A Singaporean woman mistakenly had a bowl of noodle soup containing cannabis while on holiday at Chiang Rai, Thailand. Partaking in cannabis overseas is also a crime for Singaporeans.
She thought that the green leaves in her soup were kangkong, and only came to the realization that she had consumed cannabis the following day when she saw a cannabis leaf on the menu beside a picture of the “very nice” soup she had ordered.
The housewife was surprised that cannabis would be found in such an ordinary dish as her noodle soup, she told The Straits Times, adding that it was part of the ingredients just like other boiled vegetables.
The woman, who has only been identified as Suanne, told ST, “If I had noticed the logo, or if the waiter had told me, I wouldn’t have ordered it.”
Some netizens, however, were somewhat critical, wondering why the woman did not seem to recognise the difference in the appearance of cannabis and kangkong.
“Clearly she doesn’t know her vegetables,” one commented.
But others, however, defended the woman.
Some netizens poked fun at the situation.
“Originally not very nice but after added the ‘vegetable’ became very nice,” a commenter quipped.
Some netizens, however, took the situation more seriously, saying they would not travel to Thailand in order to avoid making the same mistake.
In June, the Thai Food and Drug Administration removed marijuana and hemp from the Category 5 narcotics list. This means that Thailand is the first Asian country to decriminalize marijuana for industrial and medical use.
But this does not mean that recreational marijuana has been legalized nationally in Thailand.
And after Thailand legalised the cultivation and possession of marijuana and hemp for specific purposes, Singapore’s Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) issued a reminder to Singaporeans overseas that doing drugs is an offence.
The Thai government said in June that “only cannabis and hemp plants that contain less than 0.2% THC are allowed for possession, planting, and selling,” and only when authorities are informed.
Their objective is for “medical purposes, economic benefits, and for people to have a choice in taking care of their own health.” /TISG