Wealthy youths turn to ‘e-ganja’ instead of smoking the bong

A 22-year-old girl from Chiang Mai, who identified herself only as Min, said the new product had become popular among wealthy youths who want to try smoking marijuana but do not like the smoke or smell of burning raw leaves or flowers.

Min said e-ganja can be bought online only for 3,000 baht. The set is made of cannabis oil inside a smoker, which looks like a bottle with a built-in rechargeable electronic vaporiser that dissolves the oil for inhaling.

Each e-ganja tube can be smoked for two to three weeks, she said.

Min claimed she heard that some young businessmen too had turned to e-ganja for recreation because it could be smoked anywhere without the smoke or smell affecting others.

Earlier, the Public Health Ministry announced a ban on smoking ganja in public, declaring both the smoke and smell of marijuana or hemp a “public nuisance”.

Before the advent of e-ganja, many vendors had been selling ground marijuana leaves and flowers wrapped in cigarette paper or packs of the plant’s flowers for smoking through bongs.