Thailand taking steps to legalize medical marijuana.
BANGKOK• Thailand is taking steps to become the first country in Southeast Asia to legalize medical marijuana and is considering exporting the substance that’s currently banned there.
In the global rush to legalize marijuana, cannabis companies are looking for less-expensive locations to mass-produce the cash crop. With its good growing climate and as a hub for shipping and medicine, Thailand is viewed as a low-cost place to produce marijuana and then export it.
“There will be a rush to produce as much cannabis as possible and there’s going to be a global shortage very soon,” said Tyler Anthony, senior vice-president of client services at Electrum Partners, a U.S. venture management company that has met with companies interested in Thailand. “You need to hit a much broader scale of production and reduce costs — Thailand will allow that to happen.”
Foreign firms, however, will have to wait as the government seeks to first award the rights to produce, extract and research the plant to Thai companies. That’s out of concern that a string of patent requests filed by overseas firms could allow them to muscle Thai companies out of what’s projected to be a US$62.9-billion global marijuana market by 2024, according to Zion market research.
“Exporting is an opportunity — once the right time comes — and that opportunity should be given to Thai producers first,” said Deputy Prime Minister Prajin Juntong. “It could be in the form of a joint venture with foreigners, but only as long as Thai’s have a part in it.”
Thailand would be the first in Asia to fully legalize production as well as medical use of marijuana, though South Korea has a limited legalization policy that allows the import of cannabidiol though not cultivation of the crop. Bloomberg Intelligence reports that South Korea may look to Thailand for imports once legalization is set to take effect in 2019. Neighbouring Singapore and Malaysia are debating legalization.
Firms in the U.S. and Canada are among those that would like to use Thailand as a production and exporting hub. Costs could be slashed and proximity to markets in India and China would allow for export growth.
Thailand might not even have to export cannabis as there will be plenty of people interested in flying to the country for its marijuana, says Australia’s Medifarm director Adam Benjamin in a phone interview.
“Its strong tourism, agricultural and export industries can propel Thailand’s medical cannabis growth faster than many other countries that have already legalized,” said Benjamin.