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       Thailand’s law on marijuana (Kancha in Thai), the plant listed in the Narcotics Act, illegalizes and handicaps its use for medical purposes for a long time. While marijuana smokers, in public or non-public, are branded a nuisance in society leading to backstreet trading, this narcotic-categorized plant encapsulates various medical properties known to Thailand’s folk doctors. In Sakhon Nakhon province, locals know to take advantage of it as relief from coughing or illnesses in the respiratory system. Peter Grinspoon, M.D, Cannabis specialist at Massachusetts General Hospital and Instructor at Harvard University mentioned the typical use of marijuana as pain control and antidote for insomnia, anxiety, spasticity, and epilepsy also responds positively to marijuana or hemp-infused drugs. 

      Recently, as of June 9th 2022, in the eyes of law and regulation, cannabis has been delisted from the Narcotics Act and small amounts, with no more than 0.2 % by weight of THC (hallucinogenic compound causing a high), do not lead to a penalty, making Thailand the 1st ASEAN countries liberating this plant. how does it contribute to studying it? More importantly, why the area not geographically best fitting for nurturing hemp seedlings has officially hosted a cannabis research center aiming to develop hemp strains for CBD-dominant hemp strains and turn them into a farm-raised economic botanical.

    Assoc. Prof. Dr. Potjamarn Suraninpong, Director of the Research Center on Cannabis, Hemp and Kratom, Walailak University and head of the project “Development of CBD – dominant hemp strain suitable for southern region’s climatic condition” and her team of young researchers are in the process of testifying to these medical potentials and making them economic plants. 

Development of CBD – Dominant Hemp Strain Suitable for Southern Region’s Climatic Condition

        The Research Center on Cannabis, Hemp, and Kratom, Walailak University, strives to serve as an “upstream and downstream” source of production of hemp for medical purposes. The project “Development of CBD – Dominant Hemp Strain Suitable for Southern Region’s Climatic Condition” aims to accomplish two key goals, divided into short-term and long-term goals,” said Assoc. Prof. Dr. Potjamarn. 

      The first is to develop hemp strains with Cannabidiol or CBD extraction – one of the two medicinal extracts from hemp the other being Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). Regarding the distinctiveness between these two, despite its effectiveness in pain control, THC is equipped with intoxicating compounds, that can induce hallucination and compel increased amounts over time leading to addiction. On the other hand, CBD does not lead to addiction or any of the abovementioned. However, farming CBD in Nakhon Si Thammarat is still a challenge. 

     “Hemp naturally prefers cold weather, dry and cold.”

    “And we are the peninsular hot- humid sort of weather here,” Assoc. Prof. Dr. Potjamarn clarified geographical challenges.”

      As a result, hemp seedlings have been ordered and shipped from the United States. Nevertheless, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Potjamarn further that importing can only remain the solution for two years and a half. After that, the center will have to be able to farm domestic CBD-dominant hemp strains. After that, we will disseminate the knowledge to interested farmers so that hemp can be turned into economic plants within a 4-month cultivation cycle. 

Tackling the challenges: Cooperation with QP 

A visit to the private sector's hemp greenhouse 

       “Research on the use of marijuana, hemp, and kratom is subject to two challenges: law landscape surrounding it and the cost incurred by the process”, said Assoc. Prof. Dr. Potjamarn.

       While researching, farming, or manufacturing CBD- dominant hemp-infused health products seems to be rolling on a smooth road, considering its lack of controversial intoxicating properties. Simply put, users cannot get high as a result of indulging in hemp. That is why hemp products i.e., hemp-infused cosmetics have commercially made their name on the market. On the contrary, the Identical process involving marijuana still has to prove itself to the government for both funding and permit. Even though such concern is sensible due to many reasons, the most pressing of which is about the long-term direction in which this medical research trend is headed to. 

      In fact, said Assoc. Prof. Dr. Potjamarn, “the concern is not beyond our expectation though. Still, we have to juggle between dealing which challenges pertaining to the regulative landscape, the project has to run. It still demands funding, large amounts of funding. Therefore, there began a research spinoff project.” 

      Walailak University has recently signed a 5-year valid Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with QuadPlay (Thailand) Company Limited (QP), a Thai registered company with several licensed entities in the cannabis and hemp ecosystem, and became an industrial partner of Walailak University. From a standpoint of industrial manufacturers, QP is in need of scientifically proven and yielded data to establish credentials and verification of cannabis-infused products, and so as a research institution, WU forms a team to generate such knowledgebase and gains funding in support of each stage of the experiment from QP. 

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Potjamarn Suraninpong, Director of the Research Center on Cannabis, Hemp and Kratom, Walailak University

   “Industrial commodities with extracts from all types of the Narcotic Act-listed plants need legit academic proof for its toxicity-free effects, concentration, a safe amount for usage, and many other controversial aspects. That is where we step in to provide such evidence,” Assoc. Prof. Dr. Potjamarn explained further.
Finally, despite the challenges and all, our strength lies in the fact that the south is and has always been home to folk medicine wisdom, meaning all the trickiness inherent to producing hemp-infused medicine will not be a problem.

The work of the center is something to really look forward to.

News by Nootchanat Sukkaew 

Division of Corporate Communication