Thailand dreams of high-end cannabis tourism after marijuana is legalised

[highgrower]

www.theguardian.com/world/2022/apr/05/thailand-dreams-of-high-end-cannabis-tourism-after-marijuana-is-legalised

 

From Bangkok Hilton to Bridget Jones, Thailand’s reputation as one of the strictest countries in the world for drug offences is well documented. Even cannabis, considered a “less dangerous drug” by the UN, carries the potential for a 15 year prison term. But a recent announcement that it is to be delisted as a narcotic could trigger a transformation in how the drug is used inside Thailand.

“A lot of people come here to get their faces fixed with plastic surgery. A lot of people come to do dental work and oral surgery, and for wellness retreats. Within that context, marijuana will integrate beautifully.”

So says Carl K Linn, author of a newsletter about cannabis in Thailand, who who sees foreign tourism potential in the delisting of cannabis.

Thailand’s narcotics board announced in January it would delist cannabis that has a tetrahydrocannabinol level of below 0.2%, making it the first Asian country to do so. Thailand was also the first in south-east Asia to sanction medical use of marijuana in 2018.

Anutin Charnvirakul, the public health minister, said that once the delisting comes into effect – 120 days after publication on the Royal Thai Government Gazette website – people will be able to grow cannabis plants at home after notifying their local government. It will also be possible to obtain licences for commercial growth. A draft cannabis and hemp bill has been submitted to parliament detailing how to govern recreational use and growth.

But rather than “a stoner paradise”, Linn envisages cannabis being folded into the medical and wellbeing industry, attracting “Silicon Valley types” as they travel for corporate trips.

Already Thailand – from Chiang Mai in the north to beach resorts such as Phuket and Pattaya – has some cafes, spas, and restaurants offering products infused with cannabidiol, or CBD, a compound found in cannabis plants that doesn’t provide a high.

The new legislation could help such places expand their products to include other components of the cannabis plant.

Pittawad Taechanarong is marketing manager of the Green Wellness Clinic in Bangkok and co-founder of online cannabis store Bloom, which sells items such as CBD popcorn, ice cream and soap. He says the announcement means they’re exploring new therapies and products.

Mark Ritchie, executive director of Thailand’s International Sustainable Development Studies Institute, said the delisting of cannabis could help the rural economy.

Thanyapat runs Ganja Café near Bangkok’s famous Khaosan Road, and sells “cannabis-infused” beverages such as honey lime juice, chrysanthemum juice, and palm juice. The legalisation, she says, could bring an opportunity to offer new products and see a niche market expand to a mass market. “For Thailand legalising marijuana, in my opinion, this is good news … for agriculture, medical, and other business opportunities for Thailand,” she says.

Authorities are also exploring the idea of a “cannabis sandbox” that would allow tourists to visit the country while recreationally using cannabis in select areas, to help create destinations synonymous with the drug, according to local media.

In 2019, 39.9 million tourists visited Thailand. It’s estimated that 27.7 million will visit purely for the purpose of health and wellness in 2022, putting expenditure on health and wellness tourism at $2.5bn. The country’s recreational cannabis market has the potential to be worth $424m by 2024, according to cannabis research firm Prohibition Partners.
‘It could provide a spark’

Linn is optimistic that the bill will help Thailand rebuild its economy post-Covid. “Nothing as small as marijuana use can save [an economy], but I think it could provide a spark,” he said.

Ritchie agrees. “Thailand has done very well with Covid-19 but still the economy has been really impacted. I wouldn’t be surprised if this is part of the government saying, ‘Hey, we need to find some way to help boost the economy, and this could be one way to do it’,” he says. Thailand’s economic growth stagnated amid the pandemic, with a drop of -6.1% in 2020 and 0.8% growth in 2021.

Kitty Chopaka, an independent cannabis advocate based in Bangkok, says “industry people” from places including Australia, the UK and Canada are already contacting her about plans to visit Thailand following the announcement. “People are going to come to Thailand trying to find cannabis,” she says.

Tachanarong believes the move was political, given upcoming elections. “We voted for Anutin three years ago because he said he was going to make cannabis legal for the masses,” he says. “It’s been stagnant but then all of a sudden voting time comes around and all these promises are made again.”

“The cannabis industry in Thailand is growing and people in the industry are pushing so I’m sure there is no going back,” Tachanarong says.

But Chopaka believes obstacles may yet lie ahead, in terms of bureaucracy. “They’ll be like, ‘oh yeah, you can grow it at home, but here’s a big long list of rules you have to follow … or things you have to have before you can actually participate,” she says.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Linn says, is torn between two extremes; the tourist advocates who want no regulation and the narcotics board who want laws in place. “I’m hoping that the FDA will not listen to the two extremes and … provide clear legal space for recreational use without conditions,” Linn says.

At the time of campaigning in 2019, Charnvirakul said that the legalisation would be “a win-win situation for the Thai people because they will grow the plant and it will benefit the economy”.

Depending on what the finalised bill allows, the legalisation could lead other south-east Asian countries to follow, Ritchie says. “They’re all definitely watching the Thailand example and seeing, is this going to work or is this going to blow up in their face and be a bit of a disaster?”

[blackpoolbouncer]

Have I misread it or have they not actualy decriminalised drug type cannabis, just make hemp legal to grow with a license.

 

Fuck all that shit. "High end" my arse. High end cannabis is already growing in the mountains of Thailand. They already have some of the highest quality cannabis in the world. Not mentioned once in the article and it certainly contains more than 0.2% thc

 

 

No High end cannabis, just hemp products with fancy packaging and consumerism.

