The bad actors in Thailand’s cannabis industry

[crazykopite]

It’s never a Thai persons fault it’s always the dirty smelly foreigners who are to blame we got blamed for Covid now we get the blame for the Cannabis industry to have a Cannabis shop you must have a license if you don’t have one then it should be closed I wonder how many police and other Government officials have invested in these weed businesses no doubt they are all tied up in other family members names 

[Wuvu2]

From the consumers point of view, the problem is that most Thai growers lack the experience to grow great weed.  The cost of production in Thailand is low, so I'm looking forward to great Thai grown weed just as soon as they up their game to international standards. 

 

In the meantime, don't expect my charity in the form of buying lousy weed at twice the price of great bud. 

 

[Jonathan Swift]

To all of you who are piling on with endless criticism and complaining about her "xenophobia" and supposed bias, how many of you have ever lifted a finger to do anything about the world or for the greater good besides sit in your chair, at your keyboard,  or at your local pub and complain? At least she's trying, and her intentions are without fault. She knows what she's doing, the issues she's pointing to are valid and sound for the most part well informed, in spite of all your comments to the contrary. I was an activist in the US when I was young, and did nowhere near the amount of work this young lady has done for her cause. She's trying to give voice to those who would be silenced. She's trying to take care of her own, get everyone their due, just as any and every one of you would do if you had 1% of her ambition and motivation. God bless her. 

[1happykamper]

You have the gall to tell foreigners that "greed will only bring pain "!? 

 

You need to check the average Thai's LUST for anything money related.

 

As for the cannabis "fight". For one year I've seen coffee shops and Thailand social media turned into an immature playground for those that need that stuff. It looks ridiculous. 

[earlinclaifornia]

When this all started up like anything, when you have a demand you have problem solvers.

The fact is that initially about 70% is imported. The local growers have entered and this is a problem quickly fading. Money talks and bull<deleted> walks. These growers deserve the right to earn.

[1happykamper]

1 minute ago, Jonathan Swift said:

To all of you who are piling on with endless criticism and complaining about her "xenophobia" and supposed bias, how many of you have ever lifted a finger to do anything about the world or for the greater good besides sit in your chair, at your keyboard,  or at your local pub and complain? At least she's trying, and her intentions are without fault. She knows what she's doing, the issues she's pointing to are valid and sound for the most part well informed, in spite of all your comments to the contrary. I was an activist in the US when I was young, and did nowhere near the amount of work this young lady has done for her cause. She's trying to give voice to those who would be silenced. She's trying to take care of her own, get everyone their due, just as any and every one of you would do if you had 1% of her ambition and motivation. God bless her. 

Cannabis should not deserve such attention. If she fought for fair elections, better road law enforcement or some other MUCH more important topic then yes....I would support your notion. But she's not. 

[Bangkok Barry]

3 hours ago, RandolphGB said:

Her view seems to be that Thais legally dealing cannabis is OK. But foreigners doing the same thing is bad.

 

All that education and appearances in so 'many news media' and she's still a pretentious xenophobic simpleton.

And her English still leaves something to be desired. Many errors that Thais regularly make.

[Gulfsailor]

2 hours ago, SamuiGrower said:

Doubt that! And, where is that statistic? Dubious supposition at best.

 

Dispensaries in Samui are all too proud to tell you about their ‘Cali’ imports. If this wasn’t so, they would be importing from Bangkok, Pattaya and Chiangmai.

 

“And it is illegal to IMPORT cannabis into Thailand. (yes, there is a loophole for "scientific research")”

 

This is also NOT true. I have seen valid import licenses. Many. Yes, it is illegal export it out of the US and Canada. Trust me, that in and of itself will allow the US DEA to pressure And influence Thai legislation in the coming round of regulations, that you all know is coming.

The import licenses you refer to are for the seeds. The plant and buds which are sold as exotics are from imported seeds but grown indoors in Thailand. Tourists are willing to pay more if they think it’s foreign. 
I’m not saying illegal imports of buds isn’t happening but at current market rates it really doesn’t make any financial sense to ship from abroad and pay the 40k baht per kilo under the table fee at customs to look the other way. 

[earlinclaifornia]

3 minutes ago, Wuvu2 said:

From the consumers point of view, the problem is that most Thai growers lack the experience to grow great weed.  The cost of production in Thailand is low, so I'm looking forward to great Thai grown weed just as soon as they up their game to international standards. 

