When I moved away from Thailand marijuana was still illegal. It wasn't difficult to get your hands on but it wasn't something you could just get because you felt like it. For the most part people would just go to rasta bars and talk to someone there that looked like he or she would know where to go and then you would get some. It's a pretty safe bet that this is true the world over about the rasta bars provided you are a tourist they will tell you and it may actually be how they make most of their money.
But now I am back in Thailand and weed had been recreationally legal for quite some time. The past time that I was here visiting I was down at the beaches and the wind was blowing all the time so I guess I didn't notice it, but here in the city of Chiang Mai, with my walking around and even now in my hotel with the balcony door open, I constantly smell the scent of the ganja.
I don't have a problem with weed and do occasionally partake. It is not a regular part of my life though. I believe it should be legal everywhere though, not just in Thailand. The way I look at it is if your country is ok with people buying alcohol it is hypocritical and probably stupid that weed is illegal. I think marijuana is far less damaging than alcohol is because I never saw a guy who was really high decide to drive his car like a lunatic or get into a fight with a stranger. With alcohol this happens all the time. When I smoke weed I laugh a lot or order food and become one with the sofa.
There are certain thing about the expanded use of it that annoys me though and this has more to do with the users than the drug itself.
This outdoor gazebo area has been provided by the hotel I am staying in specifically for the smoking of weed and cigs, there are signs all over the place indicating that this is what it is for. But just like most things in life it depends on the person whether or not they are going to be polite.
As I sit right now in my room with the doors open because it is quite cool in the mornings in Chiang Mai and I can hear the birds chirping (no horns!) there is a guy who has a balcony next door to mine that is puffing away. The smell travels so much that he may as well be sitting right next to me blowing it in my face.
As an ex-smoker, I am not a fan of the smell of smokeables and just because it is weed doesn't change my opinion about this. I think it is really inconsiderate of this person to not think of others but yesterday afternoon there was someone outside that was listening to music on a phone and it was probably him as well. He is probably just one of those selfish people that doesn't care about the comfort of others and thinks only of themselves wherever they go.
He also sounds like he is coughing up a lung every couple of minutes or so and I am secretly celebrating that aspect of it all. Good, you selfish prick, I'm glad some pain is heading your way.
But while I was wandering around the tourist city center of Chiang Mai I did notice that no matter where you went, the city smells like weed. Prior to this is probably always smelled like cigarette smoke but I just didn't realize it because I had been a smoker for so many years and was still one of them until I quit about 7 years ago. I still dont' really notice the smell of cigarettes unless someone is doing it right next to me.
The legalization of weed here is obvious. There are weed shops all over the place. However, I was talking to some locals that I know at the birthday party of my friend and they told me that the government has started to revoke licenses for having a shop to tell weed because just like I knew they would (because they do this with everything) as soon as it was legal a million or so weed-selling outlets opened up.
The government is pretending that they are revoking licenses out of the interest of public health but I can all-but-guarantee you it is because some pals of the various government officials have weed shops and would very much prefer if there was less competition. That's the same reason why craft beer production is so heavily restricted in this country, because Chang and Singha (two very large beer manufacturers) were starting to see sales decline when the craft beer fad hit. Nothing in this country (or almost any other country) is about helping the public, it is about making money for themselves and the people they are friends and family with.
I'll save my jaded conspiracy theory for another day though, for now I just want to say that if you do visit Chiang Mai or anywhere else in Thailand for that matter, get ready for basically everywhere to smell like weed because especially with foreign travelers, who comprise a majority of the people in my hotel, there just doesn't seem to be a lot of dedication to being considerate of your neighbors.