It is said that approximately 70% of the inmates in Thai prisons are there for drug related cases but recently the dreaded weed has been receiving some good press and rave reviews for it’s medicinal uses. From cancer to cerebral palsy, acute and chronic pain, insomnia and stress, mental health, Alzheimer’s, glaucoma, arthritis, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s, Crohn’s disease, relieving muscle spasms, bowel diseases. The list goes on and on…
Following on from our recent Regenerative fibres: High on hemp article written by Aparna Sharma Expat Life recently interviewed Dr. Kan Na who leads a team of doctors at the Thaikanya Clinic in Hua Hin in the province of Prachaup Khiri Khan.
Dr. Na learnt her trade from her mother Dr. Somkhuan who had been using Thai herbs and spices to practice Thai traditional medicine for many years and as the laws have changed rapidly in Thailand they now see a range of Thai and international patients for both, face to face and online consultations.
They have developed a wide range of products – tea, coffee, creams, balms, spa products and just yesterday I received a press release from Anantara promoting ‘Anantara Spa launches first cannabis infused treatment menu in Thailand’. So if one the leading hospitality providers in Thailand is openly advertising its use - it must have healing properties.
As the Thai tourist industry recovers from the Covid pandemic I see the wellness industry as a major part of that, cannabis acceptance and usage, could well become a very important tool in their armoury.
Cannabis has been legal for years now in many countries and each year others are changing their attitudes to it: Argentina, Australia, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Ecuador, Estonia, Germany, Israel, Jamaica, Mexico, Nepal, North Korea, Peru, Portugal, Russia, Spain, The Netherlands, Uruguay, many States in the US, as well as many countries in Europe have decriminalised marijuana on some scale. So Thailand reviewing its laws and realising the cash cow that it could well become for farmers (Thailand’s tropical climate is ideal for the crop), the tax man and the tourist industry, is not exactly groundbreaking.
As a child of the 60s I remember as a youth that ‘Thai sticks’ were the grass of choice and Thailand’s ‘Golden Triangle’ (along with Laos and Burma) has long been renowned for drug cultivation and distribution. It has been a thorn in the foot for the Thai Government for many years so perhaps recognising the positive aspects of this plant and it’s medicinal uses is an alternative way forward. It would certainly be another arrow in their quiver.
Please read more on the subject at https://www.thaicannabis.biz write to [email protected] and mention Expat Life in Thailand for a free online consultation and or sample.