 

In the meantime, don't expect my charity in the form of buying lousy weed at twice the price of great bud. 

 

You seem smart and I can only direct you to getting outside of the cities and enjoy the growers that have mastered the trade. Excellent selections for under 200b locally in CM

[Wuvu2]

5 minutes ago, Jonathan Swift said:

I was an activist in the US when I was young

Great virtue signaling Jonathan. An activist. Wow ????

 

[NextG]

46 minutes ago, Bday Prang said:

            Nothing wrong with her English abilities, There are few, if any,  on here who could translate her OP into Thai, although if her canadian husband actually proofread it , I can only assume he's a french speaker.

            Thailand is by nature a pretty inward looking country, and I kind of get that,   they do need some protection from foreign "big business" moving in and controlling things,   The more "liberal minded" amongst us, are , in my opinion, a little too quick to hurl words like "Xenophobic" and "Racist" into discussions of this nature' when perhaps "Patriotic" or "Protectionist"  or even just "selfish" if you must, would suffice.

              I'm generally  quite happy with the "Thailand is for the Thais" line of thought, and to be honest I'm also more than a little bit jealous of the sense of  national Identity that they all share!  Something that my home country  (the UK) and many western countries,   lost a long time ago,  To  the extent that many of our population and many politicians seem to actually hate our culture, and seek to destroy it !  The end result ? Well, open displays of patriotism are generally frowned upon, Aspects of Christianity are "problematic"    The destruction of  historical statues goes virtually unpunished, Even talk of changing the words of the National anthem, for fear of "offending" foreigners , to quote just a few examples .and bizarrely all instigated by UK nationals !   Is it any wonder that many choose to live here

             She is at least on the right side of the fence when it comes to keeping weed off the narcotics list, and if she is seeking a bit of a name for herself then why not ?  It's no different than Chuwit looking for a bit of fame by ostensibly joining  the opposing camp  very recently

None of us are claiming to be fluent in Thai and praising ourselves to the ‘nines’. The way she writes is truly narcissistic… “Google me…” Really? No thanks. Would prefer to avoid you…

Another “Do you know who I am?” character. 

Yes, now I do and it has nothing to do with what can be found on Google and everything to do with how you presented yourself here… and your shop. 
Buds priced at 1234 baht per gram. Green Crack priced at 555 baht per gram. 
Greed is not good. Perfect example of the pot calling the kettle black. 
 

 

[SamuiGrower]

1 hour ago, SeaBee said:

Could you post a - names blurred - photo of any such valid import license?

No, I can’t. Asking a business to copy their license and post it so you can see it? Slim to none. If you don’t believe there is a huge influx of USA/Canadian flower flooding the Thai market, don’t leave it to me to convince you, canvass the suppliers or better yet, enter the business. Clearly, ALL are welcome (by some) ????????????.

 

I am in the business. A commercial grow that sells cannabis and CBD (flower/extract) on a wholesale basis to dispensaries and wellness centers. They have shown us their import licenses and commercially imported flower and those are the prices that have established the AMR (average market rate) to which we compete against. Our company has a full time “admin”, well versed in licenses, permits and filling out countless forms. We are a straight up-and-down company that has  multiple licenses (a CBD export license is just one). A Ganja/Ganjo import license is just a matter of filing and paying.

 

As stated in previous posts, this business is a race to the bottom, complete with Darwinism - survival of the fittest. Prices will plummet, regulation will abound, and small players will evaporate. The weed business in Thailand is replete with the good, the bad and the really bad. It astounds me that it still operates on the least common denominator: “The Gram”. More weed spoils or its integrity diminished by oversupply than what is sold. Before anyone asks for proof of that, relax, it’s MY speculation from involvement in this business. I see a lot of “brown, everything looks a like, UV and humidity spoiled flower”. FYI for all you looking in from the outside - you can’t freeze it, refrigerate it, inert atmosphere package it and expect it to last until that last gram is sold, before it goes bad. Sad.

[LukKrueng]

4 hours ago, george said:

Which cause the Health Department to re-categorise cannabis as "control herb" where they then put in place the No sale to minor, pregnant and breastfeeding mothers, as well as making edible illegal.

