Meet the people in Chiang Mai riding high on the legalization of marijuana in Thailand

Tao, a Thai chef, opened Cannabis Cafe in 2021. At that time, before marijuana was decriminalized for recreational use, there were many rules. He has a fine dining background: previously, he worked as an executive chef at the Four Seasons in Chiang Mai and competed in Thailand’s version of “Iron Chef.”

“Before this, we could only use the leaves, stem, and the root. Everyone said it’s bullshit,” he said, adding that before marijuana was legalized, restaurants only used the leaves as a garnish or decoration.

Tao, who specializes in northern Thai cuisine, started selling weed and infusing marijuana into his food to ride on the growing wave of marijuana tourism in Chiang Mai. As a fine dining chef, Tao thought of ways to use tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, — the main psychoactive element in marijuana — and CBD in his food. When Tao first cooked with THC, he was surprised at how much it…