Warning: Graphic content, readers’ discretion advised. This story contains a recollection of crime and can be triggering to some readers discretion advised.
From zero tolerance to decriminalisation, Thailand’s recent u-turn on its cannabis laws is lighting up a billion-dollar industry. Officially it’s for medicinal use but the legal grey area means ‘ganja’ lovers are celebrating.
In Thailand ,cannabis is out of the bag.just a few mounth ago , people risked jail for using it.
now this country has one of the most liberal approaches in the world.
” it was a little bit suprising, that in every corner , you can find weed.”
-tourists
Canabis or ‘ganja’ as its traditionally knwon here.
has been decriminalised and that’s led to a bonanza potential worth billions of dollars.
In Thailand’s party hotspots, cannabis has burst into the open.you can literally smell it. flowers ,leaves the whole plant, you wanted it , you gen get it.
officially, the Thai government says cannabis should onyl be for medical or therapeutic use.
but the change in the law has left a grey area when it comes to recreational use.and not everyone’s on board.
how Thailand got to this point, and wheter it’s destined to become the amsterdam of Asia.
in Bangkok’s up -market sukhumvit area,kitty shoaka is still feeling shocked that cannabis has been unleashed.
kitty is one of scores of new so -called ‘ ganja’-preneurs’ ,she can no legaly sell real cannabis, alongside the cannabis flavoured lollies she’s known for .
Terpene gummis don’t have the potent cannabis chemicals, just the flavour. it wil give you , like a very light effect but at the same time….
kitty now have flowers grown in Thailand. and it smells very strong and absolutely wonderful.
kitty’s a cannabis smoker and a passionate advocate for
what she says of the beneficial effects of ‘ ganja’.
These cannabis flowes have high levels of THC. that’s the psychoactive chemical that gets people “high” but kitty says with responsible use ,it’s not harmful.
cannabis used to grow wild in Thailand and was valued in traditional medicine,before it was clamped down on with a tough narcotics Act in the 1970s, during the US -led’war on drugs’.
for 50 years, growers , dealers and users faced stiff penalties. not anymore.it was taken off the banned narcotics list in june 2022. but here was no law spelling out who could use it or how.
Draft legilation is still being debated in parliament and kitty’s been advised on that .
This is Thailand’s public Health minister ,anutin charnvirakul, the day after cannabis was decriminalised.
government-controlled medicinal cannabis had already been legal for four years. but anutin p ut the plant back in the hands of the people. literally handing it out for free.
at the last election ,he campaigned promising that people could grow and use the plant at home as medicine. and farmers would have a new cash crop. and it was a winner. anutin’s party got the votes. the people got the cannabis.
But de-listing cannabis opened the door to people using it recreationally and unless you’re under 20 pregnant or breastfeeding,it’s pretty much a free-for -all.
whole the government advoates cannabis for medicinal use, it doesn’t seem to be many sick people down bangkok’s popular nightlifes strip, kahosan road.
tourists hubs have roared back to life after COVID.
and cannabis has added an extra attraction.
technically people can be charged with being a nuisance for smoking in public.but no one seems to be complaining .
just for months ago, non of this was here.now it seems easier to get a joint than a pad thai. for young industry operating in a legal grey area.
it ‘s looking pretty well established.
and that’s because before decriminalisation, there was a thriving underground scene here.
the change in the law has been life -changing for many , in the past , being caught with cannabis meant jail for thousands of people.
tossaporn o and peerapat were two of them.on the day cannabis was no longer classed as a narcotic, they were released , along with 3,000 other prisoners and unbelievable turnaround in a nation knwon for its zero tolerance to drugs.in january this year,
tossaporn and peerapat were recruited by drug syndicate to transport 355kg of compressed brick weed. the job was only supposed to tale a few hours and pay them around 2,000 dollars.
police had been tipped off and were waiting for them. their arrest was big nes in Thailand’s north- east were they live. after searching they found 355 weed bricks equal to 355 kilograms wrapped in foil and taped with hlack gaffer tape into 8 packs.
thai prison har notorious and they were sentenced to seven years inside. the cell would have around 200 -300 people.if there were a lot of people they had to fold there knees up,interlock their legs and sleep head to toe.
just for months in , everything changed. they were released and their cannabis -related criminal records were deleted. it was better than winning first prize in the lottery. even lottery dont get you off jail. and they got home.
before politics anutin was a buisnessman,who ran his family’s construction conglomerate his personal wealth is listed at 170 million dollars. and this is his private plane. he fly quite a lot. as a minister of public health of thailand, he have to go to almost every city.he´s more than willing to provide this convenience to himself.
after a 40 minute flight from bangkok, he arrived at bruram province in thenorth -east. it’s anutin’s homebase and his party’s stronghold. he is popilar here.
cannabis has aslos raised his profile nationwide, and some say it’s put him on track to be a future prime minister.
joing the ministerial convoy into town.
the medicinal cannabis industry has flourished under anutin .this is one of ther firs community -runfarms to be licensed.it started off growing cannabis high in the ttherapeutic chemical CBD. for a local hospital.but his now also planing to sell lplants directlyto the public.
this is cloning from them mother plant and after they can stand alone.thay move this into the farm.
they ‘re trying to work out the best cconditions for each variety. this produce 14% THC, they are trying to do experiment if they can plant it outdoor. but it’s currently monsoon season here in Thailand, so hot houses are mere reliable.
in other two weeck they will collect the flowers and sen to the process factory. and what will these flower be used for? Extraction.
