Thailand’s decriminalization of cannabis has delighted its fans, alarmed some health experts and has increasingly disappointed farmers who have been undercut by illegal imports, sending a promise of a new bonanza crop up in smoke.
Marijuana has also become an election football, with the opposition criticizing the ruling pro-military coalition in the run-up to May 14 polls for rushing through decriminalization last year to what they say is the detriment of society, youngsters in particular.
Thousands of cannabis shops and businesses have sprung up, especially in Bangkok and tourist spots, since Thailand became the first Southeast Asian country to decriminalize the drug.
Photo: Reuters
However, the legal framework has never been clearly set out and long-promised legislation failed in February to get through parliament, leaving the country without an umbrella law to regulate its use.
Apart from the legislative limbo, the benefits of a new cash crop for farmers, trumpeted by Thai Minister of Health Anutin Charnvirakul who spearheaded the decriminalization effort, have failed to materialize, six industry members, including farmers and retailers, told reporters.
That could compound grumbling about the government as its main challenger, the Pheu Thai Party loyal to deposed prime minister and former telecommunications tycoon Thaksin Shinawatra, proclaims its opposition to marijuana.
Kajkanit Sakdisubha, CEO and founder of Taratera, which operates cannabis farms and shops, placed the blame for the disappointment many farmers feel on illegal imports that began when the initial boom led to domestic supplies running out.
“Then the imported flowers started coming in,” Kajkanit said, referring to the potent buds favored by smokers.
A deluge of marijuana smuggled in from abroad has swamped Thailand, driving down wholesale prices and hurting growers, the industry members said.
Anutin, whose party’s 2019 campaign Web site featured marijuana plants sprouting gold coins, told reporters that importing any part of the plant without permission was prohibited and should be stopped.
“It’s illegal,” he said. “If they are importing illegally, we will have to use law enforcement.”
He did not comment on the scale of smuggled cannabis in the market or its impact on farmers.
The Thai Chamber of Commerce has estimated that the sector, which includes medicinal products, could be worth US$1.2 billion by 2025, but grower Srapathum Natthapong, 37, who invested a chunk of his life savings to jump into the industry, said he had seen his returns dwindle.
“In the early days, I could sell a kilo for between 350,000 and 400,000 baht (US$10,300 and US$11,700),” said Srapathum, who runs three indoor farms.
This month, when his next harvest is due, Srapathum expects the price would have slumped to 200,000 baht per kilogram.
“The smuggled stuff is damaging us,” he said.
As with the law governing the industry, data are hard to pin down, but 1.1 million people in Thailand have registered with the government to grow cannabis. It is not clear if all are doing so or how many people are growing it without registering.
In Bangkok’s Khaosan Road tourist haunt, stalls selling cannabis line the street, and no one seems to care that imported marijuana is officially illegal. Some shops highlight their foreign supplies.
“Cannabis made in USA,” one shop proclaimed in a sign.
At least half the cannabis being sold in Thailand is being smuggled in, three industry members said, although they had no estimates for the quantity or value of the imports.
Cannabis advocate and retailer Chokwan “Kitty” Chopaka said the US was the main source of the marijuana that has flooded Thailand, especially in its tourist centers.
“A lot of cannabis that’s coming in from the US is going to dispensaries in Bangkok or Phuket or Pattaya,” she said.
Pornchai Padmindra of the Thai Industrial Hemp Trade Association, which has about 300 members, said faced with shrinking profit margins, many growers were considering quitting the industry.
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