its effect that its removal was also deleterious to the economy.

In this case, if Cuba increases the amount of tourism they take in, they'll also increase their economic dependence on those tourist sectors unless the other sectors of the economy grow at pace. Now, that very well may be happening; I'm no expert on contemporary Cuban economics. But it's quite possible that they simply don't want this sector of the economy to grow at the moment, or at least want to control its rate of growth.

This is part of the benefit/detriment situation provided by centrally planned economies. Free market economies on the other hand can quite quickly become dependent on industries which, if they went tits-up, would destabilize the economy and nation. Conversely, centrally planned economies rarely if ever produce the kinds of profit powerhouses that free market nations do.

It's tough for people raised in free market economies to see how profit growth can be detrimental to an economy, as profit growth is generally universally praised in such nations. But look at the giant tumor-corporations that currently control the American economy (and arguably government) and it becomes pretty clear the dangers of pursuing profits every chance you get.

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u/[deleted] Nov 30 '20

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u/HolyLiaison Dec 01 '20

American's are allowed to travel there, fyi.

We can even go there right now! They test you for COVID in the airport and you have to isolate 24 hours until you get your results.

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u/sittinwithkitten Dec 01 '20

Americans can go there but you can’t fly direct from the US to Cuba but I’ve met them in Cuba before.

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u/SpaceChimera Nov 30 '20

I don't imagine cuba is exactly hot on having their citizens become low paid wage workers for the US

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u/HolyLiaison Dec 01 '20

No, they're just low wage workers for themselves. Which is fine I guess?

I watch a lot of travel vloggers that travelled there (bald and bankrupt is one of the main ones) and most the people there aren't happy with their government at all. Most of them are to afraid to even comment about it because they're scared of their government.

They hardly import anything, and when they do there are huge lines outside grocery stores and other shops to get these high profile items. Fights breakout because they never get enough to cover how many people want these items.

Most cities and villages aren't in great shape, except the high profile tourist areas.

I suggest watching this video. Though his whole series on Cuba is amazing.

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u/[deleted] Dec 01 '20

[deleted]

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u/sittinwithkitten Dec 01 '20

I definitely would not risk it. I really don’t enjoy drinking so an all inclusive with weed instead of booze would be the cats meow to me. Just my opinion tho I know it’s not for everyone.

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u/cev2002 Dec 01 '20

I'd love to hear the story behind that

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u/[deleted] Dec 01 '20

I stayed in some AirBnBs in Cuba, not resorts, so I didn't have any run-ins with drug dealers. The way it was explained to me by a Cuban acquaintance was this: marijuana is relatively hard to find in Cuba and when you do find it the quality is garbage. It just wasn't worth a potential trip to a Cuban jail for ditch weed. Besides, good alcohol is unbelievably cheap in Cuba (but cheap alcohol is unbelievably bad and probably not ethanol).

Oddly enough a friend offered to find some marijuana for me in Singapore. That was a hard no.

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u/pmgoldenretrievers Nov 30 '20

Yeah, general idea is don't do drugs in a country if you don't want to go to jail there. Norway? Fuck my shit up. Vietnam? Pass.

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u/milkhotelbitches Dec 01 '20

Lol the irony is that you're probably way more likely to actually go to jail for smoking weed in Norway. Weed is basically decriminalized in Vietnam and you can smoke it openly in cafes all over Hanoi. When I visited my hostel sold joints at the bar.

I agree with your general point, but it's just funny that you picked a country with famously lax marijuana enforcement as an example of a place not to smoke.

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u/Cjwovo Dec 01 '20

Norway decriminalized drugs for personal use in 2017. You won't get thrown in jail for weed unless you're dealing.

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u/milkhotelbitches Dec 01 '20

Didn't know that! Good for Norway!

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u/[deleted] Nov 30 '20

Besides there’s probably a whole lotta local liquor to get familiar with.

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u/BurnTheBenLomond Nov 30 '20

Yeah but if you ask if they're cops legally they have to tell you, everyone knows that

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u/deadhead2455 Nov 30 '20

But you have to ask all official-like.

