PHUKET, THAILAND – A foreign tourist collapsed after eating a cannabis snack on Bangla Road in Patong, intensifying debate over the safety of cannabis edibles in Thailand.
Tourist found unconscious on Bangla Road
On the evening of 27 November, the Patong Development Foundation received an emergency call from a business owner who had found an unconscious woman lying on the ground. When rescue workers arrived, they saw the woman motionless, surrounded by onlookers from Thailand and abroad.
“Some people were filming the incident, others were just standing there in confusion.”
said an eyewitness.
Rescuers blocked by woman’s companion
Paramedics attempted to provide first aid, but a foreign man, believed to be the woman’s boyfriend, abruptly stopped them. Photos circulating online showed him desperately trying to shake her awake.
“He stubbornly refused to accept our help.”
said a member of the rescue unit.
The medics were forced to watch as the man tried in vain to get the woman back on her feet.
Similar cannabis incidents involving tourists
The case in Patong was not isolated. Only a week earlier, an Indian travel blogger reported on Instagram that she and a friend in Krabi were taken to hospital after eating cannabis gummy bears.
According to her account, they slept for three hours under intravenous treatment, missed their return flight and received a bill for 36,000 baht (around 900 euros). The blogger initially accused the hospital and a cannabis shop of cheating tourists, but later issued a public apology.
Child in Chiang Mai suffers severe consequences
An even more dramatic case occurred in Chiang Mai, where a two-year-old girl possibly suffered permanent brain damage after mistaking cannabis gummy bears for sweets. The incident triggered a wave of public outrage.
Members of the public called for stricter controls on cannabis products and demanded that shops stop selling items whose shape or packaging resembles children’s snacks.
Growing concern over Thailand’s cannabis policy
Since the legalization of cannabis in Thailand, such incidents had become more frequent. A lack of public information about the effects of edible cannabis products was described as a major problem, with many tourists underestimating the strength and duration of their impact.
As rescuers in Phuket were left unable to intervene, the debate turned to regulation, with observers asking how many more cases would be needed before Thailand introduced tough regulations on cannabis products and put the safety of tourists and residents first.