It is somewhat shocking, the rate at which Cannabis stores have popped up in Bangkok, ever since the legalisation. Seemingly overnight. Suddenly I am surrounded by more Cannabis stores than 7 Elevens.
Below are some that I see on a regular basis that I found creative.
This is the one closest to my home. This started out as a small nook above a donut shop, but they eventually bought the property next door for their own place.
High Society Cannabis StoreHigh Society Cannabis Store
This is my favourite. It has no pretensions about what it is selling. Everything is clearly labelled.
Wonder Land
As per Google, there are 241 cannabis stores in Sukhumvit area alone. Thais are extremely shy about smoking up, so it remains to be seen how long all these stores last on expat business alone.
Another weekend with not much to do. I had some Cannabis left over from last time, so decided to give it another try. Like last time, I chewed it all up around 4 in the evening, assuming it would hit be hours later. Soon, I forgot about it and gulped down some Smirnoff. Big mistake, the Cannabis hit me within an hour this time.
The main thing I remember feeling was as if I was a young kid living with my parents. The second thing I remember feeling was a strange sense of smell in my sinuses. The familiar feeling of nasal congestion (I used to be frequently sick when I was young).
Then I felt as if I had just watched a South Indian movie (I think Roja or Bombay). It makes me feel like I have some very repressed and strong memories of watching these movies.
Last time the Cannabis hit me after dinner, but this time it was early evening so it made things a bit complicated. I took our dog for a walk. It was still evening, but to me it weirdly felt as if it was early morning. Then I started over thinking things, what would happen if I do something specific. But it was one of the best walks I had with our dog. It was as if I could feel what the dog was thinking and where she wanted to go. It was as if we both became one during our walk.
Soon I started to feel the familiar dread of wasting the weekend in such a state instead of being present. Back home, if I held my head still for too long, any sudden movement after felt as if a huge jerk hit my head. I remember being very thirsty. Also, it brought out some hidden memory of being at some temple very early in the morning. We had also booked a table for dinner at a fancy restaurant and I remember feeling as if that it would now go to waste.
I booked a taxi and went to the washroom. Then I felt a sudden sense of panic as if I booked the taxi and then forgot about it for hours. When I rushed back to my phone, I realised it has only been a few minutes. I felt a weird feeling that my upper jaw would ram into my lower jaw at high speed breaking all my teeth. Soon I felt as if I was going to Murthal dhabas early in the morning. Then I felt as if I was finishing my shift at a call centre early in the morning to go home.
At dinner, I was completely absent. I had no idea what the staff was saying and had to think about everything twice before I understood it properly. I remember ordering normal food and then something overcame me and I ordered a full chicken. When it arrived, I decided I don’t want to eat it anymore and gave it to my dog below the table. It was spicy and afterwards, I remember the dog drinking lots of water. I do remember eating more than 1 Churros and wanting to eat even more.
Somehow (I don’t remember) I came back home and went to sleep.
On the bed, it felt as if the bed was moving like a roller coaster. I remember holding on to the side of the bed with my fingernails afraid I will fall off. Bordering on panic, I somehow closed my eyes and forced myself to go to sleep.
Cannabis and alcohol fuelled sleep
Overall, I wouldn’t call this a pleasant experience. I regret wasting so many hours of what remained of my weekend high and asleep. Or perhaps next time I will eat the buds in the morning, so that I am high by afternoon and normal by sleep time.
PS: Reconstructed from notes taken. during the experience.
Thai Cannabis has been legal for many months now. However, I never really tried it all this time because I didn’t have the right company. A few weeks ago I bought a joint and smoked it, but didn’t experience anything except the munchies. So I decided to try edibles.
So I walked over to a dispensary near my home. The first one I went to didn’t have edibles. The second one did.
Thai Cannabis Store
I bought some and went home. I ate some of it while walking home.
Thai Cannabis
At home I started watching Pink Floyd’s Pulse. I was careful not to destroy any expensive electronic equipment this time. After an hour I didn’t feel anything, so I had some more buds. Still, nothing happened so I forgot about it.