Edited April 5, 2022 by blackpoolbouncer

[twigs]

1 hour ago, highgrower said:

But rather than “a stoner paradise”, Linn envisages cannabis being folded into the medical and wellbeing industry, attracting “Silicon Valley types..

 

Thailand’s narcotics board announced in January it would delist cannabis that has a tetrahydrocannabinol level of below 0.2%

 

move aside normal people, you ain’t got no money no more..

here come the blood sucking pea-doughs with cash! cha-ching!  to buy hemp??

 

 

 

Edited April 5, 2022 by twigs
add the 0.2% bit

[Newcouch]

this site is doing a great job at demonstrating how shit our media are.

 

less than 0.2% aint marijuana - its hemp.

 

as for cannabis sweets.

 

great job uk420. shame on the media.

 

essentially the media want me to believe that cannabis sweets kill people in the uk, but high grade mary jane is available without limits legally in thailand.

[Thai Stick]

Yes things are moving in that direction.

 

The way the draft law was written has led to a bit of confusion.

 

The 0.2% they are referencing to here if the only restriction in place for extracts or products containing thc inside.

Anything above this 0.2% will require licenses and testing associated with it.

 

So from the interpretation of the law, it will mean that people will be allowed to grow, harvest and consume up to 6 plants.

If you want to start making lotions and potions  above 0.2% to treat x-y-z problems and bypass FDA and any other government body that will want a slice of the pie, go figure what will happen.

 

So the way the law writing here works is that a law will get written up and published in the Royal Gazette, then, if nobody opposes the draft law within 90 days, it becomes official.

It has been going on like this for a very long time with draft laws being published, and then towards the end, they dont like something that was written, so they rewrite it and start the 90day process again.

 

I believe any day now it should become official.....

[Conroy]

6 hours ago, Thai Stick said:

Yes things are moving in that direction.

 

The way the draft law was written has led to a bit of confusion.

 

The 0.2% they are referencing to here if the only restriction in place for extracts or products containing thc inside.

Anything above this 0.2% will require licenses and testing associated with it.

 

So from the interpretation of the law, it will mean that people will be allowed to grow, harvest and consume up to 6 plants.

If you want to start making lotions and potions  above 0.2% to treat x-y-z problems and bypass FDA and any other government body that will want a slice of the pie, go figure what will happen.

 

So the way the law writing here works is that a law will get written up and published in the Royal Gazette, then, if nobody opposes the draft law within 90 days, it becomes official.

It has been going on like this for a very long time with draft laws being published, and then towards the end, they dont like something that was written, so they rewrite it and start the 90day process again.

 

I believe any day now it should become official.....

Am I being thick here or are the 6 plants you can grow at home exempt from the 0.2% rule?

[Thai Stick]

Correct. 

 

[Thai Stick]

Basically anything over 6 plants and extracts or products containing over 0.2% will need licenses. 

 

[twigs]

14 hours ago, highgrower said:

Thailand’s narcotics board announced in January it would delist cannabis that has a tetrahydrocannabinol level of below 0.2%

 

im still confused  I can’t see anywhere it saying your good to go with an indica drug type hemp plant? 

[Boojum]

I'm sorry but I still don't understand.

 

Will cannabis with more than 0.2% THC still be illegal ? Can you still be arrested for it and put in prison for it ?

 

If so then what's the point ?

 

Where does this interpretation of 6 plants come from, if the 6 plants all have more than 0.2% THC ?

 

Sorry, I just don't get it, doesn't matter how many plants you grow, 0.2% THC is still 0.2% THC. 6 plants with 0.2% THC is still not worth growing (unless you're growing it purely for the CBD).

 

E2A Thai weed with 0.2% THC You're having a fucking laugh

Edited April 6, 2022 by Boojum

[Boojum]

Sorry, don't mean to be an arsehole. I just genuinely don't understand how this is a good thing Maybe I'm being thick (it's not unhead of )

Edited April 6, 2022 by Boojum

[Thai Stick]

Plants can be whatever THC content and will not be restricted.

 

The 0.2% restriction is for extracts and products.

If your extract or product is above 0.2% you will need a license.

 

In the last few years there has been a lot of thai people making "oil" and selling it on the black market to cancer patients and other medicinal users.

The oil people had been making was made from the compressed brick weed, which is laden in pesticides and chemicals.

So you can imagine what the "oil" must have contained.

 

Kratom was fully legalized a few months back.

Literally the day it became legal, all the farmers and sellers of the once super illegal leaf started pitching up at every market and all along the road side selling it freely in the open.

 

[Boojum]

Ah, nice one, I didn't understand thanks for explaining 

[Thai Stick]

There have been so many different proposals i've kinda lost track of it all.

 

The way they have written the law in thai is super confusing too, but i had a few friends translate it for me and they all came under the impression that as long as you had no more than 6 plants and you arent selling it or making extracts containing more than 0.2% from it, you are fine...apparently....

Anything over that amount without the proper paperwork and cutting in the local police and politicians on the money side of it and you can have problems.

This is for Thai's only, foreigners arent allowed in case anyone is thinking of a 6month long "holiday".

 

But TiT, this is Thailand....

You could be doing something completely legal but some corrupt official decides then and there it is illegal and in order to not get in trouble, you shal pay him out x amount.

Also goes the other way, many "illegal" things that are ok to carry on......until they're not...

 

But don't knock this idea of high end pot tourism.

 

On some of the islands you have resorts that are owned by the top players in the hospitality industry over here, and they have the money and the power to do what they want.

Farm to table kind of set up.

 

[Thai Stick]

Here's some more confusion for us.

 

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40014396?fbclid=IwAR1ppQvhWN5WYLEHr05s6oyuFhX93cmTCF-vKiR72PvKHz3BIp_kRWywqm8

 

Will be very interesting how this plays out.