Nothing came up for ‘cannabis’ or ‘marijuana’ so here goes…
I am writing a novel about expat life on the edge on the fragrant isle. I seek to learn the following…
Is cannabis a popular recreational drug among expats there?
Is it usually home-grown or purchased?
Whether self-grown or commercial - is it hydroponic or outdoor?
What is the market price per pound/kilo/joint?
What are the penalties for possession/distribution/importation of viable THCed seeds (not hemp seed)/paraphenalia (unused pipes [no residual resin] etc)/ personal use amounts?
Have western foreigners been prosecuted for the above?
What is the local entrepreneurial element in this cottage industry or is it indeed controlled by army/police as in some less developed Asian nations?
Mainland China had the reputation (in some producing provinces only, and this is out of date) of tolerance to personal use - how does Taiwan compare to say Yunnan?
Is cannabis historically used medicinally in TCM?
Is there a legalization/decriminalization movement in Taiwan?
What is standard bribe to pay off cops?
Are expats happy with the current quality and price?
Is supply consistent or erratic?
Thank you for any insights you may have from reading newspapers or talking about this phenomenon. This is not an advocacy of illegal activity, simply a studying of the facts.
If one is writing a novel, it’s best to get first hand relevant knowledge of the subject matter, instead of hearsay, innuendo and subjective poppycock passed down from others.
The latter is best left to journalism.
[quote=“bakunin”]Nothing came up for ‘cannabis’ or ‘marijuana’ so here goes…
I am writing a novel about expat life on the edge on the fragrant isle. I seek to learn the following…
Is cannabis a popular recreational drug among expats there?
Is it usually home-grown or purchased?
Whether self-grown or commercial - is it hydroponic or outdoor?
What is the market price per pound/kilo/joint?
What are the penalties for possession/distribution/importation of viable THCed seeds (not hemp seed)/paraphenalia (unused pipes [no residual resin] etc)/ personal use amounts?
Have western foreigners been prosecuted for the above?
What is the local entrepreneurial element in this cottage industry or is it indeed controlled by army/police as in some less developed Asian nations?
Mainland China had the reputation (in some producing provinces only, and this is out of date) of tolerance to personal use - how does Taiwan compare to say Yunnan?
Is cannabis historically used medicinally in TCM?
Is there a legalization/decriminalization movement in Taiwan?
What is standard bribe to pay off cops?
Are expats happy with the current quality and price?
Is supply consistent or erratic?
Thank you for any insights you may have from reading newspapers or talking about this phenomenon. This is not an advocacy of illegal activity, simply a studying of the facts.[/quote]
probably one of the dumber posts of recent times…no one in their right mind would discuss this openly on forumosa…
you could be trolling for the fuzz for all we know… :loco:
Some of this maybe factual, other bits sheer lunacy.
Is cannabis a popular recreational drug among expats there? - [color=darkred]It’s compulsory[/color]
2. Is it usually home-grown or purchased? - [color=darkred]Plucked from the side of the streets, for the most part.[/color]3. Whether self-grown or commercial - is it hydroponic or outdoor? - [color=darkred]Street side hydroponics[/color]
4. What is the market price per pound/kilo/joint? - [color=darkred]Free[/color]
5. What are the penalties for possession/distribution/importation of viable THCed seeds (not hemp seed)/paraphenalia (unused pipes [no residual resin] etc)/ personal use amounts? - [color=darkred]Death via boredom if you don;t use it. [/color]
6. Have western foreigners been prosecuted for the above? - [color=darkred]Yes, but none executed, as yet. [/color]
7. What is the local entrepreneurial element in this cottage industry or is it indeed controlled by army/police as in some less developed Asian nations? - [color=darkred]If we relied on the army or cops we’d never get stoned. [/color]
8. Mainland China had the reputation (in some producing provinces only, and this is out of date) of tolerance to personal use - how does Taiwan compare to say Yunnan? - [color=darkred]Taiwan is girthed by seas. [/color]
9. Is cannabis historically used medicinally in TCM? - [color=darkred]The seeds, huo ma ren are considered a “moist laxative.” [/color]10. Is there a legalization/decriminalization movement in Taiwan? - [color=darkred]There is no clear legislation in Taiwan.[/color]
11. What is standard bribe to pay off cops? - [color=darkred]“Ting bu dong” usally works.[/color]
12. Are expats happy with the current quality and price? - [color=darkred]Could always do with more[/color].
13. Is supply consistent or erratic? - [color=darkred]Depends on the acid rainfall, man[/color].
I’m looking forward so much that I’m already imagining possible plot lines that take full advantage of common assumptions among police officers and the local public about marijuana:
Sven, a tall, eager Swede (as identified by constant use of phrases like “yumpin’ yimminy!”) in Taiwan to work at a small start-up technology company gets onto the wrong side of the tracks when a Canadian marijuana dealer introduces him to his hookah den. Within days, Sven leaves his wife for a tattoed Thai hooker, starts listening to Amy Winehouse albums and loses his job. By the end of a sleepless week of constant “pot buzz”, Sven is arrested by police after he wakes up naked in the middle of Da-An Park with a CYS-brand wig superglued to his scalp. In police custody, he attempts suicide out of desperation from his serious unfulfilled physical addiction to marijuana; rescued by Mormon missionaries, he finds his way back to society with the realization that the hole in himself that he was filling with drugs could also be filled by bringing the Thai hooker home to be his “second wife”.
Timmy, a happy and patriotic young American, arrives into Taipei to teach English, but little does he know that there are Canadians looking to feed him hashish brownies to get him hooked. Soon, all he can do is eat brownies. The highs he gets make him get the “munchies”, a desire for food that the Canadians are only all the more willing to fulfill … with more hashish brownies. The cycle of highs end in tragedy when, in a hashish-fueled rage, he tears apart a 7-11 convenience store with his bare hands, steals a scooter and goes on a cross-Taipei violent-crime spree. Ultimately the police are called in to stop him – only by shooting out the tires of his scooter are they able to force a final showdown.
Cindy, a happy-go-lucky Chinese-language student at ShiDa from England, goes into one of the many mob-run bars in and around her college, where she makes the mistake of taking an injection of 100% pure, undiluted bong water. Physically addicted and with her life now crumbling around her, she has no choice but to work off her marijuana addiction by having sex with random foreign laborers at seedy MRT construction sites. She is eventually spotted and rescued by former classmates who risk all to get her the drug treatment she desperately needs.
Jimmy, a strapping young South African, makes the mistake of going to Spring Scream, where the marijuana-fueled rave parties and orgies continue all night on the beach. Hallucinating, he thinks he can swim to Penghu but unfortunately is mistaken.
Well I heard the reason that it is absolutely everywhere in Taiwan and smoked by absolutely everyone is because the Japanese were growing it in secret chemical weapons research facilities, and at the end of the war, they let all the dope plants free.
Crap! Well, I could guess that “art imitates life” or say that the plot idea is one “taken straight from the pages of today’s papers”, but I really had forgotten about that one. Probably those other three plot outlines I suggested also came from other true stories that are sitting out there. Anybody here want to own up to having lived what I’ve written?
I could have been number three, except I was a bit more picky – I’d only do local men with tight perms and fake Versace shirts. Nobody came to my rescue, either.
