Vociferous wranglings over what one can or cannot do when it comes to selling alcohol and promotional activities reflect a problem with excessive litigation.
The legislation concerned is the Alcohol Control Act of 2008. Its Section 32 bars "anybody" from advertising or promoting alcoholic drinks in ways that may persuade others to consume it either directly or indirectly.
Those found in violation of this section may face one year imprisonment or a fine of no more than 500,000 baht or both.
This section of the alcohol control law was just applied in a high-profile case in which a dozen or so actors and celebrities were investigated by the Alcohol Beverage Control Committee for posting photos of themselves with a brand of beer on social media.
The celebrities' beer snaps have got authorities and the general public all worked up over what exactly the scope of this legislation is, whether it has transgressed too much into business activity and contravened individual liberties.
Following the beer selfies controversy, police said it is not just well-known figures who are forbidden from publicising alcoholic drinks supposedly for commercial purposes, but ordinary people can be charged if they do so under the law too.
The warning was quickly dismissed by legal experts who insisted the law was not meant to exert such a blanket ban.
They urged the alcohol control authority to look at the intention instead. People charged under the law should only be those who "intentionally" encourage others to drink alcohol.
The law itself is not specific in that respect. It does not clearly define what kind of activities can be considered as advertising or promotion and what is simply providing information.
There is also a question of whether commercial purposes should be considered when it comes to promotional activities being forbidden under the law.
These debatable aspects of the Alcohol Control Act were still not settled when another question popped up: are beer gardens, usually held during winter, a violation of the law?
The Alcohol Beverage Control Committee quickly said that beer gardens are legal as long as operators carry a valid licence. However, activities such as getting celebrities or using promotional girls to attract customers are against the law. So are explicit displays of signs, symbols, brand logos or price discounts at these public events.
The announcement has given rise to criticism that the alcohol control authority is invading too far into the realms of normal business and what should be left to individual judgement.
Some lawyers also pointed to a lapse in law enforcement. If marketing activities such as having promotional girls at beer gardens are against the law, why have the authorities allowed them to work there for years?
The alcohol control committee's answer was that it cannot inspect every beer garden in the country.
What should have become obvious from the plethora of questions and debates, however, is the Alcohol Control Act in its present shape seeks to cast too wide a net on what is exempt from the normal business of selling alcohol which is perfectly legal.
Without a clear definition of what it specifically wants to ban, the authority evidently has problems monitoring the situation while the law is subject to interpretation and selective enforcement.
It is true that excessive alcohol consumption has negative impacts on people and society and should be regulated. Legal controls, however, should not violate people's basic rights, or common sense.