Thailand to Grown Medical Cannabis and Exported it Across the World

An Economic subcommittee in Thailand has reported medical cannabis will be raised to the status of an economic crop in and exported across the world. A government subcommittee studying the draft law on cultivation of cannabis in Thailand told the Nation yesterday.

The subcommittee said Thai farmers should also have access to both certified commercial cannabis seed and be able to generate their own seed stocks, Weerachai na Nakorn, an adviser to a community cannabis enterprise said.

The government panel agreed to promote Thai medical cannabis in the Asian, European and US markets. Weerachai was speaking at a seminar organised by the Play La Ploen community cannabis enterprise.

Large areas of Thailand are suitable for cultivation of medical cannabis. Furthermore cannabis will significantly boost incomes in the agricultural and associated industrial sector. Studies were conducted on medical cannabis crops, which was legalized last year.

Thailand to develop more medical cannabis plant varieties

However, Thailand currently has only four cannabis cultivars (RPF1-4) and needs to develop more varieties. Above all to support industrial production, said Weerachai.

Each different cannabis cultivar has unique characteristics and is suited to a specific geography, he added. Some are more fibrous; some produce lots of seeds; and some are high in cannabidiol and related compounds.

The Play La Ploen enterprise is collaborating with the Government Pharmaceutical Organisation on a pilot contract farming project to grow high-CBD medical marijuana and build a network of community producers.

The pilot project is cultivating two strains of marijuana, a Thai and a foreign cultivar, said Thanaporn Pornsangkul, a scientist at Play La Ploen community enterprise. The goal is to produce cannabis drugs for more than 20 northeastern hospitals in Nakhon Ratchasima, Chaiyaphum, Buriram and Surin.