Cannabis extracts are tightly regulated they must have low levels of the psychoactive chmical THC.
this is the cannabis oil that was made from that extract over there…its CBD oil which can be used for epilepsy, anciety , nausea , and insomnia.mix with olive oil and what is it use for? to sleep.
farmers right across the country can now apply to grow all types of cannabis.
out on the land though , many farmers are finding growing cannabis is harder than you think.
pongsak says people are worried about growing it oit in the open , where children could get their hands on it , people are still scared of it because it was a narcotic drug. they´re afreaid their children or grandchildren will use it and get addicted.
lots of people are worried about children. a national survey found the majority of thais don’t want them getting into ganja.culture.
allowing cannabis is fine but it should have come with rules ,regulations ,advice and policies instead they legalised it . and teachers are confused about what to teach students.
there’s no curriculum on drugs and cannabis it’s out of date. the minimarts opposite schools can sell drinks infused with cannabis water. this shows the policy to legalise canabis came with no precautions.
some students ,they have no one to ask or give them information.they can seach on google or social media or talk to friends and there’s no guarantee the information is correct.
if you use it porperly , it has some benefits for sure.but if you use it improperly , it can cause some damage.
dr chanchai sittpunt is the dean of chulalongkkorn university’s faculty of medicine. he ‘sconcerned by the recreational use he’s seen.
” in the hospital , we see cases that have some side effects from cannabis use, edprvislly with edible canabis. that sometime they don’t know it contains cannabis.”
-dr chanchai
more than 1, 000 thai doctors have pleaded with the government to suspend cannabis decriminalisation until the new law is finalised by the parlament.
” obviously ,we worry foryoung people that we hade data suggesting that it might cause a problem in the cognitive function in the long -term basis.but i want to emphasise that for my … my belief, nobody schold use cannabis as a recreation onregular basis.i mean ,becauseeven if you are a grown-up man, if yiu use it long -term , i still believe that it might have some side effects in the future.”
-dr chanchai
he´s hopeful the proposed new law will clamp down on recreational use.
and does dr chanchai thin thailand could become the amsterdam of Asia?
” uhm…i mean it depends on the law.i don’t want Thailand to be thought of as that destination. we dont want to be the cannabis haven of the world”
dr chanchai.
for the man who’s driven the policy , there are no regrets.
“i never once tried to promote people using it from smoking or from an entertainment purpose. all the studies that we were given clearly stated that if we used cannabis platns in the correct way, it would create lots of opportunities not only on revenue part, but also the better health of the people.”
– Anutin.
this was a big shift, from completeley illegal to no its allowed ?
“when we work , we dont see it from that point.as long as we have created or established the regulations and the law to control the use of thes plants we can not step back”
– Anutin.
On Thailands island, some tourists are already noticing a difference.Thailand is famous among young travellers.
for its full -moon parties on kho phangan.some take druigs here ,but no -one’s hiding cannabis anymore.
“yeah , wherever… like wherever you go now….”
-weed smoker
“it’s… its amstedam agian in Asia.
-man smoking weed.
it’s not just young people lighting up parties. across the water on koh samui, this up -,market beach club is catering for everyone.
ready -rolled joints are now a feature of the menu.
” marijuana couldn’t have com at a better time , you know” you can really feel its reinvigorated the market. there is a new energy here.”
-carl lamb’s
resort owner carl lamb’s loved om samui for 25 years .chi beach club and his 200 other properties
were just about deserted during COVID, but they’re bouning back.
” most of our inquiries are ,” is it true you can smoke and sell marijuana in THailand? and wecan see from the bokings for christmas or …they’re crazy. you know , i haven’t seen this kind of apppetite for koh samui in …10 years.”
and carl put that down to cannabis .it’s a game changer , he says.
customers can’t believe their luck.
” we came in when marijana wasn’t avaible, and month into our trip it was like, you can by weed everywhere. i mean , like ,you know , in the bars , in the cafes , on the street. and as a weed smoker , i was like ‘ how cool is this? ‘ so …”
-weed smoker
though , they are writing new regulations at the moment. carl actually kind of welcome some sort of regulation. he doesn’t think its a bad thing.
while thailand’s gone from zero tolerance to one of the most lax cannabis regimes in the world… marijuana is now lwgal.it’s still grappling the laws, the politics and the freedoms for many, there’s no going back.