After Thailand eased cannabis laws in early June, the country’s government sought to make the country a “regional hub” for the production of cannabis-related products. Industry Minister Suriya Jungrungreangkit said he hopes to build an industry worth at least 25 billion baht ($690 million) a year, starting with new cash crops. “Cannabis has now become an important plant in many countries because all its parts can be turned into various products of high commercial value,” the minister told the Bangkok Post. He’s referring to expanding…
after liberalization In Thailand’s cannabis laws in early June, the country’s government sought to make the country a “regional hub” for the production of cannabis-related products.
Industry Minister Suriya Jungrungreangkit said he hopes to build an industry worth at least 25 billion baht ($690 million) a year, starting with new cash crops.
“Cannabis has now become an important plant in many countries because all its parts can be turned into various products of high commercial value,” the minister told Bangkok Post.
He was referring to the expansion of the global cannabis and medical marijuana market, which has been helped by the lifting of restrictions on cannabis use in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Australia, South Africa, the European Union and some South America. countries, especially Uruguay.
Nearly a million Thais want to grow cannabis
In Thailand, the Food and Drug Administration announced that it had received more than 980,000 applications from people for the right to grow cannabis plants, a requirement to participate in the industry. Many more are believed to be trying their hand at unregistered family farms.
Cannabis produced and harvested in Thailand is worth at least 20,000 baht (US$553) per rai of land (a rai is the local unit of measurement and equals 1,600 square meters). As a result, the government expects employment in the agricultural sector to increase.
alternative income
For many of the country’s young people, cannabis products now provide a much-needed source of income after the collapse of tourism, which typically contributes at least about a fifth of the country’s economy due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Thailand removed cannabis from its list of banned narcotics on June 9 simply to make the plant more accessible to growers and consumers of cannabis products for medicinal or culinary purposes. It is still illegal to use drugs recreationally.
According to the regulations, only plant extracts containing less than 0.2% THC, the main psychoactive component of cannabis, can be used. So basically, “cannabis” products in Thailand should be made from the harmless cannabis plant.
Marijuana bill still in the works
Still, recreational use of marijuana has also sprung up across the country, fueling a nascent business of cannabis buds, cookies and beverages that police are currently unable to handle due to a lack of legal clarity.
A cannabis bill will be brought to Thailand’s parliament, with lawmakers under pressure to clarify the recreational use of marijuana, which could mean curbing or even banning it entirely.
