A top Thailand official has a clear message to would-be tourists who are considering a cannabis-filled visit to the southeast Asian country: Don’t bother.

“We don’t welcome those kinds of tourists,” Thailand’s health minister Anutin Charnvirakul said Wednesday while talking to reporters, as quoted by CNN.

The country has been dealing with the repercussions of a new law passed in June that removed marijuana from its list of banned substances, making Thailand the first country in Asia to decriminalize weed. In 2018, Thailand became the first southeast Asian country to legalize medical cannabis.

The new policy unveiled in June made it legal to cultivate marijuana and hemp, and also opened the door for restaurants to offer food and beverage products infused with a small amount of THC.

But the law has also been shrouded in gray area. Anutin and other Thai government officials said at the time that the policy should not be construed as outright legalization of weed.

“It’s a no,” Anutin said in June. “We still have regulations under the law that control the consumption, smoking or use of cannabis products in non-productive ways.”

According to CNN, “those smoking in public risk facing a three-month jail sentence or fines of up to 25,000 baht ($705.82).”

“We [have always] emphasized using cannabis extractions and raw materials for medical purposes and for health,” Anutin continued. “There has never once been a moment that we would think about advocating people to use cannabis in terms of recreation — or use it in a way that it could irritate others.”

Anutin also issued a warning to potential tourists back in June.

“Thailand will promote cannabis policies for medical purposes,” said Anutin. “If [tourists] come for medical treatment or come for health-related products then it’s not an issue but if you think that you want to come to Thailand just because you heard that cannabis or marijuana is legal … [or] come to Thailand to smoke joints freely, that’s wrong. Don’t come. We won’t welcome you if you just come to this country for that purpose.”

But much to the chagrin of Anutin and the Thai government, recreational pot use has flourished in the two months since the law changed, with cannabis cafes sprouting up in the capital city of Bangkok this summer.

A report by Reuters earlier this month detailed how the newly enacted cannabis law “has led to an explosion in its recreational use,” despite the fact “that government officials – concerned about negative effects on health and productivity often linked to uncontrolled use of the drug – have retro[s]pectively tried to discourage.”

The news outlet highlighted one such cannabis cafe in Bangkok, whose owner touted the “hundreds” of visitors to his business every day.

“Europeans, Japanese, Americans – they are looking for Thai sativa,” the cafe owner said, as quoted by Reuters. “Cannabis and tourism are a match.”

The new cannabis law has drawn objections from other groups in Thailand.

Last month, more than 850 doctors in the country signed a petition demanding for more restrictions and safeguards attached to the law.

“Cannabis was removed from the Public Health Ministry’s Narcotic list on June 9, but no policies have been launched to control the use of cannabis for personal pleasure,” a spokesperson for the group of doctors said at the time. “This lack of [legal] direction makes cannabis more accessible for children and teenagers.”

The group said that the “government and related departments should stop threatening people’s health as soon as possible.”

“The use of cannabis for medical purposes should be under control for the best benefits and safety as the government claimed from the first place,” the group said.

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Smokey Monkey, based in Tira, has just defied the odds. It has become the first medical cannabis cafe in Israel. This is a place where people can legally buy and use medical cannabis.

Its owner, Kama Shbeeta, a former psychiatric nurse, is on a mission to change the stigma associated with cannabis use. In founding the cafe, he hoped to become an alternative to the black market for those who need help in treating their chronic pain and to help patients consume the drug more safely.

At first, Shbeeta received death and arson threats from people who wanted to burn his establishment to the ground. However, gradually, the neighbors began to understand what he was doing. Now people with medical cannabis licenses can come together in a safe place and experiment with different types of cannabis in an establishment which is already advertising itself as a place where Palestinians and Israelis can heal together.

Smoking the Cannabis Peace Pipe

The fact that a cannabis cafe opened in Israel is news enough. The exact location, however, is also significant.

Smokey Monkey is located in a town called Tira. This name means “The Fort” in both Arabic and Hebrew. It is part of a cluster of Arabic villages near the so-called “Green Line.” This refers to the green ink used to draw the line demarcating the first borders of Israel on the map while the Armistice talks created the country after WWII. The border stood until the Six-Day-War in 1967. After this, the territories beyond this line were subsumed by Israel and are better known today as East Jerusalem, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, the Golan Heights, and the Sinai Peninsula (although this reverted back to Egypt in 1982).

The area includes farmland considered to be the most fertile in all of Israel. For this reason, by 1976, Tira had 2/3rds of its arable land expropriated by the Israeli state. Today, the area is known for its high crime rate and youth unemployment.

On the cafe’s Facebook page, however, it is clear that so far, Arabs and Jews have come together to treat their illnesses with cannabis in a vastly different way. 

Where Israel Stands on The Legalization Discussion

Israel has been a leader in terms of cannabis research, as well as medical legalization. Recreational reform, sadly, continues to stall.

On April 1, 2019, the government decriminalized the use of cannabis by those over the age of 18. Possession of home-grown cannabis is no longer a criminal offense. That said, adults caught in public with small amounts of cannabis were still liable to pay a fine of $275 for the first offense, $550 if caught a second time, and, if caught three times in 7 years, liable for criminal prosecution until this year.

On March 9, Justice Minister Gideon Sa’ar signed regulation that makes possession and consumption solely an administrative fine — and both a cheaper one, and one that does not increase for a subsequent “offense.” Such regulations also replace the older laws, set in 2019, which expire at the end of this month. Fines are capped at about $150 per offense. Minors, soldiers, police officers, and soldiers serving as prison guards are still excluded from use.

While still not full legalization, this is at least a holding action of the status quo after efforts to enact full recreational legalization failed in November 2020.

Israelis who wish to have their criminal records for possession of cannabis wiped off the books can also apply, with this form, to the Ministry of Justice to have their “crime” expunged.

The patrons of the Smokey Monkey may be the first Israeli cannabis users to be able to enter a cannabis cafe, but of course, they will not be the last.

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