Transcript of the above video: 

I have received a great deal of correspondence in the past, roughly 72 hours since, basically since it has been confirmed that Anutin would be the new Prime Minister. And since he has been sworn in and now confirmed as the 32nd Prime Minister here in Thailand, a lot of folks from the Cannabis space have sent me messages. This video is sort of in response to all of that.

I thought of making this video after reading a recent article from the Bangkok Post, bangkokpost.com, the article is titled: Thai Cannabis Industry eyes revival under PM who backed it's rise. Quoting directly: "Thailand's Cannabis Industry is eyeing a new lease on life under new Prime Minister Anutin - a politician who pioneered its decriminalization." Yeah, I really hate that term, decriminalization. He legalized it; he got it legalized. That's the word for it. Decriminalization or de-criminalized is kind of a nonsense word; it means the police aren't doing their job enforcing the law. Mr. Anutin changed the law. He used emergency powers back when he was Minister of Public Health, pulled Cannabis from the Narcotics list, then the Emergency Decree ended, and it created a situation wherein Cannabis was effectively legal, and in order to change that fact, required due process, legislative due process pursuant to the Doctrine of Codification here in Thailand. I have talked about this in prior videos. I liken that movement and frankly Mr. Anutin himself, to a similar political operator - namely Lyndon B. Johnson back in the United States - and the book Master of the Senate in the way that Mr. Anutin utilized legal public policy and legislative procedure to execute his goal of effectively legalizing Cannabis which is what happened. It was not decriminalized, it was legalized. In a Civil Law country, it's either legal or illegal and there is no sort of decriminalized, that's a nonsense word; I really don't like it. That is probably the reason why these publications now use it because they know it hacks me off, so maybe that's, I don't know, or not whatever. 

That said, quoting further: "Its decriminalization and early success. Since Mr. Anutin decriminalized marijuana in 2022 as Health Minister, making Thailand the first Asian Nation to do so, the industry has been whiplashed by a series of policy reversals. Regulation of widespread use has been difficult without a Cannabis Law in place." Yeah, because it's the improper to do so. In a country again a Civil Law country, the Doctrine of Codification dictates you have to go through legislative due process to regulate or make something illegal. Quoting further: "Prompting authorities to consider classifying it as a narcotic once again." Yeah, that would have been kind of a bad idea considering all the protesters and things of the people who duly got their license, some 19,000 dispensaries were pretty upset about that, but moreover, it was legally inappropriate to do it that way, as I have discussed in many other videos. Quoting further: "With Mr. Anutin and his Bhumjaithai party at the helm, thousands of dispensary owners, Cannabis growers and other stakeholders now see that threat easing, according to Advocacy group Writing Thailand's Cannabis Future. Quote: "The idea of reclassifying Cannabis as a narcotic is unlikely to happen once Bhumjaithai leads the government," said Mr. Prasitchai Nunual, Secretary-General of Writing Thailand's Cannabis Future. Quote: "Since it became clear Anutin will be Prime Minister, officials have been friendlier, speaking more positively. That's a visible change." Quoting further: "The Cannabis industry's rapid growth was first threatened by a government headed by the populist Phue Thai Party," - yeah hard to call that a populist Party these days with its support which Bangkok Post has written about at length, waning. As I have discussed their "majority" in Parliament that they had up until roughly 10 days ago was thin at best, as I have discussed in a lot of other videos, but that said we have moved on from that. Quoting further: "In the wake of a general election in 2023. Then Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin threatened to reclassify it as a narcotic, to follow through on a pre-election promise, before backtracking." Yeah, backtracking because again it was legally inappropriate to do it that way and at the time, they promised they would pass a law before trying to re-regulate it which they just kind of reneged on. Quoting further: "That was followed by moves this year under the former Prime Minister Paetongtarn, who was ousted last month, to ban recreational use," - which as I brought up in other videos, I'm tired of this ‘recreational use’ nonsense. There's nobody out there trying to ban recreational use of alcohol. I mean this is what it is. Consenting adults need to be able to do what they want. Overall this is an industry now in Thailand; there are over 19,000 licensed operations in Thailand. They need to be treated with the due respect of the law provided to folks doing business in a legal way. Quoting further: "Mr. Anutin, dubbed the "Cannabis King" and "Cannabis Champion" by local and foreign media, even wore a cannabis print t-shirt when meeting prospective Cabinet candidates on Saturday," - yeah, if you recall when they were doing the elections last time in 2023, he also wore that shirt when he went to vote. That said, quoting further: "In the months before Mr. Anutin's rise to power, the Pheu Thai led government stepped up a crackdown on the Cannabis industry by inspecting thousands of shops, shutting hundreds of them and spending licenses." You mean by harassing legal business operators, because that is what they were doing. We need to stop couching this as anything other than what it was. It was basically someone's ego, let's put it that way, who had, let's say outside influence in the last government just didn't like Cannabis for whatever reason and as a result, the practical result for a lot of folks who would legally detrimentally relied on the government's policies to get their licenses and open up shops, had to be harassed as a result of it, that is what occurred. Quoting further: "Authorities have also ramped up surveillance measures to prevent smuggling following reports of a surge in illegal shipments to the United Kingdom, India, Pakistan, Hong Kong and several other destinations." Kind of sounds like those jurisdiction's problems." I mean yeah I guess probably there is something to be said for not just flouting international custom and relations, but why is it Thailand's problem if there's Cannabis washing up on the shores in Pakistan or Hong Kong or the UK? In this jurisdiction it is legal. In my opinion, reasonable people can disagree on that, I do grant that. That said, quoting further: "With the change in government, the industry expects officials to ease up on the crackdown." Well the crackdown was pretty inappropriate in my mind; pretty illegitimate from a legal standpoint as I have discussed in many other videos. That said, exactly how these things play out remain to be seen. I think this is overall very good news for the industry as a whole. A couple of things: From the standpoint of foreigners looking to engage in this business, based on the changes that occurred in the last Government, I think it may stick. I think foreigners need to be careful about engaging in any way in this industry moving forward. I discussed in other videos, I do think this administration will be scrutinizing foreign activities especially as it pertains to restricted occupations here in Thailand and bear in mind, Cannabis is an agricultural product so that is something to constantly keep in the back of one’s mind. That said, I think overall this is overall a positive development. As noted, in the thumbnail, I may be going a little bit overboard, but I do think Mr. Anutin is something of an Obi One Kenobi when it comes to saving Cannabis if you will, “Save me Obe One Kenobi, you are my only hope.”

For those who are interested, I do get into a deep dive analysis including matters pertaining to Cannabis in our paid news service. If you are interested in that you can email us can email us, [email protected]. And while I am on the topic of talking my own book, it is probably fair to point out, my better half and I have set up a restaurant here in downtown Bangkok. Pancake Palace. It is American diner style food as well as breakfast anytime. We have got buffalo wings, chilli bowls, chicken wings as well as again, breakfast anytime. If you are interested in that, check out the links in the description below, we would be happy to see you there.

But overall, circling back just generally in conclusion here, I think this is an overall good thing for Thailand as I have discussed in many other videos. It is an industry that Thailand is at the forefront of; it has first mover advantage especially here in Southeast Asia with regard to the industry as a whole. I am hoping that Mr. Anutin will continue the positive steps he took initially as Minister of Public Health, and then later as Interior Minister; I think he is returning to the Interior Ministry as a double portfolio kind of thing, as well as being PM, and I am hoping that we will see further positive developments moving forward. That being said, we will be keeping you updated on this channel as the situation evolves.