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Thai Surprise: Country Warned By International Bodies Over Cannabis Liberalization Plans

Written by ICBC Staff on . Posted in Politics.

By Marguerite Arnold

For all of its enthusiastic entry into the legal cannabis space of late, Thailand has also caught the attention of international regulators (specifically the International Narcotics Control Board INCB). In fact, the agency recently issued a warning to the government to go slow when it comes to bucking a century of prohibition.

Thailand has already been warned that if it decriminalizes cannabis for recreational use it might also lose import privileges for certain types of medicines.

While such dire threats were not issued when Luxembourg recently made international headlines for committing to cannabis reform measures, this is also mostly driven by the reality that Thailand, unlike Luxembourg, seems to be gearing up for both an export policy and an active tourist economy.

Then again, there are three international treaties at stake – namely the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, the Convention on Psychotropic Substances of 1971 and the Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances of 1988.

The warning comes at a time when the excitement about Thailand proceeding with cultivation licenses is increasing, however, the Public Health Ministry has yet to decide on a composition of a committee to oversee said production if not consumption downstream.

If this confusion sounds familiar, there is a reason. Every country, from Germany to Canada, has gone through a protracted, and often painful, internal and external rulemaking and implementation process.

In Germany for example, a country with a now formalized cultivation bid process, the German government seems more interested in importing flower across the border with Holland than tendering any domestically produced product for now (although a new bid round is also widely rumoured to be in the cards within the next 24 months).

In Canada, health regulators are now dealing with the extremely messy backlash due to moving too quickly into a regulated market that still allowed a major disaster like CannTrust to happen.

And those are just the “easy” examples.

South of the U.S. border, in particular, every attempt to liberalize drug policy and end the drug war has run into opposition from U.S. banks in addition to everything else. See both Mexico and Uruguay.

In summary, what Thailand is facing is no more, and no less, than official notification from bodies who have yet to catch up with the speed of events on the ground and that cannabis is still a highly stigmatized and controlled substance.

How the country adapts to such realities and learns from others now in similar circumstances (such as Greece) will be interesting to watch as another subchapter in reform now rolls into the history book.

Even in Asia.

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Thailand Jumps Into Cannabis Tourism Ring

Written by ICBC Staff on . Posted in Business, Vancouver.

Thailand, last year’s last minute cannabis reformer (along with Israel, on Christmas Day, as a “gift” to the Thai people), has wasted little time going where other national governments so far, have been slow  to go, if at all. As some had hoped, Pipat Ratchakitprakan, the new tourism and sports minister, plans to promote medical marijuana tourism as part of a broader plan to attract foreign visitors.

Even more promising for those who are thinking of planning their Thai vacation now, travel packages will likely also include other traditional Thai medical approaches, including combining medical cannabis with massage.

Along with the cannabis reforms, the country also plans to wisely encourage ride and home sharing apps (by legalizing them) to handle the extra accommodation and travel needs of foreign tourists coming to the nation for the sun, cannabis, and total relaxation. Thailand is looking to get a head start capitalizing on international cannabis tourism, but will probably provide a good model for other nations to follow.

Global Cannabis Wellness Tours and Packages

Thailand is clearly hoping to attract well heeled North Americans and Europeans. Especially because, outside of California and perhaps Nevada, there is no real “wellness” or tourism movement yet in any country. And in Europe, the focus has not yet shifted to canna tourism beyond of course, the old standby, Holland and the up-and-comer, Barcelona

No matter the potential of Greece – the only other recent arrival to the cannabis reform camp on a sovereign level, if not the potential of places like Croatia – Europe is on a slower track.

Local “Cannabis Wellness” Getaways

The idea of cannabis wellness is hitting Europe in different waves. Added to tourism, and this is still a bit of an exotic beast (although probably not for long).

Even in Luxembourg, for instance, while the country has indicated it wants to put recreational reform on the fast track, attracting tourists from neighbouring countries has not been on the (official) roadmap. See who its neighbours are.

For that reason, look for the growth of specialty, tourist markets, like Thailand, as the global medical and wellness market grows.

However, this is not the only place the Thai market is likely to have impact. Inevitably, also look for western knockoffs coming soon in all medical markets. It is a lot cheaper to get a Thai massage with cannabis on the side locally than flying all the way to Bangkok for the same.

What originates in Thailand, in other words, is also likely to have a huge influence on fusion influences in every legalizing market where there is a Thai massage shop.

German canna sauna anyone?

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Thailand Takes Early Lead in the Asian Cannabis Market

Written by Anthony Johnson on . Posted in Business, Vancouver.

Positive cannabis law reforms have been taking hold all across the world, while Asia with many of its nations still maintaining draconian cannabis laws, has lagged behind North America, Europe, Africa, and South America. But the times may be a-changin’ and Thailand is leading the way. If Thailand is going to continue its lead and maximize its current competitive agenda, the nation will need to adapt, starting with moving beyond just medical cannabis and embrace legalization for all adults. There’s good reason to be optimistic for Thailand to lead a projected $8.5 billion regional market (by 2024) with key political figures are lobbying for expanding the country’s medical program and ending prohibition for all adults, as Bloomberg reports:

The country last year legalized medical marijuana with the approval of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha, who then led Thailand’s junta and now heads the civilian government following a disputed general election in March. A key member of his coalition is pushing for full legalization of Thailand’s marijuana market, projected to grow to $661 million within five years, according to cannabis industry researcher Prohibition Partners.

Anutin Charnvirakul, the millionaire leader of political party Bhum Jai Thai, helped Prayuth form a ruling coalition and is expected to use that platform to try to deliver on his campaign promise of legalizing marijuana. The prospects of such a move increased on July 10 when Anutin was named deputy prime minister and public health minister in the newly formed cabinet. He’s seeking to remove restrictions that have made it difficult for even those approved for medical marijuana to easily access cannabis, he said in a June 21 party statement. Anutin’s two key positions make it easier for him to submit regulatory changes to legalize the crop. Thailand’s tough anti-trafficking laws aren’t expected to change even if recreational weed becomes legal.

It’s not the only nation rethinking cannabis. Malaysia and Laos are considering legalizing medical use of the crop, and the Philippines’ lower legislature has passed a medical cannabis measure. “For Thailand to become the Asian leader in the cannabis space, it would most likely require that neither China nor Japan legalize cannabis,” says Alexandra Curley, Prohibition Partners’ head of insights.

Thailand has already branded itself rather well in the old-school, underground cannabis community as Thai Stick has a legend of its own. In addition to becoming a major exporter, Thailand should embrace cannabis tourism to bring more freedom, jobs, and revenue to the nation. I’m a extremely proud of Thailand’s progression on cannabis (my mother is from there) and I hope that this trend continues and the country will embrace liberty for the betterment of their hardworking people that have been subject to a lot of political and cultural turmoil.

If you want to stay up-to-date on the latest industry news and to network with top investors and entrepreneurs, the International Cannabis Business Conference is the event for you. Next up: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, this September 15-16. Discounted, early bird ticket sales end August 21st.