Since Thailand’s government legalized cannabis last month, the country has seen a surge of businesses offering cannabis-based products like toothpaste, tea, soaps, and snacks, Reuters reports. Although the nation did legalize the entire cannabis plant for cultivation, sellable products can contain no more than 0.2% THC, with no limits on CBD.
The report notes that some vendors are selling THC-rich products, despite a bill to regulate the practice still making its way through Parliament, the report says.
Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, a champion of legalization reforms in Thailand, told Reuters that he wants “to see people getting rich out of doing these products in a positive way.”
“My policy on cannabis is only focusing on medical purposes and health care. That’s all. We can’t encourage the use of cannabis in other ways.” — Charnvirakul to Reuters
He indicated Thailand’s cannabis industry could surpass $3 billion in just a few years.
Among the products in the newly-legal market is Surawut Samphant’s CBD toothpaste, which is created with cannabis seed oil and sold at his Channherb cannabis shop. Another vendor, Kreephet Hanpongpipat, owner of Kanomsiam dessert shop, said he’s added cannabis leaf to a selection.
Thailand legalized medical cannabis in 2018, but the country has long been known to use cannabis as a medicine. To mark its legalization of cannabis for cultivation and trade last month, officials handed out cannabis plants to residents, with plans to give away more than a million.
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