An Italian tourist was rushed to hospital after eating a now-legal cannabis cake on Thailand's Khaosan Road.

Simone Costantini, 36, was celebrating the New Year at the famous backpacker street in Bangkok when he bought the toxic snack from a street stall on January 2.

The holidaymaker's friend Jada said she warned him against using the now-legal drugs - which have exploded across the city - but he bought a brownie for 200 baht (4.91 GBP).

Shockingly, Simone almost immediately began suffering facial paralysis, loss of vision, numbness in his hands and feet, and shortness of breath. He had a pale face and pale hands before collapsing.

Girlfriend Jada said: "Simone could have died. He was unwell. I was so worried. There were no warnings on the marijuana cake and no list of ingredients. He has recovered now and we can joke that he almost threw away his life for a silly cannabis cake. Thankfully he is safe but it could have been worse".

She added: "I hope that sharing this case will be a warning to other people who think about buying cannabis from street stalls".

Simone was rushed into intensive care where he was stabilised but left with a hospital bill of around 30,000 baht (735 GBP).

Medics believe that either Simone was allergic to the ingredient or there was too much cannabis substance in the cake.

Simone has now been released from the hospital. It is now known if he will experience any lasting side effects.

Cannabis was decriminalized in Thailand last year, leading to thousands of neon-lit shops and trucks selling the drug across the capital Bangkok.

Technically, the drug has not been legalised but it has been removed from the list of banned narcotics. However, ministers have performed a series of u-turns and it now faces being banned again.

Opponents also claim that cannabis cafes and shops bring down the appearance of cities while researchers fear an explosion in cannabis-induced mental health problems such as psychosis.

An Italian tourist was rushed to hospital after eating a now-legal cannabis cake on Thailand's Khaosan Road.

Simone Costantini, 36, was celebrating the New Year at the famous backpacker street in Bangkok when he bought the toxic snack from a street stall on January 2.

The holidaymaker's friend Jada said she warned him against using the now-legal drugs - which have exploded across the city - but he bought a 'brownie' for 200 baht (4.91 GBP).

Shockingly, Simone almost immediately began suffering facial paralysis, loss of vision, numbness in his hands and feet, and shortness of breath. He had a pale face and pale hands before collapsing.

Girlfriend Jada said: 'Simone could have died. He was really unwell. I was so worried. There were no warnings on the marijuana cake and no list of ingredients.

'He has recovered now and we can joke that he almost threw away his life for a silly cannabis cake. Thankfully he is safe but it could have been worse.

'I hope that sharing this case will be a warning to other people who think about buying cannabis from street stalls.'

Simone was rushed into intensive care where he was stablised but left with a hospital bill of around 30,000 baht (735 GBP).

Medics believe that either Simone was allergic to the ingredient or there was too much cannabis substance in the cake.

Simone has now been released from the hospital. It is now known if he will experience any lasting side-effects.

Cannabis was decriminalized in Thailand last year, leading to thousands of neon-lit shops and trucks selling the drug across the capital Bangkok.

Technically, the drug has not been legalised but it has been removed from the list of banned narcotics. However, ministers have performed a series of u-turns and it now faces being banned again.

Opponents also claim that cannabis cafes and shops bring down the appearance of cities while researchers fear an explosion in cannabis-induced mental health problems such as psychosis.