Cannabis News

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    Thailand has a strong healthcare system with both public and private options. Public hospitals offer affordable care, but many people, including expats, choose private health insurance for faster service, modern facilities, and more treatment choices. To decide if private health...

  • Phuket Books: A question of savages

    Phuket Books: A question of savages

    PHUKET: I picked up Don Winslow’s Savages (Simon & Schuster, New York, 2010, 358pp) with a good deal of eagerness, having just finished the much-lauded prequel The Kings of Cool, which impressed me with its zany energy, veering between screenplay, poetic stanzas and wise-guy syncopated prose, deeply empathic with the surfer/grass dealer ethos of Laguna Beach, California. Winslow is a…

  • Dealer busted after kratom smuggled into Phuket as ‘fresh vegetables’

    Dealer busted after kratom smuggled into Phuket as ‘fresh vegetables’

    PHUKET: Phuket Police acting on a tip-off yesterday arrested a dealer and seized 54kg of kratom leaves from an address in Cherng Talay. Col Jirasak Siemsak received the tip-off at about 5pm and quickly put together an investigation team under the command of Maj Pongnarin Suthin. On arrival at a house on Soi Pasak 4, off the Baan Don-Cherng Talay…

  • Phuket hacks back drug “growers’ in Thalang

    Phuket hacks back drug “growers’ in Thalang

    PHUKET: Thalang police and district officers hacked open a path for progress in the war on drugs in Phuket by cutting down more than 60 kratom trees in Srisoonthorn yesterday. Despite the trees being native to Southeast Asia, their leaves have been designated a controlled substance, in the same category as cannabis, since promulgation of the Kratom Act in 1943.…

  • Phuket Police bust heroin dealers in Cherng Talay

    Phuket Police bust heroin dealers in Cherng Talay

    PHUKET: Police in Phuket yesterday arrested a heroin dealer from Narathiwat, in Thailand’s troubled Deep South, seizing more than 80 grams of the drug as well as a stash of dried marijuana from one of his agents.The arrest was announced at a press conference led by Cherng Talay Police Superintendent Jirasak Siangsak yesterday morning. Col Jirasak presented to the press…

  • Thailand News: Verdict delay in war weapon case

    Thailand News: Verdict delay in war weapon case

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Verdict on eight Thais in war weapon case “could take two weeks” Phuket Gazette / The Nation PHUKET: The trial of eight Thais, arrested in Myanmar on charges of possessing war weapons, was scheduled to end today, but it could take two weeks before the court…

  • Thailand News: Group to appeal; Myanmar decision expected; Forest fires

    Thailand News: Group to appeal; Myanmar decision expected; Forest fires

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Rayong people to appeal against court verdict on land documents Phuket Gazette / The Nation PHUKET: Local residents from Rayong’s Mae Ramphueng area will be appealing to the Supreme Administrative Court against the lower court’s decision to drop their complaint over the land rights documents held…

  • Thailand News: Update on drug bust; Leaders oppose curfew; Drink still flowed

    Thailand News: Update on drug bust; Leaders oppose curfew; Drink still flowed

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Drug packaging warehouse raided after Aussie tip-off Phuket Gazette / The Nation PHUKET: A Thai warehouse for terracotta pots was searched by police who believe that it served as a transit point for illicit drugs to be smuggled into Australia. National Police chief Priewpan Dhamapong said…

  • Phuket police take chainsaws to drug problem

    Phuket police take chainsaws to drug problem

    PHUKET: Chainsaw-wielding police took a cut out of the drug-supply in Phuket on yesterday, bringing down several enormous kratom trees on Luang Poh Road. Despite kratom trees being native to Southeast Asia, their leaves have been considered a controlled substance, in the same category as cannabis, since promulgation of the Kratom Act in 1943. The law made planting the tree…

  • Police crack Phang Nga drug network linked to “kingpin prisoner’

    Police crack Phang Nga drug network linked to “kingpin prisoner’

    PHUKET: Acting on a tip-off police raided two separate addresses in Phang Nga yesterday resulting in the arrest of six men and the recovery of drugs, weapons, cash and other valuables. The gang was reportedly controlled by an inmate at Nakhon Sri Thammar at Provincial Prison who ordered drugs to be delivered to one of the suspects netted in the…

  • Phuket Gazette: Central America most violent; U.S. Coast Guard crash; Hackers arrested

    Phuket Gazette: Central America most violent; U.S. Coast Guard crash; Hackers arrested

