A signature drink garnished with an artificial weed leaf from Highland Café. Photo: Vijitra Duangdee

 

• Legalisation of hemp products means cannabis cookies and CBD medicinal oils could boost the mood of an economy laid low by Covid-19

 

• Investors and tycoons will feel the high but grass roots farmers without the right connections will be left feeling low, critics say

 

Vijitra Duangdee

 

The buzz over Thailand’s  cannabis industry is getting feverous, with its most excited backers suggesting the production and sale of hemp-based goods from chocolate drops to cookies and CBD medicinal oils could be the perfect antidote for a Southeast Asian economy laid low by coronavirus.

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But buzzkill critics warn it is investors and tycoons that stand to benefit from Thailand’s “green rush”, rather than ordinary workers and farmers who have seen their incomes shredded by Covid-19.

 

While Thais have for generations used cannabis leaves in noodle soups and for pain relief – with the plant growing best in the elevated, pH neutral soils and balmy temperatures of the country’s north and northeast – it is only recently that cannabis products have been legally available.

 

Full story: https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3126041/thailand-has-high-hopes-cannabis-can-cure-coronavirus-blues

 

 

-- © Copyright South China Morning Post 2021-03-22

 

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More rubbish and wishful thinking. I don't know why I keep reading this noise. Just a coy tease for REAL legalization.