Thailand’s new vices: freedom—or façade?

From cannabis crackdowns to legal lottery tickets—why Boomers need to pay closer attention to the changing rules of play in paradise

Thailand has always been a land of contradictions—officially conservative, unofficially permissive. It’s a paradox that’s always been at the heart of the Thai experience. For decades, many of us retirees and long-stayers have navigated the system by intuition rather than regulation. We knew what could be done, what could be ignored, and what had to be handled with discretion. But, as I said in previous newsletters, that’s all changing, and rapidly.

In recent months, three cultural battlegrounds have emerged—cannabis, alcohol, and gambling—and all have seen major policy shifts. Despite being antithetical to the strict tenets of Buddhism, these aren’t just administrative updates. They signal a broader change in tone, intent, and enforcement. If, like me, you’re someone who remembers when daily life here ran more on common sense than QR codes—a wink and a nod rather than digital reporting—these shifts feel less like progress and more like major transformations.

Far out man!

Let’s start with weed. After its 2022 decriminalisation, Thailand became the first country in Asia to openly embrace cannabis. Dispensaries popped up on the high street faster than new 7-Elevens or KFCs. Weed lounges opened in Chiang Mai, Koh Samui, and Khao San Road. While the change was brave, it was also unexpected and ill thought through. And now? Shocker! The government’s rolling it all back. Who had that on their bingo card? As it’s always been in my 28 years in Thailand, one step forward, two steps back.

The new draft bill reclassifies cannabis as a narcotic, requires a prescription for all usage, and limits sales to medical dispensaries staffed by professionals in one of seven approved medical fields. The result? Chaos, especially for small business owners caught off guard. They went from legal entrepreneurs to regulatory targets almost overnight and have now been left out to dry. This abrupt reversal shows the risks of reading Thai policy at face value. Here’s the [ASEAN Now article] that explains more.

Lucky numbers

Then there's the Thai lottery. Several years ago, in my book 'Watching the Thais,' I wrote about how deeply rooted numerology is in Thai culture. Thais, like many other Asians, are very superstitious and obsessed with lucky numbers—house addresses, car license plates, condo floor numbers, even phone numbers are interpreted through the lens of fate. The Thai lottery is thus a chance to pitch your luck against the God of Numbers and potentially escape your allotted fate.

Now, we farang can officially join the ritual. Foreigners are legally allowed to purchase Thai lottery tickets and—crucially—claim winnings. If you’ve ever laughed while buying a ticket in the past for your Thai girlfriend or significant other, now it’s reality. You too can find your own lucky number and legally profit from it. Two fat ladies, 88! [ASEAN Now article – Foreigners welcome to try the lottery]

Down the hatch

And finally, alcohol. The rules around the buying of alcohol in Thailand are shifting. The infamous 2–5 pm sales ban might finally be lifted. Who hasn’t been doing a weekly shopping run to BigC only to find that the party you’d planned for that evening is all set except you forgot about these Victorian licensing rules so have to return later to get all the booze? Annoying doesn’t even begin to cover it. That said, I’ve officially been a teetotaller since getting dengue in 2023. I’ll write more about that journey in a future newsletter—but it’s made me watch Thailand’s alcohol reform from a new perspective.

But, getting back to alcohol, what I’ve noticed about the new laws currently being reviewed is it’s a mixed bag targeted mostly at gaining greater tourism revenue. Craft brewing may be legalised which in itself is a massive blow to the two big Thai breweries—Boon Rawd and ThaiBev which have dominated the local alcohol market for decades. Penalties for underage alcohol sales will be tightened too, while still making it illegal to be sold anywhere near schools. And all of this matters when we recall that over 3,000 people die every April during Songkran, with alcohol being a major contributor. See [ASEAN Now – Thai booze rules under review] for more.

Vice versa

So what does this all mean for us Boomers? On the surface, it may look like Thailand is opening up—welcoming foreigners into previously restricted spaces but, in reality, it’s controlled liberalisation. You can smoke weed—but only with paperwork and a license. You can drink—but within specific legal windows. You can gamble—but only in officially sanctioned ways. In short, it’s all a kind of façade where you can have your vices—but only if the government can track them and tax them.

This reminds me of a well-known Thai idiom: 'Trying to cover a dead elephant with a lotus leaf' (ช้างตายทั้งตัว เอาใบบัวมาปิด ไม่มิด). It means pretending to hide something massive with an obviously inadequate cover-up. For years, cannabis, casual gambling, and quiet, after-hours drinking were the dead elephant in the room. Everyone knew, but each was too busy looking away to notice. The same goes for prostitution and police corruption. Now, the leaf is off—and the elephant is being dressed up in Thai bureaucracy, led by a new mahout with a government salary.

Last orders

The question I leave you with is the same one I ask myself regularly, and I asked in my previous newsletter. Irrespective of the façade of being able to enjoy new freedoms—are we still welcome? Is there still a place for us among the digital nomads, the Indian and Russian entrepreneurs and the young tech gurus? The answer is definitely yes but—and it’s a big BUT—we’re no longer invisible.

Thailand still embraces retirees, but not the freewheeling kind. The country we came to escape to is becoming the kind of country we once escaped from—measured, unduly documented, and selectively liberal. And while the rules have changed, the question we have to ask ourselves is this—have we changed with them?

What you can do right now

• Stay informed—cannabis policy is changing weekly. If you’re using it, make sure you’re legal

• If you're playing the lottery, register your ticket properly and learn how to claim winnings

• Support local breweries—but know the new licensing laws if you plan to import, sell, or brew at home

• Talk to fellow expats about what freedoms matter most—and which ones are at risk

• Ask yourself honestly: am I prepared for a Thailand that enforces its rules more than before?

Paying closer attention to the fast changing rules of play in paradise will mean a much smoother transition to the new digital world Thailand’s been planning and is now finalizing. Covet the genuine freedoms, not those hiding behind a kind of façade. And don’t get caught out.

——————————————————————————————————————

About me: I have written about Thai issues for many years, for media outlets like: Al Jazeera (Qatar), The Bangkok post (Thailand), The English Language Gazette (UK), the Nikkei Asian Review (Tokyo), The Guardian (UK), the South China Morning Post (Hong Kong) and jobs.ac.uk (UK).——————————————————————————————————————