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community UN describes Central America as world’s most violent area, and the U.S. the biggest drug market PHUKET (News Wires): The United Nations (UN) on Tuesday described Central America as one of the most violent areas in the world as drug-related violence continues to rise, signaling the…

  • Phuket books: Battle of the Eco-Warriors

    Phuket books: Battle of the Eco-Warriors

    PHUKET: T.C. Boyle is the hardest working man in the literary business. Like the late Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, he writes seven days a week, and it shows. He has written 13 novels and nine collections of short stories. His first two novels – Water Music and Budding Prospects – are about the 18th century African explorations of Mungo Park and contemporary…

  • Former monk arrested for drugs in Phuket

    Former monk arrested for drugs in Phuket

    PHUKET: A former monk was one of six suspects arrested in drug raids in Kathu, Phuket earlier this week. Following a tip-off that a man living in a hut had been selling drugs to local youths, a Thung Thong Police drug suppression unit on Sunday raided the dwelling, located in a rubber plantation near Bang Wad Reservoir in Kathu. They…

  • Phuket police arrest one in Burmese dope bust

    Phuket police arrest one in Burmese dope bust

    PHUKET: Phuket police arrested a man for selling drugs in Rawai on Saturday, seizing his stash of marijuana and multiple bundles of kratom leaves in the process. Acting on a tip-off, Lt Col Charan Bangprasert of the Chalong Police dispatched a team to a construction site in Rawai, where the suspect was reportedly supplying drugs to Burmese workers. The suspect,…

  • Phuket Police need help from tourists: investigator

    Phuket Police need help from tourists: investigator

    PHUKET: Foreign tourists who are victims of crime in Phuket all too often leave the country before police can investigate their claims, allowing perpetrators to continue roaming the streets in search of new victims, a Patong Police investigator has said. “I want foreign tourists who are victims of crimes in Phuket to cooperate with us when we investigate their cases,…

  • Phuket police bust uncovers dope ‘brick’ in woman’s shorts

    Phuket police bust uncovers dope ‘brick’ in woman’s shorts

    PHUKET: Phuket Police acting on a tip-off arrested two people for possession and intent to sell marijuana on Monday night. One of the arrested was a woman who had a “brick” of marijuana stuffed into her shorts. The other was a man who was already wanted for dope charges. After receiving the tip-off that “someone” was selling drugs at a…

  • Japanese refugee in Phuket pot bust

    Japanese refugee in Phuket pot bust

    PHUKET: A Japanese man fleeing the flood waters in Bangkok was caught with about 24 grams of marijuana this morning as he entered Phuket by car. Police stopped a white Honda Jazz at about 9:30am at Tah Chat Chai checkpoint for a routine inspection. In the car were three Japanese men, including Haruyuki Masuoka, 27. Police found four plastic bags…

  • “Monk’ hash mule nabbed at Phuket Airport

    “Monk’ hash mule nabbed at Phuket Airport

    PHUKET: A Nepalese “monk” was caught on Saturday at Phuket International Airport (PIA) with eight kilos of hashish in his luggage. The haul was said to be worth an estimated 800,000 baht. The suspect, Hise Chhiring Tamang, was presented at a press conference yesterday by PIA Customs Director Montira Cherchoo. Also present was PIA Deputy Director Thani Chuangcho, who said…

  • Police seize 400kg of marijuana in single haul

    Police seize 400kg of marijuana in single haul

    PHUKET : Phuket police yesterday seized 400 kilograms of marijuana worth an estimated 20 million baht in a raid in Rawai. Phuket Provincial Police presented suspected drug dealer Sompong “Pet” Tham-u-tok, 23, at a press conference this morning presided by Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha, Phuket Provincial Police Commander Pekad Tantipong and Chalong Police Superintendent Krittapad Dej-intorrasorn. Also presented were 400…

  • Phuket Police anti-drugs campaign targets kids

    Phuket Police anti-drugs campaign targets kids

    PHUKET: About 300 students yesterday began their first day of an “anti-drugs camp” as part of a new campaign by Phuket City police targeting youngsters. The children, from schools throughout Phuket Town, gathered at Srinagarindra The Princess Mother School Phuket (or “Chalermprakiat School“) in Saphan Hin for the four-day camp, which ends on Thursday. “Drug addiction is still a big…

  • Phuket Gov first to be drug tested

    Phuket Gov first to be drug tested

    PHUKET: Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha today passed a drug test as part of the grand opening ceremony for the new drug testing center in Phuket. The governor officiated at the the event at the Regional Medical Sciences Center in Thalang this morning and offered a urine sample which was then screened for all five classes of illegal narcotics. After a…

