An American tourist attempting to promote his California business was forced to apologize for recently blasting marijuana smoke through a fog machine on a busy street in Phuket, Thailand.
The man, identified as 55-year-old Angkhan Vorac Chhieng, was reportedly using the fog machine to dispense marijuana laced fog on a busy street early in the morning on August 18, local authorities said.
Some passerby willingly took part in the blasting while others were unsuspecting recipients, Men’s Journal reported. Video of Chhieng’s actions were posted on social media with one user commenting, “I’d hit that for sure” and another asking, “No death penalty for that?” (RELATED: Portland Beats Denver As Top City For Weed)
Local cops were less than pleased by the stunt. https://t.co/402SwcFxdM
— Men’s Journal (@MensJournal) August 24, 2023
Police were able to use surveillance footage to track Chhieng down after receiving reports of his weed smoke blasting, Nextshark reported.
Chhieng reportedly told the authorities he was using a “kush cannon” to spread the cannabis smoke in an attempt to promote his cannabis dispensary, Kush Life, which is located in California.
When police responded by telling him that “such actions cannot be done in public,” Chhieng reportedly said that he “did not consider it as an inappropriate act,” according to Men’s Journal. Nevertheless, Chhieng apologized for damaging the tourism image of Phuket and then left Thailand the next day.
Although it is unclear if police threatened to arrest Chhieng, Nextshark reported that Thailand prohibits smoking cannabis in public and that violations can carry a fine of 25,000 baht ($712) and a three-month prison sentence.
Back in April, Thai authorities announced they would start enforcing weed laws more strictly, Men’s Journal reported.