It’s a hot Sunday afternoon on the tropical island of Koh Samui, and visitors to a luxurious beach club are relaxing on white sofas, refreshing in the pool and sipping expensive champagne.
It’s a startling sight in Thailand, where drug addicts were jailed regularly until a few months ago.
In June, the Southeast Asian country removed the plant from its banned drug list so that people could grow, sell and use it for medicinal purposes.
But the law governing its recreational use has yet to be passed by Parliament, leaving a legal gray area that many from tourists to “cannabis entrepreneurs” now struggle to take advantage of.
“The demand for cannabis is high,” said Beach Club owner Carl Lamb, a British expat who has lived on Koh Samui for 25 years and owns a number of resorts.
Thailand’s resorts have returned to life after the pandemic, but according to Mr Lamb, the legalization of cannabis “changed the rules of the game.”
“The first call we get, the first email we get every day, is, ‘Is this true? Is it right that you can sell and smoke marijuana in Thailand?” he said.
Technically, smoking in a public place can result in up to three months in jail or a $1,000 fine, or both.
“First the police came to us, we did a study of what the law is, and they just tightened the law and warned us about it,” Mr. Lamb said.
“And [the police said] if it bothers anyone, then we should close it immediately … We really welcome some kind of regulation. We don’t think it’s bad.”
“It’s like the new Amsterdam,” said Carlos Oliver, a British visitor to the resort who picked a ready-made joint from a black box.
“We came to [Thailand] when we didn’t have marijuana, and then a month after we traveled, weed could be bought anywhere – in bars, cafes, on the street. So we smoked and it was like, “How cool.” this is? This is amazing”.
Kitty Cshopaka still can’t believe she was allowed to sell real cannabis and cannabis-flavored lollipops in colorful shops in the upscale Sukhumvit area.
“God, I never in my life thought this would actually happen,” said the ardent marijuana advocate.
Ms Csopaka admitted that there was some initial confusion among new pharmacies and curious shoppers after the government insisted that cannabis was for medical and therapeutic purposes only.
Cannabis extracts must contain less than 0.2 percent of the psychoactive chemical THC, but dried flowers are not regulated.
While public hazard laws prohibit smoking in public places, they do not prohibit smoking on private property.
“I never thought that something would be delisted in Thailand before the rules were passed, but then again, politics in Thailand always surprises me,” Ms Shupaka said.
She advised a parliamentary committee on drafting a new law, which has been shelved as stakeholders and politicians debate its scope.
Meanwhile, in parts of Bangkok, there is a distinct smell in the air that feels more accessible than pad thai.
Popular nightlife areas such as the famous Khaosan Road now have cannabis shops of all shapes and sizes.
Soranut Masayawanich, or “beer” as he is known, is a clandestine manufacturer and distributor but opened a licensed pharmacy in the Sukhumvit area on the day the law was changed.
When foreign journalists visit his store, there is a constant flow of customers who want a variety of tastes, richness and variety of tastes.
The flowers are displayed in matching glass jars on the counter, and the Beer staff, as well as the sommelier, offer advice on wine selection.
“It was like I dream every day that I have to pinch myself,” Beal said. “It’s been a smooth ride and a success. Business is booming.”
Beer started a completely different life as a child actor on one of Thailand’s most popular sitcoms, but after being caught with marijuana, he says the stigma ended his acting career.
“It was prime time—sales were good, we didn’t have any competition, we didn’t have big rents, we just did it over the phone,” Beal said.
They weren’t the best times for everyone – beer was spared from prison, but thousands of people arrested for marijuana were held in Thailand’s notoriously overcrowded prisons.
But in the 1970s, when the United States launched its global “war on drugs”, Thailand classified cannabis as a “class 5″ drug with heavy fines and prison terms.
When it was legalized in June, more than 3,000 prisoners were released and their marijuana-related convictions were dropped.
Tossapon Marthmuang and Pirapat Sajabanyongkij were sentenced to seven and a half years in prison for transporting 355 kg of “brick grass” in northern Thailand.
During the arrest, the police showed them to the media and photographed them with the bulky things seized.
They were released in a very different mood – the media was waiting outside the prison to capture the happy family reunion, and the politicians were there to congratulate, trying to win votes in next year’s elections.
The current health minister, Anutin Charnvirakul, has changed the game by promising to put the plants back in the hands of the people.
State-controlled medical marijuana was legalized within four years, but in the last election in 2019, his party’s policy was that people can grow and use the plant as a medicine at home.
The policy turned out to be a convenient vote winner – Mr. Anutin’s party, Bhumjaitai, emerged as the second largest party in the ruling coalition.
“I think [marijuana] is what stands out, and some even call my party a marijuana party,” Mr. Anutin said.
“All the studies have shown that if we use the cannabis plant properly, it will create many opportunities not only [for] income, but [to] improve people’s health.”
The medicinal cannabis industry began in 2018 and is booming under Anutin, who expects it to bring billions of dollars to the Thai economy in the coming years.
“You can earn income from every part of this tree,” he said. “So the first beneficiaries are obviously those farmers and those who work in agriculture.”
Sisters Jomkwan and Jomsuda Nirundorn became famous for growing Japanese melons on their farm in northeast Thailand before switching to cannabis four years ago.
The two young “cannabis entrepreneurs” are extroverted and smiling, first supplying local hospitals with high CBD plants and then, more recently, branching out into THC plants for the recreational market.
“Starting with 612 seeds, they all failed, and then the second [batch] also failed,” said Jomkwan, rolling his eyes and giggling.
Within a year, they recovered $80,000 in installation costs and expanded to grow cannabis in 12 greenhouses with the help of 18 full-time employees.
The Thai government gave away 1 million cannabis seedlings for free the week it was legalized, but for rice farmer Pongsak Manithun, the dream soon came true.
“We tried to grow it, we planted seedlings, and then when they grew we put them in the soil, but then they withered and died,” Mr. Pongsak said.
He added that the hot weather in Thailand and the soil in the country’s eastern provinces are not suitable for growing cannabis.
“People with money will want to join the experiment… but ordinary people like us don’t dare to invest and take that kind of risk,” he said.
“People are still afraid [of marijuana] because it is a drug – they are afraid that their children or grandchildren will use it and become addicted.”
Many people are worried about children. A national poll has shown that most Thais do not want to be exposed to marijuana culture.
Post time: Oct-09-2022