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Residential and office buildings are seen in Beijing, China, January 10, 2017.
Hard Numbers: Chinese house prices drop, Maryland governor pardons cannabis convicts, Nuclear spending soars, Putin visits Kim, Record migration through Mexico
3.9: China reported Monday that home prices across the country fell at a faster rate in May than at any time since last summer. They’ve dropped3.9% since last May, and they’ve now reached their lowest level since 2014. Housing prices are especially sensitive in China because property was once a primary engine of high growth, but the sector is now deeply in debt.
175,000: Maryland Gov. Wes Moore signed an executive order on Monday to pardonmore than 175,000 cannabis-related convictions. The use of marijuana remains a crime at the federal level, but 24 states have legalized it and another 14 allow marijuana use for medical purposes.
3,000: A nuclear watchdog reports that the world’s nine nuclear-armed states together spent $91.4 billion in 2023. That’s nearly$3,000 per second. The report says the United States spent $51.5 billion, which is “more than all the other nuclear-armed countries put together.” China spent $11.8 billion. Russia spent $8.3 billion.
24: Russia’s Vladimir Putin arrived in Pyongyang today for a two-day visit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. It’s Putin’sfirst trip to the DPRK in 24 years, and he and Kim are expected to reaffirm the friendship between their countries. Putin is likely to want ammunition (and maybe some soldiers) for his war in Ukraine. Kim would like to have Russian technologies that can boost his country’s missile program.
177: The Mexican government reported Sunday that some1.39 million people from 177 countries traveled through Mexico so far this year trying to reach the United States without entry papers. For reference, the United Nations has 193 member states.
Tourist stand in front of Peak Bolivar at the Sierra Nevada in the Andean state of Merida July 30, 2008.
Hard Numbers: Venezuela loses its glaciers, Renewables hit 30, MTG flames out, Thailand smokes cannabis industry, Kenya bulldozes flood-prone homes
6: It may surprise you that Venezuela, located just north of the equator, has glaciers. Well, it had glaciers. The country has just become the first in modern history to lose all of its Andean mountain glaciers, which once numbered six in total. Global warming has caused the last of them, the Humboldt Glacier, to shrink so much that it is now a mere “ice field.”
30: But here’s some good news on the global warming front: Renewable sources reached 30% of total global energy production in 2023. Hydropower is still the reigning renewable champ, accounting for about half of all clean energy – but solar and wind have expanded dramatically over the past decade.
1.2 billion: Thailand’s cannabis industry, projected to reach $1.2 billion by next year, just got smoked. The country’s government has decided to re-list the leaf as a narcotic. The move reverses a decision two years ago to decriminalize recreational pot use. Supporters of the re-listing say that decriminalization was hastily done with poor regulations and has exacerbated youth addiction. Opponents say it will crush small businesses and that it’s unfair so long as alcohol and cigarettes remain legal.
75: As deadly rains continue to swell rivers and cause catastrophic flooding, the Kenyan government is now bulldozing homes in flood-prone areas and giving their owners the equivalent of $75 to move elsewhere. The government had given residents in high-risk zones a deadline to leave or face eviction. Security forces reportedly fired tear gas at some residents who tried to stop the bulldozers in the capital of Nairobi.Thailand, Bangkok, 2024/01/17. A tuktuk drives past a cannabis dispensary in the Nana district.
Pot politics: Thai government aims to overturn cannabis legalization
Passing the ganja in Thailand may soon be illegal – again. On Tuesday, Health Minister Cholnan Srikaew said the government plans to seek Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin’s approval next week for a draft bill to ban the use of recreational cannabis.
Historical high hopes. Thailand had some of the harshest anti-drug laws in the world. Deputy Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirankul (the former health minister), of the Bhumjaithai Party, campaigned on decriminalizing marijuana to reduce prison overcrowding and ease poverty. The result? Cannabis was legalized in June 2022, making Thailand the first Asian country to do so.
Conservative potshots. Srettha made limiting marijuana use for medicinal purposes a focal point during last year’s elections, and last month, Cholnan said using recreational cannabis “for fun is wrong.”
Youthful dreams up in smoke. Anutin’s pitch of decriminalizing the plant made the BJT Party stand out from its counterparts, especially among young voters. But the fast-aging population (18% are senior citizens) is on edge – and the country’s conservative coalition government came to power promising to reverse the liberalization. Offenders will face fines or prison terms of up to a year.Israelis protest in front of the Ministry of defense to free hostages taken by Hamas terrorist on October 7th 2023.
Hard Numbers: Gaza hostage talks continue, Brazilians bake, Thais toke, Record-scratch in Madagascar election
50: Negotiations to release some of the Hamas-held hostages in Gaza continued Wednesday, as Qatari mediators reportedly sought the release of 50 civilians in exchange for Israel agreeing to a three-day cease-fire. Hamas kidnapped more than 230 people during its Oct. 7 rampage. For more on the challenges facing hostage negotiations, here are comments from somebody who knows a thing or two about the subject.
100: More than 100 million people in Brazil are sweating it out amid one of the country’s worst heat waves in recent memory. Nearly 3,000 towns and cities are currently under heat alerts as temps climb above 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Experts say the El Niño climate phenomenon is partly to blame. We say it’s a great excuse to watch the sweltering 1955 Brazilian neo-realist classic “Rio, 40 Degrees.” (Celsius, celsius!)
6,000: Thailand’s Parliament is looking to roll up the country’s nascent cannabis industry, as weed shops bloom across the country. Last year, Thailand became the first Asian country to decriminalize cannabis, but in the absence of clear rules for a legal marijuana industry, more than 6,000 weed dispensaries have opened. Fearing widespread addiction, lawmakers have rewritten draft laws to restrict recreational use, and focus on medicinal applications.
