Job Discussion Forums

[darkpoet]

Okay so after one thread in the 'General Asia' forum, I still want to know if I can teach and smoke marijuana... And for anyone who thinks that I'm just another crazy Canadian who wants to spread his criminal activities around... well, why else would I be looking for a country where it is just as acceptable (or at least as overlooked) as home...

Taiwan was suggested, along with a few others... Cambodia, China, and Vietnam unfortunately are a little hard to get started in...

My question is: Is it acceptable in Taiwan? To what extent?

It's not like I plan on smoking joints every chance I get away from the little rugrat darlings but because I don't drink (well, okay I do but not often)... I need some sort of vice (aside from cigarettes) - something to waste my money on...

As I asked in previous thread, anyone with any knowledge - however secondhand - please contribute... It's not that this is the basis for my decision, but it does make the decision-making process easier.

[WorkingVaca]

Drug traffiking is punishable by DEATH in Taiwan. Something like marijuana is expensive and you will be severely disappointed with the quality. I don't know what you mean by "accepted." Do you wear your habit like a badge of honor (marijuana leaf dayglow T-shirts, back-issues of High Times magazines piled up in your unkempt apartment, saying "whooooooa" a lot and dropping your voice a few decibles to show how beat up your vocal cords are, etc.) and talk about it all the time like a hobby or interest like all the other slackers from the North American suburbs?

If you want to teach in Taiwan, just come over. If you manage to score a decent bag of weed, that's great. But hopefully there would be a lot more to keep you busy in a foreign country than getting stoned in front of the TV every other night. And if you do it, it's best not to go around telling everybody about it.

[Gordon]

Dear Canadian Ambassador Darkpoet,
Please don't flaunt your nationality and make it sound like all Canadians are potheads. If you want to smoke, than smoke.

[jason_seeburn]

[Gordon]

One more thing, if you go to Bangkok, you can see notices on the walls of hostels asking you to visit foreigners in prison. Most are serving long sentences for drug possession or smuggling. Could be very eye opening.

[Aristotle]

The vast majority of foreigners in prison in Taiwan are there on drug charges. It is one of the few laws that are actually enforced regularly and without bias. Comes from something in Chinese history about boxers and opium.
Clubs and bars are routinely raided and urinalysis administered to all. If your test comes up positive you are incarcerated. It is the same for foreigners and locals alike.
Every Christmas many of the international advocacy groups, including SSETT bring food to the foreign prisoners in jail, in Taiwan. Most Westerners in jail in Taiwan are there on drug charges.
Last Christmas I met a young 19 year old Canadian in jail here in Taiwan. He was caught with a pipe and charged with paraphernalia possession. He got seven years and has several more years to go.
It really troubles me to see so many young people losing so much for so little.
Would you like to put in your Christmas dinner order now or later.
Good luck, you are going to need it.
A.

[darkpoet]

Well at least the replies were honest... I'm not sure whether or not Singapore or Bangkok are too relevant to Taiwan... But I am sure that I am not expressing the typical Canadian opinion. I just wanted to know if it was possible, how risky, etc.

By the way, as far as I know the majority of young people in North American prisons are also there on drug charges (over two-thirds of non-violent offenses last time I checked)... but I am not an obvious drug-addict and I certainly don't associate opium and cocaine with cannabis... and I wouldn't go near actual opiates or narcotics even if they were (if there is such a thing) completely 'risk-free' - in fact I realize that pot also has it's risks... always.

Heck, even in Belgium and the Netherlands you can get jail time if you get caught dealing marijuana... but I do not plan on selling it or even buying large quantites... Neither do I proudly display a pot-leaf anywheres on any clothing or in my room...

I just want to be able to smoke a joint now and then without fear of too many negative consequences... As it is, pot is still illegal in Canada and the punishments (yes, you can get jail time for small posession again) do not dissuade me because I know how to be careful and I know the limits that law-enforcement will use against me...

And I'm not worried about quality or price... I don't smoke enough to actually care... It's just that I have had bleeding ulcers all my life and most days alcohol and I do not get along... Do you know what it's like to puke after 2 beer when you know it takes at least 5 to get a buzz?