I'm not sure about the legality of edibles, but the no sale for under 20, pregnant and breastfeeding mothers - that was there from the start. I'm pretty sure it was there even before June 9th, when all you could get at cannabis clinics was oil.

As for smugglers - that has nothing to do with legalising cannabis. It's just like sales of other illegal drugs and smuggling of other products. Where there's a market there will always be those who try to make a profit through the back door.

I know I'll vote for Anutin, and I'll try convincing anyone who listens to vote for his party so he'll have enough power to keep cannabis legal. So that's what I do for cannabis and cannabis lovers.

[SamuiGrower]

19 minutes ago, Gulfsailor said:

The import licenses you refer to are for the seeds. The plant and buds which are sold as exotics are from imported seeds but grown indoors in Thailand. Tourists are willing to pay more if they think it’s foreign. 
I’m not saying illegal imports of buds isn’t happening but at current market rates it really doesn’t make any financial sense to ship from abroad and pay the 40k baht per kilo under the table fee at customs to look the other way. 

So wrong.

[LivinLOS]

1 hour ago, Goat said:

Whats your point?

The point is the complaint of importing foreign weed would not even exist if Thais could compete on a level playing field. 

Hell with the cheap labour land and ample sunlight, not even a level playing field, one tilted in thier favor. 

Stop with the nonsense about blocking other product and just work on making a better value offering. 

[Bday Prang]

13 minutes ago, NextG said:

None of us are claiming to be fluent in Thai and praising ourselves to the ‘nines’. The way she writes is truly narcissistic… “Google me…” Really? No thanks. Would prefer to avoid you…

Another “Do you know who I am?” character. 

Yes, now I do and it has nothing to do with what can be found on Google and everything to do with how you presented yourself here… and your shop. 
Buds priced at 1234 baht per gram. Green Crack priced at 555 baht per gram. 
Greed is not good. Perfect example of the pot calling the kettle black. 
 

 

She may well be a bit narcissistic but what other sort of person would take on the naysayers at a political level.

Agree on the prices, never paid more than 8bt a gram throughout the last 12 months,  even on a brief trip to the UK I was only paying the equivalent of 300bt / gram 

Home growing is the way forward .

[kennw]

4 hours ago, Jingthing said:

Good politics then to unfairly trash people of non Thai nationality and race.

Yes she is clearly doing good work but the xenophobia is sickening. 

Why dont you just say only pot produced in Thailand can be sold here, but why stop there? why not every product sold here can only be sold if made in Thailand and even then the two tier pricing will apply, and alcohol will be banned so that every sinner must use pot, And no limits on pot daily sale time such as there are on alcohol. 

  

[Keep Right]

Cannabis is not a "simple plant."

Experts believe your endocannabinoid system (ECS) plays a part in cannabis-related paranoia.

When you use cannabis, certain compounds in it, including THC, the psychoactive compound in cannabis, bind to endocannabinoid receptors in various parts of your brain, including the amygdala.

Your amygdala helps regulate your response to fear and related emotions, like anxiety, stress, and — wait for it — paranoia. When you use cannabis that’s rich in THC, your brain suddenly receives more cannabinoids than usual. Research suggests this excess of cannabinoids may overstimulate the amygdala, making you feel fear and anxiety which has contributed to the increased rate of suicide in users. 

[stoner]

38 minutes ago, Jonathan Swift said:

She's trying to take care of her own

at 1234b a gram she sure taking care alright. 

[BritManToo]

53 minutes ago, Drumbuie said:

Stop for one moment and pretend the writer was male; would you see this as narcissistic? Then imagine you're in your home country, the writer is a fellow citizen, and foreigners are muscling in on one of your home country's nascent industries and putting locals out if business. How would you feel then? 

As another poster already pointed out this lady was trying to sell very average weed for over 1,000bht/gm. It's nothing but greed. 

[Bday Prang]

15 minutes ago, LukKrueng said:

I'm not sure about the legality of edibles, but the no sale for under 20, pregnant and breastfeeding mothers - that was there from the start. I'm pretty sure it was there even before June 9th, when all you could get at cannabis clinics was oil.

As for smugglers - that has nothing to do with legalising cannabis. It's just like sales of other illegal drugs and smuggling of other products. Where there's a market there will always be those who try to make a profit through the back door.

I know I'll vote for Anutin, and I'll try convincing anyone who listens to vote for his party so he'll have enough power to keep cannabis legal. So that's what I do for cannabis and cannabis lovers.

