By Chayut Setboonsarng
BANGKOK (Reuters) – If the bets of Thailand’s farmed cannabis promoters pay off, Thais could soon be chowing down on hempburgers, washed down with cannabis-derived drinks, before freshening up with shower gel and toothpaste infused with a compound from the plant.
Far from a pipe dream, a wide range of Thai firms are investing in cannabis, seeking to be first movers in a budding multi-billion dollar industry in Asia after Bangkok legalised use of hemp and cannabidiol (CBD), a compound that doesn’t create a ‘high’, in consumer goods earlier this year.
Cosmetics makers, drinks companies and rubber products business are all now investing in developing domestic cannabis farming and products using the plant: importing hemp and derivatives is allowed only for research purposes. Only companies that are majority-owned by Thais can receive licences to use…
