Social media are reporting that some dazed foreigners in Thailand’s favorite beach resort are being force-fed ganja in their restaurant meals. The matter has even been brought up in an expat club because a British woman was briefly hospitalized after enjoying a prawn omelet but feeling woozy. There are also fears that vehicle drivers unwittingly ingesting cannabis could have an accident on the way home or be arrested at roadside checkpoints for being drunk.
Since cannabis has now been delisted as a narcotic in Thailand, restaurants and cafes have lawfully been allowed to add it food or drink as long as the THC (the psychoactive ingredient which gives you a high) is very strictly limited indeed. The general idea is to perk up a deep broth with wagyu leaf or make an Americano coffee slightly more tasty. But many newcomers to the weed say they can’t tell any difference and some cannabis cafes have even closed down.
The Thai health ministry this week published guidelines for cannabis as a food additive. They say that business operators (markets, restaurants and outlets) must clearly display a list of dishes that contain cannabis and require chefs to use only one single leaf for curries, soups and beverages and two for fried foods. Use of the plant’s buds and flowers, which harbor THC, is banned. In theory anyway, an opt-out is easy.
Thanaphat Chomchien, who runs a Pattaya clinic, said he had seen a couple of patients who claimed to be ill with involuntary ganja, but he doubted the problem was widespread. “Good quality weed is expensive and restaurants are not going to waste it deliberately making people ill which is counter-productive.” He urged people with a complaint to report to the Food and Drug Administration’s website Plookganja (although they will need a Thai speaker to make progress there).
Health minister Anutin Charnvirakul insisted that cannabis had been legalized for medical use and manufacture of healthcare products only, not for recreational use. According to the authoritative Asian Cannabis Report, the projected value of Thailand’s current market will be US$237 million by 2024. If public pot smoking in sandbox-areas were allowed, the total would triple to nearly US$700 million every year. The country’s national coffers are licking their lips.
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