Thailand doesn’t want pot-smoking tourists

Thailand has made its stance on weed-smoking tourists very clear despite decriminalizing the drug

Author | Arijana Ramic

August 19, 2022

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It’s Ayutthaya, not Amsterdam. That’s the recent message from the Thai government, affirming that even though the kingdom has decriminalized weed, it’s still not a tourist free-for-all.

“We don’t welcome those kinds of tourists,” Thailand Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul saidwhen asked about foreign visitors using marijuana.

While weed shops — many with on-site smoking rooms — have sprung up everywhere from shopping malls to night markets, anyone smoking in public risks a potential three-month jail sentence or fines up to 25,000 baht (about $701).

While Anutin did say that recreational use of marijuana could come in the future, tourists are currently better off sticking with a cold Chang beer and the buzz from some spicy drunken noodles to get their fix.