10: At least 10 of 12 opposition candidates are boycotting Madagascar’s presidential election, which is set to take place Thursday. They’re all rivals, but their main beef now is with President Andry Rajoelina, who they say should have been stripped of his Malagasy passport when he took French citizenship in 2014. They also say Rajoelina, a 49-year-old former DJ running for reelection, has packed the courts with allies and weakened the electoral authorities. Weeks of protests have met with violent crackdowns. With a boycott of this size, will the election even be seen as legitimate?People hold signs and mock-up joints while celebrating World Cannabis Day in Bangkok.
Getting (legally) stoned in the Land of Smiles is … tricky
Thailand, famous for having some of the toughest anti-drug laws in the world, recently became the first Asian country to decriminalize cannabis. Still, a tangle of laws — and messy domestic politics — make it unclear whether recreational use and possession will be prosecuted now, or in the future. Huh? We asked Eurasia Group analyst Peter Mumford to make sense of it all.
How did we get here?
Thailand has traditionally taken a very conservative approach to drugs and punished those caught with even small amounts of certain narcotics with lengthy prison terms or even the death penalty. But the junta that took over after the 2014 military coup decided to change course. Its justice minister admitted that anti-drug policies had failed to eradicate consumption — yet succeeded in fostering police corruption and filling overcrowded jails with minor offenders, mostly from disadvantaged backgrounds.
In 2017, the generals began reducing penalties for possession, import/export, and production of narcotics; a year later, Thailand became the first country in Asia to legalize medical marijuana.
What happened next?
Ahead of the 2019 elections, the first since the coup, the Bhum Jai Thai (Thai Pride) party made legalizing cannabis its central policy proposal, vowing to allow households to grow weed as a cash crop and develop the medical marijuana sector. This niche but fairly popular policy agenda helped the BJT, a medium-sized party, stand out in a crowded electoral field. It ended up winning the fifth-largest number of seats in parliament and joining the coalition government led by Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, the same army chief who seized power in 2014.
Prayuth appointed BJT leader Anutin Charnvirakul, a staunch advocate of cannabis legalization, as deputy PM and health minister, enabling him to push harder for decriminalization. Subsequent defections by MPs from other parties resulted in BJT becoming the second-largest party in the ruling coalition, giving it even more clout. As Prayuth has struggled to manage an increasingly fractious coalition and stop attempts to oust him, he has become more dependent on the BJT to stay in power.
It is in this context that the general-turned-PM caved to the party's signature demand, which the BJT chalks up as a major victory and hopes will bolster its prospects in the next elections, due by May 2023.
So, is weed now really legal?
Yes and no. Anyone is now free to grow, consume, and trade domestically sourced cannabis plants, with the previous licensing scheme for medical marijuana cultivation now scrapped. However, cannabis extracts are treated differently: those containing more than 0.2% of THC, basically what makes you high, are still classified as illegal narcotics. All extracts derived from foreign plants are also banned, regardless of THC content. The regulatory situation is hazy and rapidly evolving, though.
What about recreational use?
The government was caught off guard by the surge in recreational use after the regulatory changes. Claiming this was not its intention, it has moved quickly to re-establish controls.
Authorities have warned that inappropriate use, including smoking weed in public, will be prosecuted under public nuisance and health laws, though “inappropriate” is vaguely defined, with the government implying it might refer to any recreational use. Selling and consumption by minors and pregnant women are also illegal.
Furthermore, while growing marijuana is allowed, cultivators need to register with the Thai FDA. Within two days of decriminalization, the agency announced 32 million visits to its Plookganja (grow ganja) website and mobile application, and nearly 600,000 Thais registered to grow cannabis and hemp.
Why is the new legislation so confusing?
It seems that the Thai government liberalized marijuana without thinking through all the implications or putting a new regulatory/policy framework in place.
The cannabis and hemp bill, planned before marijuana was legalized, is now moving slowly through Thailand's notoriously tedious lawmaking process. When passed, the law will likely reaffirm/reimpose restrictions on the use of cannabis, potentially even re-criminalizing all forms of recreational use.
What if you're a foreigner looking to visit Thailand soon — can you legally buy weed?
For the moment, yes. But since the regulatory framework is in flux, purchasing cannabis is risky. Anutin has warned foreigners not to come to Thailand for ganja tourism, possibly as part of his broader push for “higher quality” tourists.
Do you think neighboring countries will follow Thailand’s lead?
Unlikely, given very strict rules and penalties on drug consumption in most of the region, although Indonesia has started the conversation on legalizing medical marijuana.
Governments in China and Singapore have reminded their citizens and residents that the harsh penalties in place for drug use in those countries also apply to consumption overseas. Other governments in Asia may issue similar warnings. . Tourists going to Thailand will need to be extra careful as drinks and food containing marijuana can be bought from convenience stores and may not be clearly labeled.
Similarly, the Thai government has warned its own nationals that they risk landing in serious trouble if they travel to other Asian countries soon after consuming cannabis at home, as the drug could still be detectable.The Graphic Truth: Global reefer madness
This week, Malta became the first European country to legalize cannabis for recreational use, joining the ranks of pot-friendly countries like Canada, Mexico, and South Africa. But even as more places move to decriminalize or legalize weed, rolling a blunt in most of the rest of the world could still land you in hot water. We take a look at where it’s okay to grab some ganja, while Ian Bremmer breaks it down for us on GZERO World.
Thailand cautiously reopens door to weed
NAKHON RATCHASIMA (Thailand)• • "Would you like to try it?" the young man says when he notices me peering at the cannabis joint held between his fingers. "It's good for your health." Behind him, a dark green banner declares: "Meet People with Experience in Kancha".