Thai Ganja Digest

Wellness cannabis massages; Ridiculous media claims about Thai Ganja; Ganja backlash/landslide that wasn't; Did they libel pro-cannabis minister Anutin?; Legal weed keeps kids away.

Links to Consider

1.  I am always delighted to look through these promotional pieces that The Thaiger publishes from time to time with slightly different lists of places to go for cannabis-infused spa treatments. I am not a big spa guy; yet, studying these “best of” stories always has a relaxing effect.

I’m happy to see the latest installment because I know it reads like it’s from the future, where everyone knows the effectiveness of the medicinal properties of cannabis -- and cannabis is treated more like a super nutrient than anything else.

No controversy. No science to learn. Pure cannabis applications -- designed to entice you. Tempt you. Seduce you. Accompanied by simple reminders of simple remedies that work:

Certain parts of the cannabis plant are known to alleviate body pain, reduce inflammation, enhance blood flow, relieve physical discomfort, and many more ailments — without the high. That’s why adding it to a massage can really bring relaxation and effectiveness to the next level. 

2.  Funny attacks on cannabis: Almost 1 year and up to 8,000 dispensaries later, the media continues to make ridiculous claims. This is a laughable attempt to cobble together all the pieces of the anti-cannabis opposition. There are complaints:

A Singaporean woman reportedly consumed cannabis mixed in soup while travelling in Thailand, mistaking its leaves for water spinach as there were no indications the plant was cooked in that dish.

False statements:

Concerns continued to mount as recreational use, which is against the law, was reported in several media stories.

Silly complaints:

…hotel operators voiced concerns about the lack of details regarding the rules. She said for example, if there is cannabis smoking in hotel rooms, is there a law covering this and what is the punishment...

They evidently will keep sending flimsy anti-cannabis propaganda to the media, and the media will keep publishing it right up to the end.

3.  This piece from Fulcrum, a Singapore outlet, sounds like a concession that the Pheu Thais “landslide” that was coming partly as a backlash against legal cannabis was a backlash in the party members’ minds only.

4.  Anutin’s right-hand man told the candidate to back to selling houses. Ouch! The Pheu Thais thought they had a winning strategy scaring common people about the evils of cannabis. When this proved false, they just exaggerated to the point of lying:

Supachai Jaisamut, registrar of the BJT party, said at least 10 of its candidates will file a petition with the EC in their respective provinces. The petition asks the commission to investigate Mr Srettha. It alleges Mr Srettha's remarks at a recent campaign rally were misleading.

He said Mr Srettha, during election campaigns, told audiences that BJT had a policy for complete and total liberalization of cannabis, which has led to misuse of the drug among adolescents. "This is false,"...

5.  The CDC has concluded that Teen Marijuana Use Has Been Declining Since Legal Dispensaries Started Opening. This is big because of the report’s place in the overall discussion of legal cannabis. On one level, there are allegations of harm to young brains caused by too much cannabis. Yet on a larger level is the question does legalization increase or decreases consumption by minors. This report says it decreases it. So all the earlier bets are off, if accurate.

Robert Hoban tweeted this about the report:

This is significant, as it represents a U.S. Federal Government agency's own data collection and conclusion. For those that do not know, the CDC is one of the major operating components of the Department of Health and Human Services. This result echoes that of multiple U.S. State agencies and private studies performed over the past ten years (the first ten years of commercial cannabis regulated markets in the U.S.). And this data should be significant for the international efforts to legalize.