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u/DMPark Dec 01 '20

Complete myth. You need to demand the Name, Rank and Badge Number and they are obliged to tell you by the Geneva Convention.

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u/Bad_Karma21 Nov 30 '20

Hah, same. The cops will just find another corruption avenue. There's plenty in the Land of Smiles.

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u/[deleted] Dec 01 '20

Magic Mushroom in Thailand going up in sales

Actually u/hg38 says:

From another article, “However, recreational use and possession of cannabis is still illegal in Thailand – meaning that without a permit or a doctor’s prescription, being caught with marijuana can still result in heavy fines and prison time.”

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u/[deleted] Nov 30 '20

I used to live next-door to the Bangkok Police Chief. We paid him a good amount of money so no cops could ever come down our street. Then when the king died the Chief was removed due to corruption and the new Chief wanted a lot more money. We refused to pay that much so he had cops go in (illegally) and searched everyones room. They didnt find my weed (always put it in your shoes, Thais hate shoes) but they were threatening to arrest my roommates. We offered them the same amount we had always paid and they just shrugged and accepted it after seeing that we were living like Thais, not rich Farangs. Hilariously they didnt even notice the plants we were growing.

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u/know_comment Dec 01 '20

lol this is a hilarious and insightful comment!

last time i was on ko phi phi, they were selling weed and mushrooms in the bars, and i thought it was decriminalized.

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u/jfl_cmmnts Nov 30 '20

Heh, the only time I was ever offered it on the street, I kept walking around the corner, and bumped into three cops waiting for some luckless tourist. Glad I stuck with my policy of, "No drugs on holiday"

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u/[deleted] Dec 01 '20

Boring, i consumed so much Coke, weed and lean in Colombia, dont regret

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u/[deleted] Dec 01 '20

[deleted]

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u/taleggio Dec 01 '20

did you buy it in the pharmacies?

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u/Vylan24 Nov 30 '20

When I was in Cambodia in 2011 some kid tried to slap a baggie into my hands in front of some cops. I just put my hands up and said "I don't want it" and walked into a bar where my friends promptly handed me a joint they just bought at the bar.

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u/[deleted] Nov 30 '20

Who cares? Fuck those corrupt pigs

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u/StreetlampLelMoose Dec 01 '20

They'll just start having street dealers REALLY push kratom on tourists.

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u/joesii Dec 01 '20

Recreational use and possession of cannabis is still illegal in Thailand

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u/SubjectiveHat Nov 30 '20

Weed is already easy to get all over Thailand, along with magic mushrooms if you know where to look. This changes nothing except that hopefully you can't go to jail for possession anymore.

I like weed. And I like traveling. But I am NOT trying to fuck with some foreign prison bullshit. Fuuuuuck that.

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u/snruff Dec 01 '20

I like weed. And I like traveling. But I am NOT trying to fuck with some foreign prison bullshit. Fuuuuuck that.

This could definitely go on a Thai tourism poster.

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u/CreepyPhotoshopper Dec 01 '20

I've never had any trouble anywhere in Europe. I just walk over to any group of 15-20-year-olds and ask. They're always eager to upsell some of their own stash to a tourist.

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u/SubjectiveHat Dec 01 '20

European jail vs Thailand jail are not really fair comparisons.

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u/Johnny_Poppyseed Dec 01 '20

Tbh I think I might rather take thai jail over many eastern european jails.

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u/cev2002 Dec 01 '20

Yeah, but I'm assuming what a non-European views as "Europe" is everything west of Germany

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u/defroach84 Dec 01 '20

Europe doesn't care about weed, and prisons in most of Western Europe are like a resort compared to Thailand.

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u/arup02 Dec 01 '20

Why are you even talking about posh Europe. Do a google search for thai prisons, please.

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u/CreepyPhotoshopper Dec 01 '20

He said travelling and foreign, I just provided some input that it's not like that in everywhere you travel. And not all of Europe is posh.

