Busted marijuana grower says plant cured his colon cancer

By Bangkok Post

THAILAND: A man caught growing about 1,000 marijuana plants in a large greenhouse told police they were for medical use and he had cured his colon cancer by eating and drinking the leaves.

Montri Thiwavornchai, 53, centre, is arrested when police raid his marijuana nursery in Kham Thale So district of Nakhon Ratchasima last night (Mar 12). Photo: Prasit Tangprasert

Officers from Provincial Police Region 3 raided his house in Nong Sruang village in Kham Thale So district last night (Mar 12).

They found a large nursery, 12 metres wide and 36 metres long, in the grounds. There were 976 marijuana plants planted in rows of pots.

Montri Thiwavornchai, 53, a local builder, told police he had invested about one million baht in constructing the nursery to grow organic marijuana in a closed system. He bought seeds from a neighbouring country for B3,000 a kilogramme.

He had planted them about three months ago and planned to harvest the plants in about two months.

Mr Montri said he had suffered from colon cancer, which was in the third stage in 2014. He used marijuana to treat his cancer, by boiling the leaves to drink. He also ate fresh marijuana leaves. He said his cancer had been cured.

So he then invested in marijuana farming. He intended to grow these plants for medical use and distribution to local residents with illnesses.

He had not yet sought permission to grow the plants because of the bureaucratic red tape.

Police initially pressed two counts against him – illegally growing marijuana and possessing a Type 5 narcotic.