So to put these questions straight-forward: is it possible to obtain the odd joint? Would I be 100% guaranteed to get caught if I smoked a small joint (disguised as a cigarette) in a park late at night? my apartment? I already know what would give me away - aside from the smell of course...

And one more question: how many of y'all actually smoke pot...? I'm tired of listening to these anti-marijuana viewpoints who think that Cheech and Chong are 'typical' potheads... If you want to compare me to a t.v. pothead, consider That 70's Show... or even Drew Carrey. Stop thinking that every pothead is stupid, uneducated, sloppy, and obvious... airy, maybe but I'm that way anyways.

[jason_seeburn]

[ScottSommers]

You called yourself a pothead, so you don't have to get defensive about it. What kind of answer did you expect/hope for? It might have been easier to digest if someone had said that locals are all a bunch of squares and if you hang with the cool dudes, you can score. The fact is that even the USA is liberal about drug laws compared with Taiwan. If you are associated with drug use here, you will go to jail. There will be no appeal that will work. No one will have any sympathy. The trade office will not make a strong effort to have you released. You will not get paroled the first time you apply. You will be in jail for years, and the quality of the jails here is not very good.

Sure people smoke dope here; there are junkies believe it or not. But this is one country where it's better to follow Nancy Reagan's advice and just say "No".

[Pop Fly]

Darkpoet,

Don't think too much...you'll be fine...if not a little broker....

[Wonder]

Along with Darkpoet, I find it hilarious and slightly irritating reading all the paranoid responses to his (or her) pot inquiry. You people teaching in Asian countries should be aware that drugs way easier to find and more prevalent that you may know.

I have taught in Korea and Thailand, and vacationed in the Philippines and pot is everywhere. The trick is keeping a low-profile and do not include the locals. Also, I wish people responding on this post would stop referring to the consequences of "dealing." Darkpoet talks about using, not dealing.

I acknowledge the fact that the penalties are harsh, and I certainly do not endorse the use of illegal drugs. But let's lighten up a bit people! Some of you sound very high and mighty and squeaky clean.

By the way, just because smoking cigs and drinking alcohol is legal does not mean it is any less of a bad habit than smoking pot as a form of relaxation. Let's be open minded here!

[Aristotle]

Wonder,
You have obviously never been to Taiwan. Culture dictates what is acceptable, not the laws. Drugs are not acceptable. Drugs also involve money which means the police keep a pretty close eye on all narcotics and the people who use them. Pot is considered a narcotic in Taiwan.
A.

[SoCalRob]

While I have no first hand knowledge about Taiwan (yet) since I will not arrive for another few months, I must say something regarding all of this drug talk. I have been doing a lot of research, as well as talking with a number of my friends who are from Taiwan (One just arrived here in LA last month) and from what I understand from them, it is not that difficult to get drugs in the pubs/clubs. From what my recently arrived friend told me, it sounds like other drugs are easier to obtain than weed, since (in her opinion) many Taiwanese prefer X over smoking.

One last interjection, it does seem that there may be a bit of paranoia, or whatever you want to call it over pot. I know a large number of very successful individuals who smoke pot fairly ofted - stock brokers, lawers (who graduated very high in their classes from UCLA and Stanford law schools), doctors, etc. Its just kind of funny the steriotypes often associated with people who smoke. Not all "smokers" or "potheads" or whatever you want to label them are lazy and worthless.

Just for the record, I dont plan on doing any drugs in Taiwan, its just not worth the risk to me. But I also wouldnt hold it against anyone for doing it. On a happier note, I'll see you Taiwan residents in just a few more months!

[Aristotle]

Paranoid as it may sound, the punishment for even a small amount of X or pot is pretty harsh. There have been English teachers incarcerated for being in club when it was raided and coming up positive on their urinalysis test.
The actual benefits or side affects have little to nothing to do with how recreational drugs are perceived. In Taiwan Pot is bad, now if you mixed it with some rhino horn and claimed it had similar affects as Viagra. Marijuana use would be acceptable in Taiwan.
Welcome to Taiwan.
A.

[Hsinchuguy]

I don't know about the others, but I find the pot here to be quite decent, costs about $400CAD an ounce, readily available. Watch out for E and K though, you never know what you'll get.