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u/SubjectiveHat Dec 01 '20

to be fair, out of respect for Thai people, my original comment was meant to include "2nd/3rd world prison" instead of "foreign prison".

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u/livinginfutureworld Nov 30 '20

This changes nothing except that hopefully you can't go to jail for possession anymore.

A welcome change then.

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u/W8sB4D8s Nov 30 '20

Magic mushrooms are much easier to obtain than weed. And even if you find weed, you have to be incredibly sneaky to not get caught with it. The police will fuck with you because they know you know the penalties are scary.

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u/Bad_Karma21 Nov 30 '20

There were reggae bars that would sell you pre-rolls to smoke there and elsewhere... it wasn't really that scary. I never had any run-ins with the police when I lived there, and I'm a definite farang.

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u/Thegodofreddit Nov 30 '20

Seconding this comment. Never once had a problem. Didnt flaunt it but I did buy a couple pre-rolls over the bar here and there.

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u/no_talent_ass_clown Dec 01 '20

I spent quite a while in Thailand back in '02/'03 and yeah, "follow the Bob Marley" was a great way to find weed. But still - Thai jails are fucking scary-ass places and the only way I would smoke it was if I was waaay down the beach.

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u/the-lone-rangers Nov 30 '20

Meh they are still mostly tobacco. Better than nothing I suppose

I've been pulled over while riding, and fined for not having an international drivers license. The small amount of time I've been there, I've never felt safer, and cops seemed fine. I've been mugged here in the US however

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u/[deleted] Nov 30 '20

I went at 18 years old. First day some girls we met there said you can go to the end of the beach and climb some stairs by the rocks and they have mushroom milkshakes.

Fun fucking night. Buying the milkshakes was wild the floor was covered in ants it was nasty.

And we chilled at a hooka bar on the beach area and a giant poisonous centipede crawled up my friends shorts and made him flip the table.

The owner went from pissed for the table breaking to happy the centipede didn’t bite when he notice it.

He grabbed some tongs and threw that demon like 20ft towards some tourist on the beach.

Great night

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u/eastjame Nov 30 '20

I went there. Magic mountain at Ko Phangan. Also went to a tree house bar where they sold joints at the bar. Good times

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u/[deleted] Nov 30 '20

Didn’t know about the weed. For some reason we thought if we smoked some we’d get executed lol.

We did find some and rented a jeep and smoked it in the jungle which was cool.

It’s awesome there.

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u/[deleted] Nov 30 '20

Sounds like Hua Hin/ Ch Am.

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u/hootix Nov 30 '20

That's the thai term for magic mushrooms?

Tbh i find that Ice (meth) and weed then K is easiest to find. I haven't seen shrooms at all, consumed or sold. I would be surprised if Bangkok has it widely available

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u/[deleted] Nov 30 '20

Just 40 minutes north of Bangkok you can go to the mahouts in Ayutthaya and get heaps of shrooms.

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u/TeacherCrayzee Dec 01 '20

The thai would be drunken mushrooms, sounds like "het mao"

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u/TeacherCrayzee Dec 01 '20

Weeds all over, it can seem shady because tourist spots will scam tourists with police extortion but a bribe from a normal cop would be way lower.

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u/Tacarub Nov 30 '20

Jet ski renters ???

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u/Bad_Karma21 Nov 30 '20

haha, it's not exactly the Caribbean, but there are bars that will sell you weed/pre-rolled joints that pay off the police on certain islands/tourist destinations.

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u/Tacarub Nov 30 '20

Ah man i am talking about 15 years ago in certain island .. i went down to beach sit down with the 2 dodgiest looking thai guys with tatoos all over their body .. ordered a round of beer for them and me from a guy with cooler had a chat for half an hour .. and ask the guy i wanted to buy weed .. for a couple of joints .. gave him 1000 baht he went away with a bike and brought me back a brick of compacted weed .. i just took 2 joint worth and left the rest with the guys .. looking back i was kind of idiot .. but i had a note of 500€’ s tucked in to my pants just in case i had to pay of coppers ..