I took the dog to the dog park, went out for dinner with family. It was after coming back from dinner that I noticed that things felt strange.
The main thing I remember feeling was as if I was a young kid living with my parents. I experienced the sense of dread I always felt on Sunday nights because there was school on Monday mornings. I was puzzled but I still didn’t connect it to the Thai Cannabis. The second thing I remember feeling was a strange sense of smell in my sinuses. The familiar feeling of nasal congestion (I used to be frequently sick when I was young).
It was when my vision started moving in slow motion that I realised I was high from the Thai Cannabis. I had a rush of feelings in the next half hour. I felt as if I was a kid and had purchased a new toy from the market on Sunday. Then I felt as if I had just watched a South Indian movie (I think Roja or Bombay). I remember sitting on the sofa for what felt like ages but realised only 5 minutes had passed. Then suddenly the clock skipped forward 20 minutes in an instant.
The high also unlocked a repressed memory from years ago. We had gone to Ayan’s Sushant Estate and consumed Bhang on Holi. Nothing happened immediately afterwards, but we got high in the evening and I remember we went to KFC to buy snacks with my father. Somehow I had forgotten about this incident completely and just remembered it after this high.
Soon, I started noticing the geometry of my living room. The angles, how I was seated in relation to the TV, how the TV was angling away from me. Then it felt that the blood going to my head via the neck was rushing like a river. I could feel the blood. Soon I started losing my balance and couldn’t stand straight. While sitting on the sofa, it felt as if the sofa was floating. I panicked and went to bed.
On the bed, it felt as if the bed was moving like a roller coaster. I remember holding on to the side of the bed with my fingernails afraid I will fall off. Bordering on panic, I somehow closed my eyes and forced myself to go to sleep. At 8.
Epic Sleep!
I don’t remember having any special dreams, but I do remember waking up around 3 to take a huge dump. After that went to sleep again and didn’t wake up till 9 in the morning. I remember waking up not drowsy at all, but fresh and ready to go. It looked like it was all over, till I ate breakfast. Half hour after eating, I am high again and writing this post.
Overall, I wouldn’t call this a pleasant experience. I regret wasting so many hours of what remained of my weekend high and asleep. Or perhaps next time I will eat the buds in the morning, so that I am high by afternoon and normal by sleep time.
Thursday, 08 March
14:30: Buy copious amounts of Bhang
14:45: Consume copious amounts of Bhang
15:30: Start feeling sleepy
15:30 – 19:30): Resist sleep
19:31: Consume copious amounts of KFC and a virgin Mojito
20:00: Start losing short term memory. Everything is in episodes
20:15 onwards:
Start feeling giddy and start losing sense of Balance. House feels dark and depressing, even though there are many lights on. Unable to control my smile. Feel hungry again. It feels like there are ice cubes in my stomach. I must have something to eat and then go to sleep. I just had a phone conversation but cannot remember with whom. The computer monitor seems a long way away from me; a few hundred metres at least. But how am I then typing on it?
20:21: Filled my bag of Sun-dried tomatoes with Olive Oil
20:40: Am having sad thoughts. Maybe some ancient bad dreams. Of a place that is remote, full of water. Maybe rain water and a sharp metallic smell. Start listening to “Shine on you crazy diamond” to lighten the mood. The opening notes seem to be going on for quite some time. A long time. Stuck maybe?
20:45: Sudden craving to watch Michael Palin’s New Europe; although I cannot find the DVD.
20:47: Have that school-time Sunday evening depression; even though I am not in school and its not SUnday evening
21:31: Had a lot of dinner. Maybe worth 2 people. Kept having sad thoughts. Wondering of some time when I sat in front of TV all night long till it was morning.
21:34 Some hallucinations
21:40: Started watching Michael Palin’s new Europe. Stopped watching in 10 minutes and deleted
21:52: Started listening to Shine on you Crazy Diamond again. Music seems oddly low on Tempo.
22:01: Go to sleep
Friday, 09 March
12:00 Noon: Woke up after being asleep for 14 hours
Overall, this was nothing compared to this
