Thailand’s cannabis sellers say US growers are eating their lunch

[n00dle]

Thailands cannabis laws may be an utter mess, but even when it was illegal thailand was nowhere near as draconain as one of SE Asias most civilized nations. 

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/4/26/singapore-hangs-man-for-trafficking-1kg-cannabis?traffic_source=KeepReading   

 

Dude was hanged for recieving phone calls.

 

Quote

The evidence against Tangaraju was “far from clear cut – since he never actually touched the marijuana in question, was questioned by police without a lawyer, and denied access to a Tamil interpreter when he asked for one”.

 

Edited May 9, 2023 by n00dle

[BritManToo]

1 hour ago, bamnutsak said:

Can anyone explain how it works for cannabis shops? Who's doing it? Which currencies are being laundered? How many of the 4,550+ cannabis shops are involved? Seems really convoluted. But I'll believe anything.

Why not Thai Baht?

Plenty of YaBa, YaIce, prostitution money not to mention government skimming that all needs to appear legit. There was a big name foreigner restaurant chain in CM well known for being a front for money laundering. Thailand is floating in a sea of local and international money laundering.

 

Not sure nail salons/hairdressers/coffee shops would have enough potential turnover to be of interest.

More like restaurants, shopping malls, and weed shops (seen plenty of these empty for years).

Edited May 9, 2023 by BritManToo

[BritManToo]

4 hours ago, wombat said:

Curious asks how the "illegal" weed is getting here from the states?

Or would an answer to that be opening a can of worms?

My daughter is after a job in customs.

She says the wages are rubbish, but the tips from customers are amazing.

"How much of a tip can you give me for not looking in that container?"

[Adumbration]

3 hours ago, bamnutsak said:

I've heard this "astute" comment made about everything including nail salons, hair salons, coffee shops, bars, go-gos, massage parlors, sex shops....

 

I mean this topic has been charting on the Barstool Banter Top 10 for at least twenty years.

 

Can anyone explain how it works for cannabis shops? Who's doing it? Which currencies are being laundered? How many of the 4,550+ cannabis shops are involved? Seems really convoluted. But I'll believe anything.

Ok.  I will rise to your bait.

 

Many years ago when I first moved to Thailand permanently I came here on a NON B investment visa.

 

The embassy used to issue these visas in my country if you could show a significant cash amount in your bank account with a letter certifying the amount is correct by your accountant.  I applied on the basis that I wanted to research and invest in Phuket.  I was granted a one year multi entry.

 

I fully intended to invest but after months of doing due dillegence on multiple businesses and properties nothing was adding up.  The proper way to value an asset is based upon its forecast ROI.  But not a single project showed any hope of returning the ridiculous asking prices.  At first I thought that perhaps prices are just pitched and then negotiated back down to a sane level but these businesses were selling....and selling hand over fist.

 

Then the penny dropped.  These businesses were not being purchased to make money, they were being purchased to launder money.  Profitbility was not a concern as long as the facade of the business was suitable for the intended purpose.  The extent of this laundering activity is all pervasive.... but has had a tiny (pre election) spot light shone upon it recently by the massage mogul and his mate big Joke.

 

Back then I made a firm decision not to invest in Thailand but rather keep the bulk of my money invested offshore.  It was a good decision.

Edited May 9, 2023 by Adumbration

[youngexpat]

2 hours ago, bamnutsak said:

What do you mean by "outdoor", and "indoor"?

 

For example, a fabric greenhouse with or without supplemental light? Is that indoor or outdoor?

 

And quite a few longtime traditional Thai growers, like Aram “Uncle Dam” Limsakul, would probably disagree with your hot-take.

 

As would growers in Mendocino and Humboldt Counties.

 

 

I'd need a bit of proof to believe this assertion. Yes, some eigths are as low as $20 (before tax and fee), and bulk wholesale is as a low as $4 gram based on a kilo purchase.

 

But I'm having a hard time understanding the relationship between the price in Oregon and in Thailand? I mean other than Thai smugglers should be sourcing Cannabis in Oregon, which they probably already are.

 

 

 

I guess Thai smugglers could be buying on the underground/illegal, black/grey market. I hadn't considered that before.

 

 

 

 

 

 

to put a finer point for you indoor is grown using artificial light.

 

 all due respect to uncle "whomever" but the science is clear that naturally grown marijuana is not as potent as that grown under artificial light

 

the growers in mendocino and humboldt are probably having a hard time finding buyers for their outdoor grows

 

sorry i didn't take a picture of my receipt but here is a chart taken from

https://www.oregon.gov/olcc/Docs/reports/2023-Supply-and-Demand-Report.pdf

 

as you can see if the median retail is 4$ my claim of 2$ is quite believable

 

all this is besides the point that in a mature economy, like the one in oregon,  prices are substantially lower

 

 

[bamnutsak]

5 minutes ago, youngexpat said:

to put a finer point for you indoor is grown using artificial light.

So a greenhouse with supplemental light is "indoor".

 

6 minutes ago, youngexpat said:

all due respect to uncle "whomever" but the science is clear that naturally grown marijuana is not as potent as that grown under artificial light

This is your opinion, right?

 

I'd agree that one has more control with indoor growing, and that higher yields might be acheived. But potency? Meh. Show me the "science"

 

And your lack of respect for one of the most venerated Cannabis proponents in Thailand is noted.

 

7 minutes ago, youngexpat said:

as you can see if the median retail is 4$ my claim of 2$ is quite believable

 

Sorry, this logic fails me.

 

Yes, I did find that chart hence my reference to $4/gram, wholesale, at the Kilogram level.

 

8 minutes ago, youngexpat said:

all this is besides the point that in a mature economy, like the one in oregon,  prices are substantially lower

I think this is down to supply v. demand, rather than the maturity of the market.

