This first line of weed-based products puts Thailand on the cutting
edge of Southeast Asia's legal marijuana industry, a lucrative
advantage if allowed to flourish.
If recreational marijuana is legalized and freely grown, it would
create an extremely profitable domestic and international market
possibly bigger than this mostly agricultural country's rice, sugar
cane, or tapioca crops.
South Korea is ahead of Thailand in producing legal medical cannabis
products for domestic use.
India offers relatively small, decades-old legal "bhang" sales for
recreational use solely within that country and made from otherwise
illegal marijuana.
Proud of the tiny amount they created, the government organized a
visit for journalists on August 2 to Rangsit University's new,
sparsely equipped Medical Cannabis Research Institute in the College
of Pharmacy.
University staff unlocked a gray metal safe and displayed 40 kilograms
(88 pounds) of dried marijuana confiscated by police during drug
busts. Each rectangular kilogram of "cannabis raw material" was
hard-pressed and wrapped in clear plastic.
A few months ago, officials said confiscated marijuana was useless for
medical purposes because it was often contaminated with insecticide,
fertilizer, heavy metals or fungus.
Thailand was unable to quickly grow enough marijuana under strict
purity controls.
"If some samples are contaminated, we will not use it," a researcher said.
They also displayed a "subcritical solvent extractor" and a "butane
extraction" machine, both invented by Thais, to pull
tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) from marijuana.
If laws are relaxed, impoverished villagers could collectively buy the
refrigerator-sized extractors and profit from demand, they said.
The extractors produced the university's first "controlled drug"
sesame-based cannabis oils.
One tiny 15-millileter bottle included 500 milligrams of THC and 100
milligrams of CBD, enough for 600 drops. Two drops a day are to be
placed under the tongue.
"This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any
medical condition or any disease," and has "not been evaluated by the
[Thai] Food and Drug Administration," the label said.
University researchers injected THC and CBD into pink, swollen tumors
induced in live mice to determine if cannabis inhibits cancer growth.
Other healthy mice, under the influence, explored chambers to
determine if cannabis reduces anxiety and offers other benefits.
In one test, they put a mouse into a chamber which had 16 holes in the
floor. Inquisitive drugged mice explored more holes in three minutes
compared with shy sober mice, indicating "anti-anxiety activity."
The university's small, sunny rooftop garden displayed 72 leafy
marijuana plants in various stages of growth.
A glass house encased 36 plants fed by "root spa" watering, while the
other 36 stood outdoors and absorbed "drip" watering.
"We grow without any chemicals. No pesticides. No chemical
fertilizer," a grower said.
The plants sprouted from seeds of unknown origin, recovered from
confiscated crops.
"We don't know if they got the seeds from Thailand or from a
neighboring country," researcher Orapan Hussarang said.
"We don't know exactly," what plant strains are growing. "It's just
unknown," she said.
"After we get the bud, we are going to give it to the pharmacy. They
will check how much THC and CBD."
Some Thai labs imported documented seeds from the Netherlands or
elsewhere, Ms. Orapan said.
Rangsit University also presented its cannabis oils which include
herbal ingredients used in Thai cuisine and tonics.
"These [oils] are used when your body is feeling too warm, or if you
have extreme weight loss from disease, or to promote sleep,"
researcher Somporn Phonkrathok said.
Stomach bloating, stress disorders, pain and other problems can also
be treated with these elixirs. Some can be massaged into the skin.
Researchers are using Thailand's centuries-old recipes gathered from
rural traditional healers who have been discreetly treating villagers
with illegal marijuana-laced concoctions.
The Government Pharmaceutical Organization (GPO) and a handful of
other facilities are also growing and producing small amounts of
marijuana for medical use, but nowhere near what is needed.
The GPO delivered 4,500 tiny bottles of its oils to the Health
Ministry on August 7 for final-stage cancer victims and recently
planted an additional 20,000 plants.
Researchers have not been able to make enough doses because the
government demands most marijuana research and production be conducted
in Thailand which lacks qualified staff and large-scale cannabis
facilities.
Officials do not want to import large quantities of foreign medical
cannabis because it could flood Thailand's market and snatch profits
from government organizations and licensed facilities.
As a result, tens of thousands of Thai patients are stuck waiting for
hospitals and traditional medical practitioners to prescribe and
distribute made-in-Thailand cannabis medicine.
Marijuana cannot be grown, produced or sold in Thailand except for
medical use with permission from the government which can also import
and export medical cannabis products.
"How can we produce enough cannabis-based medicines when there are
only a few places authorized to grow the plant?" said Daycha Siripatra
who distributes free marijuana oil to cancer patients.
Daycha's manufacturing and distribution was illegal but his 40,000
patients and other supporters defended recent moves to shut it down.
As a result, he was accredited by the Health Department in April and
the government is issuing him a license to continue.
His "Daycha Oil" however must be produced in cooperation with the
Department of Thai Traditional and Alternative Medicine which
reportedly will allow him to distribute 25 percent of his oil each
month.
Patients qualify only if they suffer severe illnesses listed by the
Health Ministry and agree to undergo studies by Chulalongkorn
University's Pharmaceutical Science faculty to determine efficacy and
side effects.
"That will force users and medical practitioners to rely on authorized
suppliers, who can manipulate the price," Mr. Daycha warned in May.
To boosts supplies, the GPO plans to import some CBD oil from abroad
until Thailand produces enough.
"Most Thai marijuana strains contain more THC than CBD, which makes it
more suitable for recreational use," GPO Director Withoon Danwiboon
said.
After recent parliamentary elections, the modest-sized Bhumjai Thai
(Proud to be Thai) party's leader Anutin Charnvirakul became health
minister and deputy prime minister.
Mr. Anutin campaigned to legalize recreational marijuana for
government sales, but not enough other officials agree.
"We would like to provide medical tour packages, such as detox, Thai
massage and other wellness courses that use marijuana," said Tourism
Minister Pipat Ratchakitprakan, who belongs to Mr. Anutin's party.
During the August 7 delivery of the GPO's medical cannabis oil to the
Health Ministry, Mr. Anutin said: "This is the outcome of legalizing
medical cannabis.
"There is no hidden agenda. We only want to support every patient."
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