‘It’s a lot of fun’: Thailand celebrates first cannabis championship

Unlike what they usually do, cannabis smokers only had one target this Saturday in Bangkok: Roll the joints as fast as you can to win the first cannabis world championship. Thailand.

Since June, the conservative kingdom has removed cannabis from its banned drug list, allowing it to be smoked without criminal risk.

In a small cafe for consumers hempa group of smokers come together to try to win one of three championship prizes: the fastest joint, the most creative and the best Thai cannabis.

“It’s a lot of fun,” says contest creator Matita Promjai, nicknamed Mameau.

Of the hundreds of candidates who wanted to take part in the event, only a dozen were able to do so, this 31-year-old woman explains.

“They are very nervous,” he says, “everyone’s hands are shaking.”

Each participant he has to roll a big joint and a small one, as fast as he can, under the watchful eye of a group of experienced but increasingly relaxed people.

“I just try to do my best,” says one of the participants, Klaus, who gave only his first name, and calmly walks to the table, on which there is a stopwatch.

“Competition is tough”

When the competition starts, this 23-year-old man gets two going as quickly as possible. joints. The stopwatch stops at 1 minute 44 seconds.

“It’s a very good experience, it’s a lot of fun,” he says, although he acknowledges that “the competition is tough.”

Watching behind him with a smile is Nicky West, 52, who describes himself as a “high class” smoker.

“Really good, well done,” he admits, gesturing with a tattooed hand to congratulate this latest member. “Hats off,” he says.

Toward evening, the winners wander in a thickening cloud of smoke.

But competition he also has a more serious look, “Mamyu” notes.

Thailand, which is dominated by Buddhism, has long enforced strict drug laws. This helped to further fill the country’s already overcrowded prisons.

Authorities seeking to cash in on a lucrative market food D medicines based on cannabis, these laws have been relaxed in recent years.

After legalizing its therapeutic use in 2018, the government removed the plant from the drug list on June 9th.

This sudden lifting of restrictions on hemp this has led many people to question the substance. Some are interested in its benefits, others in the regulation of its use. There are those who do not want to change.

“That’s why I’m trying to create a community to educate people,” explains the organizer.

But “mommy” does not hide that, in addition to this important aspect, she created this competition for a very simple reason: “I smoke.”

AFP