 

 

11 minutes ago, Adumbration said:

Ok.  I will rise to your bait.

Sir, this is a Wendy's.

 

Scanned your diatribe, but wow. Maybe distill it.

 

 

[Adumbration]

2 hours ago, BritManToo said:

My daughter is after a job in customs.

She says the wages are rubbish, but the tips from customers are amazing.

"How much of a tip can you give me for not looking in that container?"

They know full well what is in most containers.  A "tip" is the wrong term for money obtained from extortion.

[Adumbration]

18 hours ago, Thingamabob said:

The reason so many products in Thailand are over-priced is the high level of tea money that businesses pay to officials.

Yes.  Corruption cost is far higher than VAT.

[Adumbration]

2 hours ago, BritManToo said:

My daughter is after a job in customs.

She says the wages are rubbish, but the tips from customers are amazing.

"How much of a tip can you give me for not looking in that container?"

Has your daughter hit you up for the money to buy her elephant ticket yet?

[KannikaP]

On 5/8/2023 at 10:25 AM, bamnutsak said:

I don't this this one single source for this factoid is accurate or worthy of publication.

As is the grammar in your post!

[bamnutsak]

2 minutes ago, KannikaP said:

As is the grammar in your post!

Spelling, not grammar, officer.

 

I don't think this one single....

 

Is what I meant.

 

Put the cuffs away.

 

[youngexpat]

25 minutes ago, bamnutsak said:

 

Sorry, this logic fails me.

 

Yes, I did find that chart hence my reference to $4/gram, wholesale, at the Kilogram level

 

the key words in that chart are "median" and "retail". 

 

median would indicate that their is marijuana being sold for both higher and lower prices than the median so again 2$ was my experience and is quite believable

 

retail signifies the price that end users like myself are paying not what wholesale buyers are paying

 

[Plern]

This is hilarious. Weed has become a total commodity product with about four quality tiers. It's a race to the bottom. Simples.

 

Maybe it's not import weed but a glut of their own making? Growers crying because they can't name their price how farcical. Just read article how emerald triangle crashed and burned. Going out of business sale.

 

Ultimately, I think b250-300 retail and 125-200 online for dank, stony weed is my line in the sand.

[TantrikLvr]

Last october, saw this sign outside of a weed shop in Ashland oregon, for $49 ounces. That's 28 G. Which is about $1.75 or 59 baht a gram. Went inside and saw the ounces, perfect manicured fragrant, same as sold here.

Edited May 9, 2023 by TantrikLvr
Corrected figures

[bamnutsak]

16 hours ago, youngexpat said:

median would indicate that their is marijuana being sold for both higher and lower prices than the median so again 2$ was my experience and is quite believable

OK, it would be more, rather than "quite", "believable" if can you provide the name of the dispensary where you made your purchase? How much weight did you buy? I assume you paid the 17% - 20% tax?

 

I looked, quickly, at a few of the larger dispensaries in the greater Portland area, and didn't see any eighths for less than $20 ++ (so $24 all in). At $2 all in an eighth would be $7.

 

All that said, if I were smuggling cannabis from the U.S to Thailand I guess I would source it in Oregon.

 

 

Ganja glut? With excess weed, growers seek interstate sales

 

In Oregon, where sales began in 2015, large growers have achieved some economy of scale that could give them a leg up in a broader market. But in the meantime, the state’s oversupply is considered the nation’s worst.

 

In February, the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission reported marijuana businesses were sitting on about 3 million pounds (1.36 million kilograms) of unused cannabis, as well as 75,000 pounds (34,000 kilograms) of concentrates and extracts.

 

 

Contributing to the glut in Oregon and to a lesser degree in Washington is that the states licensed so many growers. The initial idea was to ensure enough supply for the legal market, bringing down prices to compete with the black market. Oregon, with a little over half of Washington’s population, has hundreds more licensed growers.

 

https://apnews.com/article/cannabis-marijuana-420-legal-california-oregon-washington-ae7880387eee7dbfcfecaff563d0b211#:~:text=But in the meantime%2C the,kilograms) of concentrates and extracts.

 

 

Meanwhile in Missouri, recently went recreational, they can't keep up with demand and prices are actually rising.

 

Missouri marijuana companies face product shortages, price hikes after adult-use launch

 

The Midwestern market, which launched recreational sales on Feb. 3, is off to a sizzling start and on pace to break $1 billion in sales in its first full year.

But strong demand from medical marijuana patients as well as local and out-of-state consumers has far exceeded operators’ expectations and resulted in the kind of product shortages and higher wholesale prices experienced in other newly launched recreational markets.

 

In some areas of the state, particularly near the Kansas border, Missouri retailers are seeing foot traffic increase ninefold since expanding into recreational sales.

 

https://mjbizdaily.com/missouri-adult-use-cannabis-companies-face-product-shortages-price-hikes/

 

 

 

 

Nectar: https://nectar.store/store/122nd-and-holladay/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[greeneking]

On 5/8/2023 at 2:07 PM, Burma Bill said:

Maybe after the General Election, it will be criminalised again by a new parliament!

I think they would not need to. Simply insist the existing law is enforced properly.

[BritManToo]

2 hours ago, greeneking said:

I think they would not need to. Simply insist the existing law is enforced properly.

No law in Thailand is enforced properly.

Not even the laws that matter.

[RAZZELL]

On 5/8/2023 at 4:51 AM, BritManToo said:

When you pretend to sell very small amounts of unregulated something for 500bht/gm, the opportunity for money laundering is immense. The shops only need 'pretend' customers.

Exactly - laundrettes.

 

 

RAZZ