Pot predicament: Thai mum blames foreign neighbours’ toke trouble for son’s illness

A Thai woman took to social media to demand responsibility from her foreign neighbours after their personal cannabis use allegedly caused her son’s illness.

The woman, Arpapan Jaiman, posted on Facebook on November 2 that a foreigner had just rented a room within her condominium in the northern province of Chaing Mai. Arpapan accused the foreigner and his friends of smoking cannabis inside the room.

Arpapan later revealed with Channel 3 that the incident occurred at about 6.40pm on October 31. She and her four year old son could smell the strong odour of cannabis in the hallway which made them feel dizzy and lightheaded and later gave them headaches.

Arpapan then reported the issue to the condo caretakers. At about 10pm, her son started crying but was unable to tell her what was wrong with him. She thought he had a headache and gave him the medicine.

However, the symptoms did not get better and the boy started vomiting and then lost consciousness. She reached out to the condo caretakers to get an ambulance to take her son to the hospital. According to Arpapan, the doctor concluded that her son had been affected by cannabis smoke.

Arpapan explained that the room next to her was owned by a Chinese national. The Chinese owner opened the room for rent and most of the tenants were foreigners. She asked her foreign neighbours to stop using cannabis and pay compensation to her and her son but the foreigners refused.

Arpapan said she submitted the complaint to Mueang Chiang Mai Police Station and several government organisations to seek justice for her son. Arpapan added that the police could not process any legal charges because of the new cannabis act.

Arpapan disclosed that the foreign neighbours did not stop smoking cannabis. She smelled the cannabis again on November 2 and reported it to the condo caretakers and police. Police rushed to the condo to talk with the neighbours and they denied the accusation claiming the smell was from a jasmine aroma diffuser.

Arpapan stated that the foreigners were ordered to leave the condo on November 3. However, the Chinese owner ignored the order and would not compensate her and her son. She is now seeking help from the Chiang Mai Provincial Justice Office.

“I do not want the free use of cannabis like this. It affects both children and adults who have respiratory problems. I want the foreign neighbours to be legally punished for what they have done. They caused problems for me and made my son ill, but I could not do anything to them. What I can do is share the story on social media. Police cannot do anything with this. I hope the other government departments will help us.”

According to the law, cannabis smoke is considered a public nuisance which will result in a fine of up to 5,000 baht according to Section 397 of the Criminal Law.

Moreover, smoking cannabis in a public place will lead to imprisonment of up to three months, a fine of up to 25,000 baht, or both.

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