Thailand Reportedly Builds 12,000-Plant Medical Marijuana Facility

A medical marijuana facility in Chiang Mai, Thailand is considered the largest industrial-scale medical marijuana facility in Southeast Asia, according to Asia Times.

The facility is growing around 12,000 plants that were planted Sept. 2 by Maejo University researchers in a ceremony attended by government officials. The seeds were supplied by the government’s Department of Medical Service.

Asia Times also reports that the facility consists of a 3,040-square-meter greenhouse that is fully equipped for professional cannabis cultivation with controls for moisture, lights and temperature.

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The ceremony marks a change of perspective on cannabis in Thailand, where its recreational use remains illegal.

New laws will soon allow Thailand’s residents to grow up to six marijuana plants in their gardens, according to Asia Times. 

The first fruits of the labor in the form of medical-grade cannabis flowers and buds from the plants in the Chiang Mai facility are expected in the next six months.

By February 2020, the Government Pharmaceutical Organization plans to utilize those ingredients in the production of 1 million bottles of cannabis oil, the report said. 

“These are historic first steps on the path towards allowing people to grow six cannabis trees in their homes,” Thailand's newly appointed Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul was quoted as saying. “In the near future, families will be able to plant it in their back gardens like any other herb." 

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