r/CannabisThailand Newsletter - Issue #48

Not all that glitters is gold in Thailand

Jun 04, 2023

Sawadee Everyone,

In a plot twist worthy of a soap opera, the Move Forward party managed to land the most seats in the Thai parliament, but with only 30% of the seats, they're as far from a government majority as I am from winning a marathon.

They've tried to play matchmaker, pairing up with the Pheu Thai party like an awkward high school dance duo, but the Pheu Thai party is playing hard to get, free to vote as they please, and might even dare to form their own government. Rumors of covert meetings between political rivals at a Leicester City football match (who knew football could be so political?) and whispers that Move Forward’s PM candidate Pita might never take office due to his ownership stake in a media company, are making things more suspenseful than a season finale cliffhanger.

Move Forward's claim that everyone should just vote for them because they're the 'people's choice', despite 70% of the country not voting for them, is wearing thin in the media and they’ll need to come up with another spin to put on it.

While my political leanings in Thailand only involve what’s best for cannabis, I’m not exactly hating what I’m hearing from Move Forward these days.

The party is now caught in the dilemma of advocating tough drug policies while also staring at the lucrative cannabis industry, salivating at the revenue it could bring in to support their progressive policies.

Their backtrack from stern cannabis policies to considering recreational use zones in tourist areas is certainly interesting.

In fact, if Move Forward is able to form a government, their plan, at least as how they’re floating it right now, could be something that even Anutin and BJT would find difficult as other parties, including Move Forward, would certainly make BJT pay a heavy price politically like they did last year when they voted down the cannabis bill despite previously supporting it.

Regardless of the political tussle, let's raise a joint to the one-year anniversary of cannabis being legal in Thailand this Friday.

Cheers,

u/CannabisThailandMod

Don’t forget that we’ve partnered with some dispensaries for exclusive deals available to members of this newsletter and the r/CannabisThailand sub on Reddit. Just type “Dank Deal” into the comments of any post and the AutoMod will send you the current discounts being offered.