BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thai businesses are cashing in with cannabis-infused products such as toothpaste, tea, soaps and snacks after the government legalised the plant and its extract this season, generating an influx of interest in the medication.
“It gives me a serious and comfortable rest, ” said Pakpoom Charoenbunna, 32, who have buys a cannabis-infused drink from his regular milk-tea vendor.
Thailand became the first Southeast Asian country to legalise marijuana in 2018 for healthcare use and analysis.
Last month, Thailand decriminalised the entire plant. Falling cannabis from its narcotics list has led to an explosion of recreational use.
Officially, industrial products approved by the meals and drug regulator can contain cannabidiol (CBD), a chemical substance in cannabis that does not make users high.
But the regulator limits the content of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) – the active component that gets customers high – in any cannabis product to just 0. 2%.
Thailand has a long history of using cannabis in conventional medicine to relieve pains and aches. Innovators are now creating new ideas.
Surawut Samphant, owner of the Channherb cannabis shop, has created a toothpaste.
“One of its ingredients will be cannabis sativa seeds oil, which contains CBD, ” he or she said.
Surawat said the toothpaste helped with chewing gum care and one happy customer said this worked for him.
“I have receding gums and occasionally they get infected, ” said Nikom Rianthong who has been using the toothpaste for two months
“It solved my problems, inch he said, including he won’t be returning to other brands.
The owner of the Kanomsiam dessert store, Kreephet Hanpongpipat, has long sold pandan-leaf flavoured dishes but a year ago incorporated cannabis leaf to draw in new customers.
Kreephet said their customers say the particular cannabis-infused desserts help them get a good sleep.
Wellness minister Anutin Charnvirakul, the main driver behind the legalisation of cannabis for medical purposes, estimates the industry could be worth more than $3 billion inside five years.
“I want to see people getting rich out of carrying out these products in a beneficial way, ” this individual told Reuters.
“My plan on cannabis is only focusing on medical purposes and health care. That’s all. We can’t encourage the use of marijuana in other ways. inch
Suppliers of THC-rich weed have taken advantage of the push to promote healthcare marijuana and stalls selling pot possess sprung up throughout the country.
Anutin said that there was public health laws that can prevent recreational use while a cannabis bill has been deliberated in parliament.
Kreephet said there needed to be more public education on the benefits and dangers of cannabis so it can be used securely.
(Reporting by Chayut Setboonsarng; Editing by Robert Birsel)