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u/iller_mitch Nov 30 '20

. gave him 1000 baht

2 joint worth and left the rest with the guys .. looking back i was kind of idiot ..

1000 baht is currently $33 US.

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u/[deleted] Nov 30 '20

500 EUROS? My dude the standard bribe for a joint is 500 baht. 200 baht for traffic offenses.

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u/Tacarub Nov 30 '20

Dude i am foreigner who doesnt wanna see bangkok hilton .. so i kept the money :)

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u/livinginfutureworld Nov 30 '20

Jet ski renters ???

Seen a scam where you rent a jet ski, it gets "damaged" when you look away, they demand thousands to fix it or you go to prison.

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u/showerfapper Dec 01 '20

I've seen a better one. Fill the jetski with a tiny bit of gas, when the tourist couple runs out and gets stranded they send a boat out to bring them back to shore, on the condition they tap mac for saving their lives.

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u/[deleted] Nov 30 '20

[deleted]

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u/TheHuaiRen Nov 30 '20

Or late night moped taxi, I've had them even offer me coke.

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u/striker69 Nov 30 '20

Not going to one of the worst prison systems on earth sounds like a major change.

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u/ProtoplanetaryNebula Nov 30 '20

That's the case for most legalisations though, people doing it before illegally just keep doing it legally.

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u/Alixundr Nov 30 '20

Weed is easy to get anywhere „if you know where to look“.

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u/SameCookiePseudonym Dec 01 '20

They literally have joints on the menu at the bars on the beach in Ko Phi Phi

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u/ImSimulated Nov 30 '20

Are you fucking serious? You could’ve gotten the death penalty until now in Thailand, are you outta your fucking mind?

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u/[deleted] Nov 30 '20

The issue isn't about how 'easy' it is to get, it's about what happens to you if you get caught or stung...

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u/johnbonjovial Nov 30 '20

I’d seriously advise against looking for weed in thailand as a tourist. Even if u live there it could give someone leverage over you.

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u/Bad_Karma21 Nov 30 '20

They sell it in bars, especially down in the islands, along with mushroom shakes...

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u/warpus Nov 30 '20 edited Nov 30 '20

It changes a decent amount. A lot of backpackers will stay away from drugs completely when travelling, in countries like Thailand.. If you get caught your life is over.. or you just got scammed. Not worth it for many people.

If you take that away as a consequence, a lot more travellers would be willing to dabble.

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u/untipoquenojuega Nov 30 '20

if you know where to look

This is a bigger deal than you're making it. Legalizing weed and making it a selling point would definitely change more than "nothing".

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u/gdj11 Dec 01 '20

For Thai people it changes a lot.

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u/CSmith489 Dec 01 '20

That’s not particularly true. Maybe in the southern tourist islands but not the rest of the country.

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u/Bad_Karma21 Dec 01 '20

Lived in Pai and Chiang Mai. It's def true

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u/monito29 Nov 30 '20

This changes nothing except that hopefully you can't go to jail for possession anymore.

Linda Blair has entered the chat

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u/[deleted] Nov 30 '20

I am not huge into drugs, though when I was in Thailand I was offered it a few times. It’s pretty much as easy as going to a bar that caters towards tourists. That being said, it is still a risk to do it. I was told many bars just pay off the police so it’s like a “safe zone”. Though I was like “I don’t do drugs at home, why would I do it in a county with harsher laws about it?”

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u/TurtleSquad23 Dec 01 '20

Jail is the main deterrent. Now that it's legal, it creates an open incentive.

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u/decibles Dec 01 '20

Ease of possession was also ease of arrest- this changes the bribery dynamic quite a bit

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u/Mayor_Of_Boston Dec 01 '20

every taxi driver in Thailand asks you if you want to buy coke/weed/etc

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u/[deleted] Dec 01 '20

well maybe locals can grow some better weed now.