r/CannabisThailand Newsletter - Issue #29

Stalling the cannabis bill and Cookies in Bangkok

Jan 22, 2023

Sawadee Everyone,

Another week of zero progress on the cannabis bill. It seems like the current opposition strategy is to just skip going to work on days when the cannabis bill is scheduled to be reviewed.

It also seems clear that Thailand’s opposition parties don’t want to see the bill pass so they can use it as an issue to campaign on in the upcoming elections.

While it seems like putting the cannabis genie back in the bottle isn’t something that is realistic, if certain parties take over the government after the elections, they could make things a lot more difficult.

That said, there’s also a good chance Pheu Thai party, one of the main opponents of legalization, won’t win enough seats to form a government on their own and will need to partner with other parties.

Bhumjaithai will likely end up the second largest party after the elections if political experts are to be trusted.

Other than their differences over cannabis, PT and BJT seem to get along well enough that they could be seen as an easy way to gain enough seats to form a government.

But things could get really interesting as the PT Party has put up Paetongtarn "Ung-ing" Shinawatra, daughter of exiled former PM Thaksin Shinawatra, as their candidate for Prime Minister should they win enough seats to form a government.

It’s not entirely clear if she can get enough votes to become Prime Minister though. She would be the third Shinawatra family member to hold the post with the previous two ousted in coups.

And given that many Thaksin opponents have accused Thaksin of running the party via proxy via his family members, there may be politicians that simply wish to avoid another coup or government standstill that some feel will inevitably follow having another Shinawatra family member as PM.

If Ung-ing can’t get enough votes for the PM seat, that leaves BJT leader Anutin Charnvirakul as a potential compromise choice. Anutin, obviously, is the main proponent of legalizing cannabis in Thailand.

This could be an exciting year :-)

In other news, love them or hate them, Cookies has landed in Thailand. The hip-hop inspired cannabis brand from the US opened their flagship store in Bangkok on the 21st of this month.

While many are celebrating this and see it as a validation of Thailand as a major player in the cannabis market, others aren’t as thrilled. Many feel that Cookies is overpriced and people pay extra for the brand rather than for actual quality.

Regardless, they’re here now.

Speaking of new dispensaries opening, Highland Cafe opened a second location on Khao San Road this week.

The original location was always a bit out of the way for people to find and that would be especially true for tourists who don’t know their way around the lessor known areas of Bangkok like Lat Phrao.

In r/CannabisThailand subreddit news, we finalized the list of the Best of the Best places to recommend to tourists looking to buy weed in Thailand. Thank you to everyone that offered suggestions.

The list has been added to the wiki and from time to time we will be updating it as things change.

That’s it for this week.

Cheers,

u/CannabisThailandMod