  • Guns, fights and ganja – but no election violence: Police

    Guns, fights and ganja – but no election violence: Police

    PHUKET: The police crackdown in Phuket in the run-up to the July 3 election landed a bumper haul of guns, drugs and arrests – but resulted in no arrests for violence related to the election. A total of 45 factory-made and homemade guns were seized and 350 people were arrested for drugs since May 12, according to statistics issued today…

  • Phuket politician arrested on drugs, weapons charges

    Phuket politician arrested on drugs, weapons charges

    PHUKET: A local politician and two other men have been arrested and charged with possession and sale of narcotics after a raid on their jungle hangout in Phuket yesterday. At a police press conference at Phuket City Police Station this morning, Phuket Provincial Police Superintendent Pekad Tantipong identified the suspects as Cherng Talay subdistrict councilor Nakhin “Poo” Wisuttharom, 36, and…

  • Korean owner of Phuket snake farm busted with drugs

    Korean owner of Phuket snake farm busted with drugs

    PHUKET: The Korean owner of a Phuket snake farm was arrested at the Thai border with Cambodia this morning when he tried to smuggle ya ice (crystal methamphetamine) and marijuana into the Kingdom. The Korean, identified as 51-year-old Eun Sooyong, was passing through a security checkpoint at the Phrom Daen border crossing in the Aranyaprathet district of Sa Kaew Province,…

  • Cops to be drug tested: Phuket Police chief

    Cops to be drug tested: Phuket Police chief

    PHUKET: The new Phuket City Police chief today announced plans to introduce drug testing for police nationwide to ensure that the force remains completely drug free. “Police are the last line of defense in society’s war on illegal drugs, so if they themselves are involved, then its ‘game over’,” Phuket City Police Superintendent Chote Chitchai told a press conference today.…

  • German’s Phuket stay goes to pot | Thaiger

    German’s Phuket stay goes to pot

    PHUKET: A 33-year-old German man is facing deportation after being found overstaying his visa and in possession of half a gram of marijuana. Chalong Police stopped Nico Bergmann about midday on Sunday as he drove through a checkpoint in Soi Thanuthep. Officers, led by Lt Col Weerayut Sitthirattanakul, believed Mr Bergmann was acting suspiciously and searched his car. In his…

  • Drug cases top Phuket crime statistics for October

    Drug cases top Phuket crime statistics for October

    PHUKET: Crime statistics released by the Phuket Provincial Police for October this year show decreases in most crime categories, with narcotics-related crimes once again the most common. There was no change in the number of Category 1 (heinous) crimes year-on-year, with 10 cases reported. There were four pre-mediated murders reported with two arrests in October this year and five cases…

  • PHUKET OPINION: Saving lives is not an ‘internal affair’ | Thaiger

    PHUKET OPINION: Saving lives is not an ‘internal affair’

    PHUKET: The dismissal en masse of Patong-based volunteer rescue workers by the Kusoldharm Foundation once again raises the need for better standards in emergency medical rescue services – not just in Patong, but across all of Phuket. As a privately administered organization, the Kusoldharm Foundation has the right to dismiss volunteers whose conduct is inappropriate, but to terminate the services…

  • Thieving meth-heads arrested in Phuket

    Thieving meth-heads arrested in Phuket

    PHUKET: The crime spree of three drug-addicted thieves came to an end on Monday, following a series of arrests that began when one gang member was caught smoking ya bah (methamphetamine). The trio were presented to the press at a conference held at Phuket City Police Station on Wednesday. Phuket City Police Commander Pekad Tantipong identified the accused as Adisorn…

  • August drug cases up 70% year-on-year: Phuket Police

    August drug cases up 70% year-on-year: Phuket Police

    PHUKET: August has seen a 70% jump in the number of reported drug cases year-on-year in Phuket, according to statistics released by the Phuket Provincial Police. According to the statistics, 333 were people arrested in 305 drug cases last month, a 70.1% increase on the number of cases reported in August 2009. However, the numbers for last month were down…

  • Brit biker sets record for Thai King | Thaiger

    Brit biker sets record for Thai King

    Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily digest of news about Thailand from around the world, compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community. PHUKET: Away from his home in Chiangrai for more than three months, British expat Alan Bate completed his trip around the world in honour of His Majesty the King of Thailand yesterday and set a new record…