Well said, wish I could vote. A few short years ago all these people now moaning about %THC and organics and exotics  etc. would have been delighted to just be able to find a regular supply of OK weed without getting ripped off or busted ,  Now listen to them , jesus some people are never happy, just chill out and enjoy would be my advice to them. 

[Bday Prang]

7 minutes ago, stoner said:

at 1234b a gram she sure taking care alright. 

More like taking the piss if you ask me

[1duckyboy]

The bad actors in Thailand’s cannabis industry

So "bad actors" = foreigners. 

[SeaBee]

26 minutes ago, SamuiGrower said:

No, I can’t. Asking a business to copy their license and post it so you can see it? Slim to none. If you don’t believe there is a huge influx of USA/Canadian flower flooding the Thai market, don’t leave it to me to convince you, canvass the suppliers or better yet, enter the business. Clearly, ALL are welcome (by some) ????????????.

 

I am in the business. A commercial grow that sells cannabis and CBD (flower/extract) on a wholesale basis to dispensaries and wellness centers. They have shown us their import licenses and commercially imported flower and those are the prices that have established the AMR (average market rate) to which we compete against. Our company has a full time “admin”, well versed in licenses, permits and filling out countless forms. We are a straight up-and-down company that has  multiple licenses (a CBD export license is just one). A Ganja/Ganjo import license is just a matter of filing and paying.

 

As stated in previous posts, this business is a race to the bottom, complete with Darwinism - survival of the fittest. Prices will plummet, regulation will abound, and small players will evaporate. The weed business in Thailand is replete with the good, the bad and the really bad. It astounds me that it still operates on the least common denominator: “The Gram”. More weed spoils or its integrity diminished by oversupply than what is sold. Before anyone asks for proof of that, relax, it’s MY speculation from involvement in this business. I see a lot of “brown, everything looks a like, UV and humidity spoiled flower”. FYI for all you looking in from the outside - you can’t freeze it, refrigerate it, inert atmosphere package it and expect it to last until that last gram is sold, before it goes bad. Sad.

I'm fully aware of the imported weed, what I'm questioning is those "valid import licenses" you seem to be the only to have ever seen. The official stance of the Thai gvt. is that weed imports are illegal so you'd need better evidence than just words to claim the opposite. As another poster said above, seeds can be legally imported with a permit, buds can't.

[LOWERCASEGUY]

2 hours ago, SeaBee said:

She's operating on the BKK/national market and I suspect she's talking more about major foreign companies like Cookies who did enter the Thai market with big foreign paws, indeed probably importing their own weed illegally from the US or somewhere (local production is just not here yet), than the local shop in Phuket owned by Falang Joe and Thai wife.

 

https://coconuts.co/bangkok/lifestyle/us-weed-giant-cookies-gets-opening-date-for-bangkok-store/

 

Bro, the Thai-Indian multi-millionaire that paid Cookies a ton of cash to license the name is running that.  

 

Cookies announced a partnership with Sukhumweed and then found out that they could only own 33% of a Thai company and suddenly became interested in licensing the brand to some sucker.  

 

[LOWERCASEGUY]

Kitty is a xenophobic idiot.  I can't even count the number of times she's flown off the handle and posted multiple hysterical posts about some new law and then someone reads the actual law in Thai and realizes she can't read.  

 

She used to run her father's law office and she's on par with any poorly educated lawyer.    

 

She posts about laws the way many drunk people read this forum.  They read one sentence that sets them off the deep end and they start writing a nasty, hate filled response and never get around to reading the rest of the post which clarifies.  

 

And the real comedy in all of that was she was advising foreigners on how to get set up in Thailand with a cannabis business.  

 

Her talking about greed is the cherry on the cake though.  She was gouging the hell out of customers and then she found out she has competitors who weren't willing to do the same and she started crying foul.  Yes, she was selling 1234 baht buds, because she thought it was funny.  She was still carrying 1,000+ baht buds the last time I stopped in her shop a few months ago.  

 

My guess is that only half the problem in the market right now is imports.  The other part is massive overproduction by Thai growers.  I rarely hear about imports anymore.  They're still out there but once the local supply issue got resolved, there was no longer a reason to buy imports for many shops and a lot of that market dried up.  

 

I really think she's deluded on this topic and she attributes her own lack of success to these outside evil forces rather than the fact that she is simply not a good business person.  

