A New Legalization Law Could Make Thai Weed Great Again
F rom Bangkok Hilton to Bridget Jones, Thailand's reputation equally 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 twelvemonth prison term. But a recent announcement that information technology is to be delisted equally a narcotic could trigger a transformation in how the drug is used inside Thailand.
"A lot of people come here to become their faces stock-still with plastic surgery. A lot of people come to practice dental work and oral surgery, and for wellness retreats. Within that context, marijuana volition integrate beautifully."
Then says Carl Grand Linn, author of a newsletter well-nigh cannabis in Thailand, who who sees foreign tourism potential in the delisting of cannabis.
Thailand'due south narcotics lath announced in January information technology would delist cannabis that has a tetrahydrocannabinol level of below 0.two%, making it the first Asian country to practise so. Thailand was besides the first in south-east asia to sanction medical use of marijuana in 2018.
Anutin Charnvirakul, the public health government minister, said that once the delisting comes into effect – 120 days afterwards publication on the Purple Thai Government Gazette website – people will exist able to grow cannabis plants at home after notifying their local regime. It volition too exist 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 manufacture, attracting "Silicon Valley types" as they travel for corporate trips.
Already Thailand – from Chiang Mai in the n to beach resorts such every bit 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 director of the Greenish Wellness Clinic in Bangkok and co-founder of online cannabis shop Flower, which sells items such as CBD popcorn, ice cream and soap. He says the declaration means they're exploring new therapies and products.
Mark Ritchie, executive director of Thailand'south International Sustainable Development Studies Found, said the delisting of cannabis could assistance the rural economy.
Thanyapat runs Ganja Café nigh Bangkok'due south famous Khaosan Route, and sells "cannabis-infused" beverages such as love lime juice, chrysanthemum juice, and palm juice. The legalisation, she says, could bring an opportunity to offer new products and see a niche market place 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 as well exploring the idea of a "cannabis sandbox" that would allow tourists to visit the land while recreationally using cannabis in select areas, to help create destinations synonymous with the drug, co-ordinate to local media.
In 2019, 39.ix meg 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 place has the potential to be worth $424m by 2024, co-ordinate to cannabis inquiry house Prohibition Partners.
'It could provide a spark'
Linn is optimistic that the bill will help Thailand rebuild its economy post-Covid. "Nothing equally small as marijuana use tin can save [an economy], but I think it could provide a spark," he said.
Ritchie agrees. "Thailand has done very well with Covid-xix but still the economic system has been really impacted. I wouldn't exist surprised if this is part of the government saying, 'Hey, we demand to find some fashion to assist boost the economic system, and this could be i fashion to do it'," he says. Thailand's economic growth stagnated amid the pandemic, with a drop of -half dozen.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 Great britain and Canada are already contacting her well-nigh 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 brand cannabis legal for the masses," he says. "Information technology'southward been stagnant simply and so all of a sudden voting time comes effectually and all these promises are made once more."
"The cannabis manufacture in Thailand is growing and people in the manufacture are pushing so I'm sure there is no going back," Tachanarong says.
But Chopaka believes obstacles may yet lie alee, in terms of bureaucracy. "They'll be like, 'oh aye, you can grow it at home, just hither's a big long list of rules you have to follow … or things you have to have before you lot can really participate," she says.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Linn says, is torn between ii extremes; the tourist advocates who desire no regulation and the narcotics board who want laws in place. "I'chiliad hoping that the FDA will non listen to the ii extremes and … provide clear legal space for recreational use without atmospheric condition," Linn says.
At the time of campaigning in 2019, Charnvirakul said that the legalisation would be "a win-win situation for the Thai people considering they will grow the plant and information technology 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 piece of work or is this going to blow up in their face up and be a bit of a disaster?"
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Source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/apr/05/thailand-dreams-of-high-end-cannabis-tourism-after-marijuana-is-legalised
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