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Thailand is betting big on cannabis. Visit its �rst legallab.PRI's The World
August 06, 2019 · 12:15 PM EDT
By Patrick Winn
00:55 07:25
In Thailand, there is no marijuana industry. A few months ago, however, authorities quietly allowed scientists to put together the country’s first-ever cannabislaboratory — one of the few legal facilities of its kind in Asia. Thai researchers at Rangsit University show o� THC oils they’ve distilled from marijuana supplied bythe country’s anti-narcotics bureau.
Credit: Patrick Winn/The World
The unraveling of harsh anti-pot laws across the world is finally coming to Asia.
In East and Southeast Asia, democracies and dictatorships alike have long skewed toward severe penalties for marijuanausers. Thailand, a key ally in America’s global war on drugs, has been no exception.
Related: Thailand approves medical pot in small step away from US-backed drug war
But the perception of cannabis has begun to change with astonishing speed. Thailand’s right-wing government recentlylegalized medical cannabis — and identified the creation of a homegrown marijuana industry as a “top priority.”
Even some of Thailand’s conservatives now talk excitedly of churning out “world-class cannabis” from its lush farmlandsand stealing the lead before other Asian countries build their own markets. (Around the region, South Korea and the
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Philippines are taking baby steps toward loosening anti-pot laws while China has quietly permitted research into thedrug.)
In Thailand, at this point, there is no marijuana industry. But a few months back, authorities quietly allowed scientists toput together the country’s first-ever cannabis laboratory — one of the few legal facilities of its kind in Asia.
That lab, at a school north of Bangkok called Rangsit University, is finally being unveiled. On a guided tour, The World wasgiven access to more than a dozen pharmacists, medical researchers and agricultural specialists who are helping buildthis industry from scratch.
Here are some key takeaways:
Thailand’s �rst cannabis strains are supplied by lawbreakers
Importing marijuana to Thailand — even for medical purposes — is still illegal. Researchers have had to work withcannabis confiscated by police and supplied via Thailand’s anti-narcotics bureau. In other words, drug users andtra�ickers may have inadvertently contributed to the advancement of medicine.
Earlier this year, the scientists were handed about 40 kilo-sized bricks of weed. Most of it was contaminated by pesticides,heavy metals and other residues. But there was enough usable stock to create quality oils laden withTetrahydrocannabinol, known as THC, which the researchers have practiced distilling in their labs.
Expect some �avorful THC-infused products
The scientists aim to make life more bearable for people su�ering through chemotherapy, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis andchronic pain. They’ve been creative in coming up with ways to administer doses of THC.
Prototypes presented so far include THC-infused wafers, massage oils (which can be rubbed on the stomach) and a nasalspray.
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A THC-infused nasal spray invented in a Thai research lab north of Bangkok.
Credit: Patrick Winn/The World
But the most inventive prototype is a flavorful powder that combines marijuana with signature Thai ingredients:sandalwood, ginger and three types of pepper.
The powder is consumed as a liquid a�er mixing it with coconut oil. This will produce a peppery drink that, according tothe researchers, also has “floral and sweet” flavors of coconut.
Related: Move over gummy bears. Soon, you can drink weed in Canada.
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Ingredients used in a prototypical THC-infused powder invented by Thai scientists. They include white pepper, black pepper, sandalwood, gingerand cannabis leaves.
Credit: Patrick Winn/The World
Thailand will be home to Asia’s �rst 'ganja studies' curriculum
The college hosting the cannabis lab, Rangsit University, is putting together what they call a “ganja studies” programtaught by professors specializing in pharmaceuticals, medicine and cutting-edge agriculture. (In the Thai language,“ganja” isn’t slang. It’s the formal word for cannabis.)
At this point, the curriculum is envisioned as a minor, not a major, though demand is very high. Several dozen studentshave already tried to land spots on the enrollment list even though the program may take more than a year to roll out.
As the program is more fully built up, researchers will start creating their own unique cannabis strains that don’t rely onconfiscated marijuana from the police, says Thanapat Songsak, dean of the university’s College of Pharmacy.
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The first crop of legal cannabis plants grown by Thai professors at Rangsit University in a legal lab north of Bangkok.
Credit: Patrick Winn/The World
It’ll take time before THC products are rolled out en masse
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The buzz around medical cannabis in Thailand is intense. Analysts are throwing around estimates valuing the nation’spotential marijuana market at more than half a billion dollars. And in the halls of government, some politicians arepushing for recreational use, citing California as inspiration.
Still, the country remains in a “transition period,” says Supachai Kunaratnpruk, a former top o�icial with Thailand’shealth ministry who is now steering Rangsit University’s research e�orts.
For starters, there isn’t much supply. Marijuana plants are being grown in only a few government-approved greenhouses.Doctors at state-run hospitals have been cleared to dispense a small batch of THC oils to select patients but, for now,there aren’t enough legal marijuana plants to power an industrialized market. Influential figures in government, Supachaisays, remain skittish about the specter of all-out legalization.
There’s also a well-founded fear, he says, that this nascent industry will become monopolized by one or two corporations,possibly foreign, that are focused on profits and not health.
“We can’t let it fall into one [set of] hands, one big company,” he says. “Our responsibility is to develop special Thai strainsof world-class cannabis used in medicine. We want to cooperate with farmer co-ops. They grow it, we provide knowledgeand it’s all sold to the medical profession. That’s the model.”
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Tagged: Bangkok, Asia, Thailand and Southeast Asia.
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