 

She's too interested in pushing her personal brand.  She's doing workshops to tell other dispensary owners how to run their business.  She's drafting new cannabis laws that nobody will even bother looking at.  She's writing essays like this.  

 

She's in the Kitty business, not the weed business.  I don't think she understands that nobody cares about Kitty when they're looking at a 1,234 baht bud.  

[Bday Prang]

42 minutes ago, Keep Right said:

Cannabis is not a "simple plant."

Experts believe your endocannabinoid system (ECS) plays a part in cannabis-related paranoia.

When you use cannabis, certain compounds in it, including THC, the psychoactive compound in cannabis, bind to endocannabinoid receptors in various parts of your brain, including the amygdala.

Your amygdala helps regulate your response to fear and related emotions, like anxiety, stress, and — wait for it — paranoia. When you use cannabis that’s rich in THC, your brain suddenly receives more cannabinoids than usual. Research suggests this excess of cannabinoids may overstimulate the amygdala, making you feel fear and anxiety which has contributed to the increased rate of suicide in users. 

                Oh dear more experts  have we not had our fill of them over the last 3 years?      Jesus I would have topped myself years ago if the above was true,               

                I'm pretty certain that any alleged increase in suicide is not unique to cannabis users, and the reason for it, is the constant streams of bad news that we are bombarded with on a daily basis, courtesy of mainstream media and their paymasters, The human ears and brain are not meant to receive the constant scaremongering, end of the world rhetoric day in day out, that we are now plagued with.

               When was the last time any news was reported in a positive way, other than the occasional taxi driver  returning a lost wallet to its rightful owner. or a sad cat getting rescued when stuck in a tree?   Its even worse in the west with the Ukraine conflict and the associated  threat of nuclear war battling for position with the apocalyptic climate change predictions, and the constant predictions of international financial collapse, to name just three media favorites

                Despite this I have never personally  known  any cannabis user suffer any suicidal tendencies, and I know a lot of smokers, then again I don't really know any suicidal type nutters. 

               I'm not saying it does not happen, but it is obviously very very rare, akin perhaps  to a peanut allergy, and probably not worthy of all this so called research that is allegedly taking place. Who funds and commissions the research anyway? likely its mostly the reefer madness brigade attempting  to up their game, and it would be naive to think that those who pay, do not receive the answers they want. As they say "he who pays the piper calls the tune"

[SamuiGrower]

31 minutes ago, SeaBee said:

As another poster said above, seeds can be legally imported with a permit, buds can't.

As other posters have mentioned, the ‘medical loophole’ laws and imports to fill the nascent market still exist, have never been ended, and are widely exploited. Don’t know why you are soooo surprised! It’s the least of what’s concerning. But please, feel free to keep insisting it’s just not so. 

[Mr Dome]

Well, dear Kitty, when people think money is to be made it's always like this and can't be helped. It was always going to be like this. Plus, let's face it, the factor that's hurting your industry the most by far is the unclear legal situation. 

 

But now that it's become clear that neither the demand not the profits are really there, the great "weeding" out will slowly start and only the most resilient ones will survive.

 

Unless the new political bosses take it all back, of course.

 

Chohk Dee, krub.

[marcusb]

2 hours ago, BritManToo said:

I think you've confused me with someone else. I normally only smoke my own grow, currently tropical punch and bubblegummer. 

I'm happy with 5% THC at 4bht/gm. 

 

I don't really care about the taste of the weed, in the same way I don't care about the taste of paracetamol. 

Edited July 11, 2022 by BritManToo

 

Posted July 14, 2022 (edited)

My cheapest weed ever just arrived .......

450bht for 107gm of brick.

 

I've got R9 brick (450bht for 100gm), and it's stronger than the expensive named brand weed.

Having to mix it with Red diesel to tone down the effect a bit.

So I'd say the brick was 10-15% THC.

 

 

 

I'll stop there. Theres tons more of you praising brick weed.  

 

THERE is nothing wrong with my memory of who said what.  Again, I dont care what you like but the 

ridiculous stuff you type needs to be called out once in a  while. 

Posts and posts of you praising brick weed, todays post- you're too good for it and they are poor growers. 

Dont reply, cause it'll be more fiction.  You know it's true, as do the  people that liked my post.  

Bob Marley wept...