Six vendors were fined THB5,000 (US$140) for violating cannabis sales regulations in the Thonglor area, with three of them accused of selling fake permits.
The police have been making a public show of searching Khaosan Road and the Thonglor area in recent weeks, slapping wrists and fining those suspected of violating the few rules controlling cannabis. The authorities said that they found three owners of mobile weed trucks had forged their provisional sales licenses.
Five truck owners and one dispensary owner around Thonglor were fined THB5,000 each for lacking permission to sell cannabis.
They were also sentenced to two years in prison, but won’t do any jail time as their sentences were suspended. The six weed sellers will be required to report to a court regularly.
Thailand still is waiting for passage of the months-delayed Cannabis Act. There are a few rules currently imposed, however, including bans on sales to pregnant women and teens under 20.
Sellers have been told to obtain provisional licenses, though that regulatory framework has not been enacted. Here’s how to get a license to sell weed in Bangkok.
Ever since weed was fully decriminalized on June. 9, a green rush has exploded across the realm as entrepreneurs stake their claim with dreams of building kush empires. New dispensaries have spread as quickly as mounting concerns and public backlash have raised concern of a crackdown on unfettered commerce.
The authorities’ crackdown has focused on weed-dense, high-profile neighborhoods such as Khaosan Road and Thonglor.
The light punishment may be due to the signal the government is trying to send to the public: That liberalization is going as planned, and the necessary rules are in place. That message was spelled out by top officials at the agency responsible for regulating cannabis.
“This action against violators shows that the laws are enforceable and the violators are punished,” said Thongchai Lertwilairattanapong, director of the Department of Thai Traditional and Alternative Medicine. “I want to repeat that every entrepreneur must strictly follow the laws.”
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