Next year the ministries of tourism and sports and public health are preparing to begin the first medical marijuana tour in Southeast Asia as they finalize a draft plantation policy across Thailand.
Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn, who is the Minister of Tourism and Sports, said the tour aims to raise awareness of marijuana for medicinal purposes and inform those interested in growing the plant of the laws.
Eight provinces, comprising Mae Hong Son, Lampang, Samut Songkhram, Sakon Nakhon, Nakhon Ratchasima, Buri Ram, Phatthalung, and Chon Buri, have plantations that could be part of the tour.
"In the early stages, the program aims to educate locals who would like to form a community enterprise and bid to become authorized cannabis growers. This program will pave the way for basic understanding of marijuana and its economic benefits," Mr. Phiphat said.
He said that in encouraging medicinal tourism, including herbs and marijuana for traditional medicine, the Tourism Department was assigned to collaborate with the Thai Department of Traditional and Alternative Medicine.
They need to stimulate the Thai and foreign markets by developing and promoting these tour routes under an understanding signed by the two departments.
This cooperation should help locals build new sources of revenue with better cannabis and herbal tourism skills and information, Mr Phiphat said.
On August 4th the cabinet approved a proposal to amend the Narcotics Act to allow the plant to be grown for medical treatment by private medical practitioners, including some traditional healers and farmers.
In 2018, this development followed the controlled decriminalization of cannabis, which sees Thailand becoming the first country in Southeast Asia to allow agencies or those requesting permission to grow cannabis by government agency regulations.
However, in Thailand, the use of marijuana for medical uses is also banned since the government limits it to medicinal practices.
Mr. Phiphat said that next October, after the first edition in 2019, the government is set to host a cannabis expedition in Buri Ram.
The exhibition could strengthen Thailand's position as a medical centre for marijuana in this area by welcoming international sellers and buyers connected to this medical science, he said.
The event was previously planned for this year, but because of the pandemic, it was postponed.
Mr. Phiphat said the program for the tour should ensure that local communities are still concerned about the policy.
Every process like growing, regulations, and how to earn from cannabis farming, is seen in the tour activities.
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